~by Sara Clifford
Last day of school, “Can’t Stop the Feeling” blares outside Helmsburg Elementary. Principal Kelli Bruner is on the microphone, narrating the drop-off line and dancing.
“CJ, welcome!” she says as the tween exits a car, a slightly confused half-smile on his face.
“Oh, Wyatt has arrived! Linda, Anna, and Miss Susie, I see you in there!”
“Ellie girl, you look beautiful for your last day! Good morning! Good morning!”
” I can’t remember a lot, but I can remember kids’names—and past kids, too. And when I do that and they’re like, ‘How do you remember that? I’m a senior!’I say,‘I can still see you as that little kid’.”
—Kelli Bruner
Then comes my kid—usually late —greeted on his final day in elementary with a bear hug: “Henry! Henry’s here! We can start school!” And the teachers under the portico cheer.
For 30 years, one of those smiling faces has been Mrs. Bruner, for the past 20 as principal.
Helmsburg is home —and she’s far from the only
one who feels that way.
“Family ” is what parents and staff identify as the personality of Helmsburg Elementary. Sprunica and Van Buren are great in their own ways, but something’s different about Helmsburg, said PTO volunteer Lorna Reichmann.
“There’s something kinder here,” said Reichmann, who has had at least one child there for 14 years.
The family culture is intentional—and also, it’s not. Some of it happens naturally when about a third of teachers and staff have been together for a decade or more and some have known each other since high school. Same, too, for the parents: Many of them had Mrs. Bruner as their teacher; now, she is shepherding their children.
Yet, Bruner’s leadership makes a difference as well, said Laura Crum, administrative assistant for 29 years. “She’s kind about people’s needs, and when your staff feels appreciated, then they put forth that extra effort.”
Also, there’s the fascinating fact that Bruner knows every student’s name: all 222 of them—” plus brothers, sisters, and sometimes cousins, but don’t ask me all the parents’ names; I have no idea,” she laughed. It’s because she’s hardly in her office; she’s in classrooms as much as possible. “I can’t remember a lot, but I can remember kids’names—and past kids, too. And when I do that and they’re like, ‘How do you remember that? I’m a senior!’I say,‘I can still see you as that little kid.’ ”
“Just think of the psychological safety of having a friendly, familiar face so that you can focus on your education,” said parent Jeremiah Reichmann.
On the last day of classes, he and Lorna stood on the playground watching their youngest play games with other graduating fifth graders and their teachers, Olivia Howard and Michelle Joy, hours after the final bell rang.
Joy, a Helmsburg veteran of 24 years, says the building has always had this culture. It comes down to a depth of relationships that can’t be replicated in a larger school or district.
“We have a lot of autonomy here,” she said. “I have some friends who teach in bigger corporations where they’re required to be on the same page in the same text at the same time … or they have to start their curriculum the first week of school. I feel that it’s very much encouraged here to build relationships first. If you don’t build relationships first, you can’t teach, because kids aren’t going to learn from somebody they don’t love and feel loves them.” As if on cue, she paused to hug one of her students goodbye.
Bruner leads that culture effortlessly, said Eliza Bowman, a homeschool and Helmsburg alumna and mother of two current students. For kids who struggle a little, “her mother instincts will come out, you know what I mean? … Kelli cares about every single kid in this building,” she said. “I sort of feel bad for kids who can’t experience her and can’t experience this school.”
“In a nutshell,” Crum added, “she really embodies what our corporation strives for: world-class opportunities, smallschool relationships, and lifelong impact.”
“This is all I know,” Bruner said. “This is my place, my home, my family, my community.”
Her daughters, Jori and Kennedy, attended this school; her husband, Mark, worked in the district, too.
Originally from Ellettsville, she started at Helmsburg in 1995 as a paraprofessional for third grade, then became
HELMSBURG ELEMENTARY continued from 61 a sixth-grade teacher when Steve Cole left the next April. The next year, she took over fourth grade when Natalie Stant retired, then moved to second grade two years later. She became principal in 2007 after Laura Hammack moved up to assistant superintendent.
Bruner had opportunities to go elsewhere, but when the time came, she couldn’t. “At the time, I thought, ‘I’ve never been anywhere else; it would be cool to try something different.’And when it came down to it, I broke down and sobbed: ‘I can’t leave Helmsburg! I can’t leave my family and friends; these are my kids and this is what I know; I’m just going to die here!’ So, that’s exactly what happened. I’m staying,” she laughed.
Well, not forever; she says she has three years left— but some parents have also heard that before. Now, though, her grandbabies—three of them in two states— are a main priority.
Whenever it is, retiring “won’t be easy, and I think if we stay in Brown County, I’ll still come over and visit and volunteer,” she said.
“That’s what I would love: I want to sit in a rocking chair and read to kids. That’s a dream.”
