Future teachers roll up sleeves for Fond du Lac schools
by Dana Schwabenlander
Student WEA State Secretary
Outreach to Teach Coordinator

This April, over 200 student members of the Student Wisconsin Education Association (Student WEA) from public and private colleges and universities from around the state, joined forces to give the Fond du Lac School District a spring face lift during the Student WEA 9th Annual Outreach to Teach event. This year�s Student WEA Outreach to Teach Coordinator, Dana Schwabenlander, a senior at UW-Madison, worked closely with WEAC staff; Fond du Lac teachers, administrators, and staff; along with various members of the Association to plan and coordinate the 62+ projects. Projects completed over the course of the 24 hours were spread across 5 locations including Roberts Elementary School, Evans Elementary School, Theisen Middle School, Goodrich Nature Center, and Fruth Field. Projects included rejuvenating 2 nature centers, organizing and labeling materials, building a mobile concession stand and painting 20+ accent walls and several murals.

The Annual Outreach to Teach event is a means to educate student members as well as the community about the negative impact of state imposed revenue controls on school districts around the state. With increasing budget cuts, important programs, staff, as well as school maintenance are continually being cut. This project allowed students, current teachers, members of WEAC Retired, education support professionals and members of the community, including carpenters from the Fond du Lac Carpenters Union, to network and work together to complete projects to improve the learning environment for students in Fond du Lac. This annual event is always a great excitement for student members because of the direct means of helping a school district and the amount of networking opportunities available. Becca Patenaude, a UW-Madison Senior and President of the UW-Madison Student WEA Chapter stated, �The support from the school district and community has been amazing. There are union leaders, custodians, parents, and teachers all here helping us make Outreach a success.�

For a video overview of the several projects completed during the event, check out the video on the Student WEA website.



Related article:
OnWEAC Press Release
May 2007
http://www.weac.org/GreatSchools/2006-07/may07/outreach.htm