In any class, 99% is an A and worthy of celebration. And that’s certainly true at Shepherd Community Academy, where 99% of students demonstrated improvement on reading and math assessments in January.

To celebrate that achievement, the two students who showed the highest percentage of growth on the I-Ready Reading Diagnostic were crowned principal for a day.

“Principal” Marcelino Rangel, a fifth grader, achieved 292% of typical growth in a year. And “Principal” Antony Perez, a first grader, recorded 258% growth.

On Feb. 14, Marcelino led the school’s morning assembly, addressing 150 people on his own. He also answered email from teachers, monitored the lunchroom and even counseled fellow students.

“Marcelino’s thoughtful problem-solving skills stood out as he tackled teacher concerns with logic and practical solutions,” Dr. Bethany Morford, the academy’s principal, said. “However, he soon discovered that being a principal means being constantly interrupted. At one point, after receiving a particularly humorous email from a teacher, he sighed in exasperation and said, ‘Do they think I have time for this nonsense?’”

On Feb. 24, it was Antony’s turn to lead the school. He observed teachers in their classrooms and offered them feedback. He also helped a kindergarten student regulate his emotions by using deep-breathing techniques.

“This experience aligns with our school’s mission to empower students to be life-long learners and develop leadership skills in real-world settings,” Morford said. “The Shepherd community embraced their student leaders, bringing them real challenges to solve, questions to answer and problems to manage.”

Antony enjoyed being principal of the day so much that he hopes to do it again in the future.

“I want to help people all day,” he said.