Hawthorne Elementary

Our Bulldog Story

Hawthorne Elementary sits on South Jefferson Street, just south of downtown Kearney, where the morning bell unleashes a flood of purple-and-gold Bulldog T-shirts and bright smiles into the foyer. Principal Chauncey Rardon and his Bulldog team greet each child by name because relationships are our foundation. That “first-name-basis” warmth permeates every hallway.

“We Believe! We Achieve! We Succeed!”

These six words parade across our walls, newsletters, and assemblies, reminding students that effort and empathy drive excellence. The Bulldog mascot is a nod to tenacity. When our learners dig into a math task or practice a reading strategy, they show that trademark Bulldog grit.

Rising Performance, Year after Year

Bulldog grit is paying off: Hawthorne climbed from 64.7% of possible MSIP6 points in 2023 to 71.8% in 2024, an increase of more than seven percentage points in a single year.

• Math mastery: a perfect 100% of available points earned in 2024

• Attendance & Kindergarten readiness: both achieved 100% of points, reflecting families’ trust and our focus on early success

These numbers are more than statistics; they’re stories of teachers adjusting lessons on the fly, interventionists celebrating light-bulb moments, and parents carving time for nightly reading.

Learning That Sticks

• Daily Morning Meetings build social-emotional skills before academics even begin.

• Structured literacy (Fundations K-2, Benchmark Advance 3-5) ensures every Bulldog becomes a confident reader.

• Bulldog STEAM Lab projects—coding Bee-Bots, constructing weather instruments—turn curiosity into career awareness.

• Service-learning days find fourth graders raking leaves for seniors, proving that Bulldogs leave paw prints well beyond campus.

Staff Who Lead the Charge

When Hawthorne teacher Ashlyn Mansil earned an invitation to a statewide innovative-classroom institute, it affirmed what families already know: our educators model lifelong learning. Professional learning communities meet weekly to pore over real-time data and plan enrichment or interventions for the very next day.

A Community School in Every Sense

From Books & Breakfast mornings in the Library Media Center to packed gyms for Family Math Night, Hawthorne thrives on partnership. Parents volunteer as reading buddies; Kearney High athletes mentor fifth graders; local businesses sponsor our Bulldog Fun Run.

Looking Ahead

With a laser focus on growth (especially ELA), expanded outdoor-classroom lessons, and new robotics kits rolling out this fall, Hawthorne is poised for another big leap. The Bulldogs believe, achieve, and succeed every single day they walk through those our doors.