Bryan Elementary School gifted-education teacher Robin Brower talkes with some of her students on Thursday.

By Melanie Patterson

The North Jefferson News



A group of students at Bryan Elementary are getting ready to make the news.

More specifically, they’re making a newspaper.

Teacher Robin Brower is kicking off the project soon with her fourth- and fifth-grade gifted education students.

Brower said the paper will be circulated throughout the school, which has more than 700 students enrolled.

One topic the young reporters will likely cover is the 30th anniversary of Bryan Elementary school, which is this year, said Brower.

“We’re starting to generate a list of people we can interview from the past,” Brower said.

For the newspaper project, she wants to bring in people to talk to the children about interviewing, writing and other aspects of newspaper work.

As always with Brower, the purpose of the project is to educate her students on a deeper level.

When asked what she wants students to take away from her and her class, Brower said she wants them to love learning.

“Learning is fun and it’s something you don’t outgrow,” she said. “I hope they see that in me.”

Brower’s life exemplifies a love of learning. She switched careers to become a teacher after working for 32 years on a family-owned dairy farm in Shelby County.

“I had to relearn things,” she said. “But even as a farmer I was interested in learning. You just never can stop. That’s what I want them to take from me.”

Brower is in her fourth year at Bryan Elementary School, teaching third grade until last year.

She previously taught third grade in Vestavia for five years.