On, Saturday, April 26, 2014, Mrs. Bernardine Bryant, a loved and respected math teacher at ERHS, passed away after a short battle with cancer.

Mrs. Bryant taught at Roosevelt for more than 10 years and was a teacher for 44 years. Before coming to ERHS, Mrs. Bryant taught at Martin Luther King Middle School.

Students and staff alike said they remember Mrs. Bryant fondly, and are deeply saddened by her passing.

Junior Nematou Jawara, who was in Mrs. Bryant’s Algebra 2/Trigonometry class this year, said she was shocked and devastated by her death.

She “always tried her best to be in class so we could learn, and she was a very good teacher”, said Jawara. “I admired her determination and passion.”

Principal Reginald McNeill said that “Mrs. Bryant was a true professional, in every measure of the way”. She was “passionate about what she did and … did whatever it took to make students be successful.”

According to both Mr. McNeill and math department head Ms. Laura Brewer-Heilig, Mrs. Bryant had a “no-nonsense way of teaching”, and was very passionate about her job.

This year, Mrs. Bryant continued to teach passionately despite her illness.

Mrs. Bryant “did not let her students or the department know how much she was hurting because this job meant so much to her that she wanted to keep trying to come every day” said Ms. Brewer-Heilig.

Ms. Brewer-Heilig said Mrs. Bryant’s “sense of humor was one of her best qualities. Many of the [teachers in the math department] ate lunch together every day, and she would always have comical stories that kept [their] spirits high.”

Mrs. Bryant “had respect for her students and they in turn respected her”, said Ms. Brewer-Heilig. “She was a lovingly tough teacher”.

After Mrs. Bryant’s passing, her students had the opportunity to write letters of condolence to her family. According to Ms. Brewer-Heilig, it was obvious from these letters that Mrs. Bryant had “a mighty impact on many students’ lives. A common theme in the remarks that her students made about her to her family included that she was always smiling [and] that she cared deeply about her students.”

The math department and Principal McNeill are working very hard to keep the school going in the face of this tragedy by taking over Mrs. Bryant’s classes and supplying meaningful work so the students do not lose pace.

“This has been very difficult situation, but we know she’s not struggling anymore, and that gives us peace”, said Ms. Brewer-Heilig.

A Celebration of Life for Mrs. Bryant was held on Tuesday, May 6^th at The People’s Community Baptist Church in Silver Spring, MD.

Mrs. Bryant will be greatly missed by her husband, children, grandchildren, and ERHS students and teachers.