Every two weeks, the ICCSD school board meets to discuss the district’s policies and receive updates from the schools. This is where they announce staffing changes, building renovations and policy updates.

The Dec. 13 meeting started with a group of eight students from Lincoln Elementary. Their teacher, Chelsea Dallman, had just finished teaching a unit on sustainability and the importance of reducing plastic use. Several of her students came to the school board meeting to share their ideas on how to reduce plastic waste in their school cafeteria. They proposed having a no-plastic day once a month, having large plates of self-serve vegetables instead of pre-packaged in plastic bags, using metal or biodegradable silverware instead of disposable plastic, always using reusable trays instead of those that can be thrown away, using a large dispenser for condiments instead of individual packets or composting.

Also announced at this meeting was the money that was collected during “Run for the Schools”, an annual fundraiser. This year, nearly $4,000 was raised. This money will be given to district schools based on their participation in the event. Next year, “Run for the Schools” will take place on Oct. 29.

The school board also presented an overview of the NEST and SPACE, mental health resources that started at City High and have been brought to every other secondary school in the district. Every time a student goes to the NESTT (Navigating Emotions and Stress Through Training) or SPACE (Student Prevention, Access, Connection, Engagement), they fill out a questionnaire with optional questions asking their grade, gender, race and how they are feeling. 

The school board went over this data, which showed that seventh graders and freshmen use this resource more often than other grade levels. They speculated this was because of the stressful transition from elementary school to junior high and from junior high to high school. The school board hopes to be able to use this information to work on solutions for making this transition less stressful for students.