Save Briceville school for future leaders
EDITOR:
My name is EmmaGrace Bridges. I’m currently a student at Lake City Middle School and I’m a graduate of Briceville Elementary.
When I heard the news that BES may close, I really didn’t know what to think about the uncertain future of the very first school that I had attended. I became a pre-K student when I was 2-½-years old due to the way my birthday fell.
I wasn’t zoned for Briceville, but my parents wanted my siblings and me to attend Briceville because of the low student-to-teacher ratio, and that’s where my dad, Dan Bridges Sr., went with his siblings.
I have three younger brothers who are currently attending Briceville Elementary. I was there to be able to be part of the library book exchange to carry books from Briceville Friendship Center to the brand new Briceville Library. I’ve participated in the Engineering Better Readers program started by the beautiful Mrs. Carol Moore and historian Mr. Barry Thacker.
First-grade teacher Ms. Melissa Fleming is the overseer of the EBR program. I had a blast reading all those books and was grateful for the prizes, too. I won the 2022 4-H county speech contest in fifth grade on the Briceville mine explosion.
That year I did virtual and missed out on having Mrs. Loren Forgety-Grimm as a teacher, but I’m happy my brother Danny is in her class and will do the AAA Safety Patrol.
Briceville Elementary has a sad past but also a rich past, and I know a bright future because it has an amazing community and representatives backing it. We have to work together to keep this school OPEN. The kids who are currently attending Briceville have a greater advantage than the other local elementary school. All kids who attend Briceville Elementary from kindergarten all the way to graduate from the fifth grade have the amazing opportunity to apply for the Coal Creek Scholarship for college when they graduate high school.
One girl just received a $10,000 scholarship. This is also thanks to Mrs. Carol Moore and Mr. Barry Thacker.
I know that this scholarship is given fairly to the students who apply. They have more one-on-one time with the teachers because, unlike the other school, Briceville isn’t overcrowded. They have great after-school programs, thanks to Mrs. Connie Warwick and Mrs. Debbie Dawson. They have Boy Scouts and Girls Inc., which are two great programs to help mentor children.
Every school has regular maintenance and updates done from time to time.
And I think all that the Home of the Hornets, Briceville Elementary School, needs is just to replace some plumbing, fix the electric power to the new sign from Bear Stephenson and Bob Swisher, and add bathrooms to the gym so they can hold their own home basketball games.
I know that this school is worth fighting for. I know that we can get more kids to attend Briceville if the surrounding communities knew the advantages their children would have if their kids attended Briceville.
It doesn’t cost anything to do an out-of-zone transfer, just good grades, behavior and attendance. Mrs. Becky Burris is always reaching out to her connections to help get the kids who attend this rural Appalachian school what they need — from school supplies to backpacks around Christmas, full of stuff and winter gloves and toboggans, washcloths with bars of soap, toys and food.
I love how the community came together to help restore the old church.
We can’t let this happen to the school, so please let’s come together to help this piece of history and help the future leaders who have attended and are currently attending this school by keeping the doors open and the history alive.
EmmaGrace Bridges
Lake City Middle School student