Nicolet Elementary requests to add ‘Community School’ to name

GREEN BAY – During the Feb. 10 Green Bay Area Public Schools (GBAPS) Board of Education meeting, Nicolet Elementary staff petitioned the board to rename the school “Nicolet Elementary Community School.”

“A Community School is a neighborhood hub that supports students, families and neighbors by providing access to community support such as academic, emotional, health and social services. It is an evidence-based strategy, recognized by DPI as an approved strategy to increase academic outcomes,” a memo from Associate Director of Community Partnerships and Grants Amy Fish and Principal Lori McArthur stated.

GBAPS Board Member Brian called the Community Schools initiative a “national movement.”

“The real great work that you’re doing is making those connections within our community to meet students on a different level,” he added, “and I’m looking at the National Education Association (NEA)’s website, where they’re talking about community schools, and it is an in-depth process.

“[The] Community Schools’ focus is on what students need in the community — truly need to succeed — and that you’re taking on the challenges of developing a deep understanding of the hopes and visions of the students, staff and families and community members, and pulling together those teams to get to the root causes of the challenges.

“So, when we’re looking at these Community School models, and we’re partnering with different organizations and looking at the six pillars that are out there, this isn’t a Green Bay idea, this is a national movement that has taken place throughout the country.

“So, the fact that we can participate in that and really dig into those social issues and making sure our students are getting the needs met that they have is fantastic.”

Fish said that this is not the first GBAPS facility to take on the initiative.

“I’m going to start by backing us up to 2018 when Howe became Howe Elementary Community School, and it was identified as the flagship community school within Green Bay Area Public Schools, meaning that we were going to learn from this flagship; and hopefully when the time was right grow,” she said.

“So in 2021, Nicolet started to learn alongside of Howe Elementary School what it meant to be a community school, diving into the strategy; and two and a half years ago, our Brown County United Way anchor partner had its first investment into the community school strategy. Since then, in August, through Fund 80, we were able to hire Nicolet’s first Community Schools Resource Coordinator, Megan [Christel], and the work of Community Schools is becoming alive at Nicolet.”

Fish said that they were requesting for the new name to reflect the work that is being done at the school.

“What we’re hoping to do with our United funds that we’ve gotten, so far right now, is to do some signage; if we’re approved, to change the outside signage,” McArthur added, “and then… to be able to acknowledge that we have a community room.

“Along with that, we would like to make it more bright and colorful for kids, because we know that we want them to belong there and that this is where they want to be, to inspire and to work together. So, we’re looking at doing some signage in the inside of our building, along with hopefully artists coming in and doing a little work for us to kind of create our ‘together is better’ and (highlight) what we offer for the kids at Nicolet. So, we’d like to do a lot of that work.”

The renaming of the school will be voted on at the next GBAPS board meeting.