Photos: Brown student-athletes cheer on Vartan Gregorian Elementary students for first day of school

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] - As Vartan Gregorian Elementary School students marched into their classrooms for the first day of school in Providence's Fox Point neighborhood on Tuesday, Sept. 3, they were met with a wave of excitement and cheer.

Roughly 60 student-athletes and coaches from Brown University lined the walkways leading to the front doors to form a welcoming parade, cheering and applauding as the kids entered for the start of the new school year. As kids made their way through the line, the student-athletes greeted each one with wide smiles, clapping, cheers, encouraging words and outstretched hands ready for high-fives and fist bumps.

The roaring welcome from Brown Athletics created a joyful and uplifting atmosphere, setting a positive tone for the start of the school day, said Principal Matthew Brown.

"We're excited to have the Brown athletes here to cheer on our kids and welcome them to school," he said. "It's a warm and inviting welcome for our students and adds to the excitement on the first day."

Brown's partnership with Vartan Gregorian Elementary School (which is named in recognition of Brown's president emeritus) began in the early 1990s when student-athletes at the University started visiting kids throughout the year to serve as tutors, mentors and role models. Each classroom at the school has a designated team who visits the classroom and volunteers to help the students. Three decades later, the tradition continues alongside other collaborative efforts. In Fall 2022, an innovative new hands-on learning space opened at the Providence elementary school, built with financial support and partnership from Brown. Faculty, staff and students from the University also contribute curriculum and events for the K-5 school, including neuroscience lessons during Brain Week Rhode Island and hands-on learning activities focused on sustainability for Earth Day.

As he begins his second year at the Fox Point elementary school, which serves around 300 students, Matthew Brown said he is grateful for the long-standing partnership with the University.

"Our partnership with Brown not only creates a welcoming atmosphere for our students on the first day of school, but also provides them with inspiring mentors throughout the year," the principal said. "We're excited to welcome the athletes as classroom volunteers again this fall. Having these athletes as role models in our classrooms is incredibly powerful; our kids look up to them and aspire to be like them. We're excited for a great year ahead."