August 5, 2022
Dear Grant Elementary Families,
It is an honor to be introducing myself as the new Grant Elementary Principal and join this extraordinary school community. I hope that this letter finds you enjoying the rejuvenating days of summer and that you and your child(ren) are looking forward to beginning a wonderful school year together on August 22. My name is Rachel Brakeman; I was born and raised in Eureka, and am proud to have attended Eureka City Schools during my K-12 educational journey. I have two sons, one that is entering Zane Middle School this year and another that recently turned two. I have spent the last 11 years working for the Eureka City Schools as an Indian Education Instructional Assistant at the elementary and middle schools, a classroom teacher at Lafayette Elementary, and most recently as the Eureka City Schools Elementary Summer School Principal. Grant and Lafayette have worked collaboratively together for several years, and I am eager to continue this vision of fostering a student-centered learning environment together.
The Grant teaching staff has been working diligently to prepare classrooms for the upcoming school year. They have also been engaged in professional development to create and foster responsive learning environments. Teachers are excited to welcome students on August 22nd! There have been a few staffing changes for the 2022-2023 school year. We welcome Christine Steinbock as our new 1st grade teacher, Laruen Ingraham as our new 2nd grade teacher, we are still in the hiring process for our new 5th grade teacher, Andrew Saffold is our new Ed Specialist, Vincent Arguelles is our new PE teacher, and Asher Funk is our new school psychologist. Trisha Sanders will be teaching our PreK/TK class, Michelle Merideth-Sutke will be teaching Kindergarten, Maddie Thompson will be teaching 1st grade, Emily Rico will be teaching 2nd grade, Emily Kinder will be teaching 3rd grade, Tanya Hunt will be teaching 4th grade Jason Hineline will be teaching a 4th/5th combination, Deidre Amaro will be our Community School Teacher, and Mike Larson will be our CARE Specialist.
August 22nd is the first day of school. Class lists will be posted at the PTA sponsored Popsicle Posting on August 19th from 2:30-3:30, this is a great time to join Grant’s PTA as well! Breakfast and lunch are free to all Eureka City School students regardless of income. Please note that school will resume a regular daily schedule (TK-5th 8:10 am- 2:42 pm) with the exception of Mondays for teacher collaboration (TK-5:8:10 am to 1:55 pm). The Grant campus will open at 7:30 AM daily.
In closing, please know that my door is always open to you. I heartily welcome your conversation and positive input throughout this year. Let us always keep our students the primary focus of our work. I look forward to celebrating our collective successes during the 2022-2023 school year. I am committed to embracing the positive traditions and practices that are already in place at Grant School while working diligently to ensure success for the future.
If you have any questions or would like more information on how you can support Grant, please reach out.
Rachel Brakeman
Grant Elementary Principal
707-441-2552
[email protected]