Students Leading Change

After the five lessons, they began the peer-led portion of the curriculum that challenges students to design a wellness project that directly impacts the school environment. In January, after returning from winter break, the seniors used brainstorming sessions to  narrow down ideas for their project; the right one had to be impactful, but also achievable.

One idea the whole class agreed upon was the need for accessible, healthy snacks in the classroom. The students explained that seniors at Saul have an early lunchtime and are often hungry by the time their third block of the day begins. Some teachers, like Ms. Gittelman, keep snack boxes in their classrooms with healthy options such as cereal bars, but the students identified that the need was much greater than the current options could fulfill.

The biggest challenge to the success of the project was finding funding to purchase healthy snacks for the senior classes. After considering several ideas, the group settled on a community bake sale to raise money. They created flyers to advertise the sale, partnered with the Student Government to increase participation, and planned to sell raffle tickets for larger prizes.

The sale was a success, earning Ms. Gittelman’s class a total of $380 to fund their project! Now that funding was secured, there were just a few more steps to complete the project. As of early May, the students were finalizing a survey so that their peers could have input on the types of snacks offered in the classrooms. Fresh fruit, granola, graham crackers, popcorn, and plantain and multigrain chips were all up for consideration. The students also took a moment to reflect upon their experiences with the DRAGON Project.