Natalie Bandura, a Staples High School senior and student representative on the state Board of Education, welcomes students and government officials Monday to the “Voice4Change” program and asks students to become more involved in civic affairs.
Staples junior Jeffrey Pogue’s idea for the “Voice4Change” program is for Staples students get involved in an activism or charity fair to engage with other communities. / Photos by Gary Webster

By Gretchen Webster

WESTPORT — Staples High School became the first school in the state Monday to officially participate in the “Voice4Change” program, where students propose ways to use $20,000 from the American Rescue Plan Act.

To mark the occasion, federal, state and local officials, including Gov. Ned Lamont, were there to hear ideas from about 100 students.

Proposals for the Staples’ slice of federal COVID relief funding — officials called it the first of its kind nationally — ranged from enlarging the girls’ locker room at the school, to installing a solar panel over the students’ parking lot, to bringing students together in a correspondence program between Westport and less affluent towns, as well as about 10 other ideas. 

Students’ fear of school shootings was evident in two proposals — installing metal detectors at all of the high school’s outside doors and enhancing student ID cards to better screen people entering the building. 

Some students’ thoughts on the program were broader, including junior Anna Diorio’s concerns about economic disparity. “I’m so lucky and grateful to be in such a wonderful school as Staples and the Westport public school system, but I know a lot of other schools within Connecticut are not so fortunate to have the quality education we receive on a daily basis,” she said. 

“Is there any way that we are going to make it fair for all of the participating schools when it comes to crafting proposals?” she asked. “They may be at an unfair disadvantage.” 

Himes, Lamont address student concerns, encourage engagement

U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, D-4, addressed the issue of economic disparity between communities throughout the state, telling the students that projects developed at Staples could be piloted in Westport and then shared at other schools. “We might be able to extend this into the future,” he said. 

“What is our obligation as an affluent community? … It’s both a political and moral issue … what we pilot here may have even more of an impact in a community that is struggling,” Himes said.

After hearing a number of proposals, Lamont urged the students to “show us what works in Westport,” and to keep respecting each other through difficult times. 

Gov. Ned Lamont encourages Staples High School students on Monday to get engaged in their schools and communities through the new “Voice4Change” program. Looking on is state Sen. Will Haskell, a Staples graduate. / Photo by Gary Webster

“I was a little heartbroken,” he said. “We worked so hard to get everybody back in the school after what was a pretty complicated time …  and yet I heard about metal detectors and bomb threats and the mental stress that we’re going through. How [can we] make sure that … our schools are open, welcoming, supportive of the tremendous diversity of opinion, yet respectful of each other?”

Impetus for Westport’s inclusion in the project was attributed to the interest of state Sen. Will Haskell, D-26, in the Voice4Change project, according to Madison Csejka, assistant to the state’s deputy commissioner of education. Haskell, a 2014 graduate of Staples High School, helped sponsor Staples as one of the 77 Connecticut schools that will be participating in the program, she said. 

Students challenged: What works best at your school?

All students in those schools are invited to make proposals for use of the federal grants by Jan. 9, 2022, and to vote on the proposal they think would work the best at their respective schools. In March 2022, each school’s winning proposals will be announced. 

Haskell explained to the students that it’s not state or federal officials who will make the decisions on which proposals are accepted. “It’s your peers, and the ideas for each school will be evaluated individually by students in the schools. It’s hyperlocal,” he said. 

The project’s purpose is to give students a voice on how federal and local dollars are spent at their schools, said Haskell, who entered politics soon after his college graduation. 

Another important aspect of the program is to get students engaged in government and politics. “It makes sure they get into the habit of voting. When they turn 18 they will be ready and eager to participate in our democracy,” the state senator said.

State Sen. Will Haskell, D-26 and a Staples 2014 graduate, speaks with Staples teachers Cathy Schager and Rebecca Marsick, who helped organize the students making presentations at Monday’s meeting for use of the $20,000 federal grant. / Photo by Gary Webster

Student suggestions for Staples grant

Monday’s gathering was kicked off by Staples senior Natalie Bandura, a student representative on the state Board of Education. “There are unfortunately not too many young voices in politics,” she said. “I hope this encourages them. Young people can change the world.”

Some of the ideas presented at the meeting include:

  • An activism and charity fair where students pick projects to help other communities, by junior Jeffrey Pogue.
  • Making free “period products” available in the female restrooms at Staples, by junior Camille Kolek.
  • Enlarging the girls’ locker room, by seniors Amanda Rowen, and Jess Leon.
  • Introducing therapy dogs into the Staples mental health program, by junior Spencer Yim.
  • Adding metal detectors at the doors of the school, by senior Jack Eigen.
  • Improving student IDs to better protect the school population, by junior Lily Weisz.
  • Erecting solar panels over the student parking lot to help with energy costs, by junior Matthew Shackleford.
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