GREEN BAY (NBC26) — Nicolet Elementary will be changed to include the word "Community".
One word, the district said will be make a big difference for the school and the surrounding neighborhood.
- The decision comes after a unanimous vote from the district's Board of Education on Monday.
- School leaders said the change is part of a nationwide initiativeto implement more community-focused programming in neighborhoods that have a need for it.
- Brown County United Way is the anchor partner for the community school.
- District staff tell me taxpayers will not be financially responsible for the rebranding and new programming since it will be solely grant-focused.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
"We've been preparing pretty much for the last three, four years," Lori MacArthur, the school's principal, said.
Preparation to serve the community in bigger way and under a new name.
"We're here, now we're just adding a lot of new things that we can help our families with," MacArthur said.
Nicolet Elementary School is now Nicolet Elementary Community School after a unanimous vote from the district's Board of Education on Monday.
School leaders said the change is part of a nationwide initiativeto implement more community-focused programming in neighborhoods that have a need for it.
"We're just a stepping stone for that in having all those things in place," MacArthur said.
MacArthur said having the "Community School" label will bring more funding for family-focused resources.
"A lot of our students last year, when we do the vision test, we were able to have Shopko Optical here and then we were able to get 90 students glasses," MacArthur said. "They got glasses for school and glasses for home."
Nicolet is now the second community school in the district after Howe Elementary was renamed in 2018. District staff said the name change and additional programming won't cost taxpayers a dime.
"Community Schools is really a way to lift up the community so that students are coming to school more available to learn," Amy Fish, GBAPS community partnerships & grants associate director, said.
Fish said majority of funding is provided through Brown County United Way, a nonprofit organization.
In January, the organization announcedit's dedicating $150,000 to the community school initiative for the 2024-25 school year.
"When kids are coming to school and their basic needs aren't met or perhaps parents need a little more support at home, this is a strategy to remove some of those barriers," Fish said.
In a memo sent to the school board, Fish and MacArthur added that the community will serve as a hub for students, families and neighbors.
"Ultimately, the goal is to have our students want to be here, want to learn and have a future, and that's the biggest thing, and letting families know that they're a part of what we do," MacArthur said.
School staff said they plan to add more before and after school programming for students and designate a room for community engagement events.
District staff said it's already assessing whether to add more community schools in the future.
