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 Nichol Schoen of UW-La Crosse and Siraya Chew of St. Norbert College complete an
Edgar Allan Poe Mural at Theisen Middle School in Fond du Lac as part of the Student WEA's annual Outreach to Teach event.
By Terry Lawler
OnWEAC contributing writer The financially struggling Fond du Lac School District got a "real shot in the arm" April 14-15, 2007, when more than 200 Student WEA members converged on the district to help clean up, dress up, spruce up and fix up three of the district's schools as part of the group's annual Outreach to Teach volunteer event. Front
Lines
by
Terry Lawler | The "shot in the arm" quote came from Julie Gruening, a media secretary at Roberts Elementary School, which was one of the schools that reaped the benefits of the project, which is designed in part to focus attention on the harm caused to schools by 14 years of school district revenue caps. “One million dollars was cut from our budget this year," Gruening said. "Next year it will be $1.5 million. It's disheartening, but this weekend's influx of young people with all of their energy has gotten us really excited.” Jim Botting, principal of Evans Elementary School, was also elated by the hard work and enthusiasm of the students that descended on his building. “My operating budget has been frozen since 1993," Botting said. "These young people are adding those extra touches that are very hard for us to do; they're cataloging 10,000 library books for our accelerated reader program. I think they're incredible. I know there are many other things they could be doing on a beautiful weekend, but they're spending their time with us. They're doers. They don't talk about what needs to be done, they do it.” Dana Schwabenlander, this year's student coordinator for Outreach, said more than 200 education majors from all over the state were involved. Student WEA is made up of students at colleges and universities throughout the state studying for careers in education. “All of our members are really excited; everyone gets really pumped up for this. This year, as in last year's event, we had to turn student members away,” she said. Schwabenlander insists that the students who participate in Outreach are making a strong political statement. “We're excited that we can make a statement about school funding, that revenue controls are impacting schools in a negative way. Fond du Lac has been hit hard and lost several teachers,” she said. While Schwabenlander acknowledges that the volunteers get excited over the “Extreme Makeover aspect of the project,” they also “discover the truth: we're here because of the issues, the politics. As teachers, our job is not just to teach our students, but to advocate for our students. And we must advocate for our profession.” Although the underlying reasons for Outreach are serious, the volunteers take full advantage of the social and networking opportunities that present themselves. Nichol Schoen, a UW-La Crosse senior, participated in her second outreach, painting a mural at Theisen Middle School. “I loved being involved last year. This year I was given an opportunity to be on the Mural Committee, and I'm the project lead for this Edgar Allen Poe mural. It's a great experience to be able to give back to communities,” Schoen said. Theisen Middle School Principal Kim Pahlow appreciated what was being done for the building and admired the character of the volunteers. “As far as the future of education is concerned, we're in good hands. I told the students yesterday that they should never doubt the career they have chosen,” Pahlow said. Pahlow said her students and staff would be very excited when they came into school on Monday. “In fact, five of our pupils are working with the college students," she said. "Ted Eischeid, our science teacher who coordinated this weekend's work at our building, invited them to participate.” Ann Secord, the president of Evans Elementary School's parent-teacher organization, spent Sunday working with the students, as did her son, Alex. “Everything looks so clean and neat," Secord said. "My children are excited. I think it's wonderful, but I wish we could do more. There have been so many cuts in teachers; they keep cutting and cutting. I don't think enough parents are aware of the seriousness of the situation. They should see what teachers do.” Alex Secord, whose ambition is to be a farmer, thought the projects were terrific. “I think it makes the place look funner. It looked pretty dull here before. It's fun working with the college kids,” he said. Many of the college students decided to participate because of what they had heard about the event. “This is my first time here,” said Kellie Lutz, a student at Edgewood College. “A lot of my friends who came last year told me how much they liked helping.” Michelle Erickson, a senior at UW-Platteville, noted, “Platteville students are very glad to be here. We started our chapter of Student WEA just this year.” The Student WEA volunteers acknowledged that they had to make some sacrifices. “A lot of us are in our practicums, in our field studies. Some of us are getting ready for final exams. It's a good sacrifice, though,” said Katie Hoffman, president of the UW-Whitewater chapter of Student WEA Many districts are not aware that they can apply for Outreach To Teach. Viv Chan, a 5th-grade teacher at Evans Elementary and the person responsible for Fond du Lac's petition to participate in this year's event, said, “Many of our teachers did not know of this opportunity. Now our building looks so bright and cheery. Our students will be wild with enthusiasm on Monday. "These young people are a credit to our profession.” • • • "Heaven on Earth" The week after Student WEA members completed their work at three Fond du Lac schools, Evans Elementary School teacher Viv Chan e-mailed project leaders with the following thank you note: This week has just been like heaven on Earth. I want to thank you ever so much for all the time, effort, patience, love, and passion that you have put into making our school district and my home away from home a better and more enjoyable place to be. You can't begin to imagine the awesome looks of gratitude that were on the children's faces Monday morning when they arrived. In fact several of my 5th graders stayed after school and I toured the building with them. A few people can make a big difference! You are the few that have and will continue to do so. With future teachers like you coming into education, I know that the future is indeed bright. Here are some of the things that the students said on Monday morning- - These comments from teachers:"This is so exciting. I love it!" "I can't believe what a difference a little bit of color makes." "I love the quotes, especially the ones in the hall." "Have you seen the map in Mrs. Nehls room, yet?" "What a difference the murals make in the cafeteria!" "I love it, it changes the whole atmosphere of the room!"
- This comment from a primary student looking at the yellow wall: "That's as bright as a school bus. Wow!"
- This comment from an intermediate student looking at the yellow wall with a green chalkboard: "This reminds me of the Packers, and I love the Packers."
- This comment from a primary student looking at the nature center: "The nature center has gotten a hair cut!"
- This comment from a primary student looking at the painted wall in the K room: "Mrs. Trent, there's an alphabet painted on the wall in the bathroom!"
- This comment from a primary student looking at the orange wall: "Mrs. Kotnick, that makes our room a nice place and I want to stay here."
- This comment from an intermediate student looking at the states wall: "Mrs. Chan, how many times are the states repeated?"
- These comments from parents: "Thank you for allowing me to help. The school looks fantastic!" "I am so proud to know that these young people are our future teachers." "What a difference it makes" "Evans was always neat, this makes it outstanding" "The bright walls in the classrooms were wonderful to see!" "Mrs. Kotnick's 'clay' colored wall gave me an initial feeling of calm and peacefulness. It reminded me of a desert." "The painted quotes are great! I especially like the one in Ms. Chan's room"
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! You have made a huge difference! Posted May 1, 2007 |