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Mary Blair Elementary
Principal: Traci Gile

Name/History: The school is named after Mary Elizabeth Blair, a pioneer school teacher in Loveland. She came to Loveland with her parents in 1881 and began teaching at Stove Prairie, then at the Lone Tree school before teaching in the Loveland system. She was also principal of the first Lincoln School in 1917. She retired from teaching in 1941. An addition to the school was completed in 1991, which doubled its size.

The mission of Mary Blair Elementary is to help children:

  • Build thinking skills
  • persevere through challenges
  • Achieve academic excellence

Instruction - Students receive direct instruction in critical thinking and comprehension strategies to deepen their understanding. They learn strategies for building stamina in order to complete rigorous classroom assignments. Students learn to talk about texts with peers and adults as a gateway to making meaning and building a sense of community. We use a workshop structure that provides for differentiated instruction. We support a 21st Century skills approach for building deep thinkers who can use, access, and evaluate information from a variety texts and technical sources.

Activities - Students have opportunities to participate in many engaging afterschool activities such as choir, Odyssey of the Mind, Recess Rangers, Student Council, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Lego Robotics, and Letter Club.

Positive Behavior Support - Students at Mary Blair demonstrate safe and responsible behavior through Positive Behavior Support programs. They demonstrate how to have pride, learn positive relationships, and how to persevere in all aspects of life. Children are recognized with "growler" tickets and have opportunities to earn lunch with the principal. Teachers regularly recognize students who are meeting the expectations and going above and beyond.

Student support - Mary Blair's Bobcat Buddies program helps new students feel welcome and oriented to the school. Students from all backgrounds are supported to make friends, know routines and rules, and feel welcome. They have a lunch meeting where they learn ways to support new students by including them at recess or in classroom activities. Bilingual students are also supported and are given a dual language buddy when possible.

Parent/community support - The Mary Blair PTO and school accountability teams support a community of excellence for students. Parents are actively involved through family events and volunteering, building a strong connection between the faculty and community. They have worked to provide a free family night each quarter, such as a movie night, bingo night, or ice cream social. They have raised money for program improvements and technology equipment in our school. The familyschool connection is outstanding and something we value as a staff.