GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – Green Bay Area Public School District officials plan to hold talks to discuss safety concerns at one of its schools.
Communications Director Lori Blakeslee says the Thursday night meeting at East High, 1415 East Walnut Street, will be with community members who have expressed interest in bolstering community supports for the schools, particularly Washington Middle School.
“Some were individuals who actually are part of a community organization. Some were just individuals who perhaps were retired teachers who wanted to come in and share their ideas.”
She notes some of the topics that will be covered.
“How to make sure that people feel welcome and invited into our schools. What are some assets and programs in the community that could be provided to help our schools across the district.”
The discussion comes less than two months after former Washington Middle School sixth grade teacher Kirsten Westcott described unsafe conditions for students and staff when publicly submitting her resignation at June’s school board meeting.
Blakeslee adds “what are the community supports that would be available that would really have an impact within the Washington community? And district wide, we’re really kind of opening it up to ‘how do we as a community support our students?’”
Citing the need to have sufficient space and a proper number of facilitators for the meeting, Blakeslee asks anyone interested in attending to contact the district office ahead of time.
Depending on how Thursday’s meeting goes, Blakeslee says additional gatherings could be scheduled down the road.
The discussion is part of what the district is calling a ‘community outreach event,’ where Blakeslee says people can also learn about volunteer opportunities, particularly at Washington and its feeder schools.
“There are opportunities to work with Big Brothers, Big Sisters in being a mentor. They have a program where people can come in over the lunch hour and work with students. We have opportunities for people to read with students.”
Blakeslee says there will be a table for people to begin the process of undergoing a background check, which is required for all volunteers who spend time in the school.
The outreach event runs from 6-8 pm, with the community support discussion scheduled from 6:30-7:30 pm.
