Dear Friends and Fellow Parents,

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On the last day of the 2020–2021 school year, I sat with a stack of student work and felt what so many educators felt: learning had become fragmented. Lessons were scattered; progress was hard to trace; essential skills were missing pieces of a puzzle. That ache was not only about a pandemic year. It was the same ache I had felt each time my own children changed schools due to military orders; each move asked them to prove, reprove, and begin again, while the things they truly needed could stay unseen.

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As a mother, I have watched three resilient kids walk into new hallways with brave faces and quiet fears. New standards. New pacing. New expectations. Some years, they repeated content they had already mastered. In other years, they arrived already behind in a subject, and the gap widened before anyone could catch up. The nights before a new start, we packed boxes and packed courage. The morning after, we hoped a teacher would see the whole child, not just a file.

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As a teacher, I know the other side of that door. Week one is a rush of names, assessments, curriculum maps, and care. It takes time to understand each learner’s story. Without a clear, portable picture of what has been taught, what is mastered, and what still needs support, we guess. We reteach “just in case.” We lose precious weeks while children wait, especially those who arrive already behind in reading, writing, or math.

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Bridge and Banner™ was born in that gap between what families carry and what classrooms need on day one. Our Continuity Plan is a simple, plain-language snapshot that travels with the child from PreK through grade five. It honors strengths; it names unfinished learning with kindness; it tells the next instructional step in words parents and teachers share. With it, receiving teachers can start where learning left off. Parents can advocate without having to relive the entire past. Children feel seen and stay motivated to move forward.

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Here is the future we are building together:

• No more hard resets at a new school; transitions become handoffs.

• Early conferences within the first ten days align family and teacher on strengths, supports, and quick wins.

• Students who arrive behind are flagged early and supported quickly, before gaps widen.

• Less re-teaching that slows the whole class; more targeted instruction that grows confidence.

• A respectful, portable record that complements district systems and keeps privacy intact.

 

This work is intentionally simple; it is also life-changing in practice. When a child begins in the right place, they stop believing they are “behind” and start seeing themselves as capable again. When a teacher is given day-one clarity, care turns into action. When a parent finally feels heard, trust returns.

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I am inviting you to stand in this crucial space with us. Bring Bridge and Banner™ to your school or district by sponsoring teacher training or a classroom. Underwrite a launch to ensure an entire campus starts strong. If you are a parent, use our tools now and add your voice to the movement for continuity.

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Every move should advance a child’s progress. Every classroom should receive that progress with open hands and clear next steps. With your partnership, that promise becomes real, one teacher, one classroom, one brave child at a time.

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With gratitude,

Stephanie Rundle
Founder, Bridge and Banner™