Dear Benton families and friends,

When fourth grader Gavin Fondaw traded the desert mountains of Arizona for the cornfields of Southern Illinois this summer, he didn’t quite know what to expect. Six weeks later, he had his verdict: “It’s definitely been the best school I’ve been to.” Few sentences have made me prouder, and as I read the stories in this issue, I found that same welcome on nearly every page.

This fall, our doors opened to a wonderful number of new faces. Harmony Schehl came to us from Mississippi and already says, “I really like this school.” Isaac Jones arrived from Harrisburg, made four friends within weeks, and offered his own review: “There are nicer people.” Allie Miller is eager to try hurdles and volleyball, confident a team “will let me meet more people.” Kindergartners Ariella Dillman and Anderson Klus have even settled their career plans. “I want to be a doctor,” Ariella said, and Anderson quickly added, “I want to be a doctor, too.” And new science teacher Sarah McKinney, who joined us from Olney, put it simply: “The community’s been very welcoming.”

That welcome doesn’t happen by accident. It comes from people who love this place and chose to come home to it. Danielle Hatfield, our K-4 assistant principal, says, “These are my people, this is my town.” Mitch Giacone left for college and soon realized, “I kind of just missed home.” Peyton Bayless, a Benton native now teaching third grade, speaks for so many of our hometown educators: “This place has given me everything.”

It comes, too, from people who make sure every child feels seen. Amber Raby keeps her office door open because “I want them to be heard and to feel understood.” Braghan Mulvaney treasures “those light bulb moments when the kids just get it.” And Bethany Sanders and twenty-two of our art students painted a mural for Franklin County Animal Control beneath a sign that reads Second Chance, a fitting picture of a community that always makes room for one more.

Whether your family has been here for generations or just unpacked its last box, thank you for being part of a place where, as Mitch puts it, “Everybody knows everybody, and the support of everybody around you is just amazing.”

Welcome home.

With gratitude,

Dr. Steve Smith
Superintendent, Benton Grade School