What happens when a room full of school principals, businesses, faith leaders, public service officials and parents come together? Powerful student-centered connections.
On Oct. 12, Litchfield Elementary School District 79 presented a School Cafe. The meeting is the third of its kind for the district, said Superintendent Dr. Carter Davidson.
“Litchfield Elementary School District is high performing. We are an A-rated district and there are so many things that make us special and our communities awesome,” he said. “Today, we are doing the work for the future of our communities. Students will remember what happens from the work you’ve done today. They won’t care how their school is rated. They will care about how they feel and what you’ve done for their future.”
School Cafe is a brainstorming moment for principals to think through their dreams and goals for their school, said Tracey Beal, founder and CEO of School Connect, the nonprofit organization that works with school districts to build partnerships.
“No one organization can meet all the needs of our students,” she said. “We are raising our future together.”
Wigwam Creek Middle School Principal Sarah Rosenthal shared how a School Cafe meeting prompted donations and volunteers to help rehab an existing tortoise habitat on her campus. More than 100 people and 60 students came together on Love Our Schools Day to install vegetation, cut back overgrown brush and build a small pond.
Members of the school’s turtle club now care for the reptiles, but all students interact in some way with the land-based creatures. For example, students read to the turtles to practice literacy skills.
For Belen Soto Elementary School Principal Courtney Frazier, a previous School Cafe meeting was an opportunity to build Careers on Wheels, a career-exploration day for students in grades pre-k through fourth.
“We put a call out to the public to find volunteers,” Frazier said. “We were trying to think of something with a zero cost to us, that would have a big impact on students.”
Not only did students have an opportunity to sit in police cars and explore fire trucks, but they became window washers and farmers, too.
“For a lot of our kids, they are exposed to the careers of their parents, or grandparents or family friends,” Frazier said. Careers on Wheels gave them new opportunities to consider.
Ideas that came out of the Oct. 12 meeting included campaigns to increase attendance, provide mental health resources for families and teachers and a reading/career exploration event on Dr. Seuss Day.
“School Connect has played an important role in bringing people together, building meaningful relationships, and creating opportunities for schools, teachers and – most importantly – our students. We are grateful for the impact this work continues to have and help build our Litchfield Learners, creating a space where all can believe, belong and become,” said LESD79 Deputy Superintendent of Academic Success, Dr. Jennifer Benjamin.