On Nov. 10, 2021, Governor Ned Lamont and Connecticut Education Commissioner, Charlene Russell-Tucker, announced the launch of Voice4Change, an initiative designed to give high school students a voice in how American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary Schools Emergency Relief funds may be spent at their schools.
Granby Memorial High School was one of 77 schools across the state to opt-in to the Voice4Change initiative. Maeve Dingley (Class of 2022) and Kylie Coxon (Class of 2023) submitted proposals outlining how they would spend $20,000 to improve the student experience at GMHS.
Each of their proposals included innovative plans to improve family and community connections; support the social, emotional, and mental health of students; and create a safer and healthier school.
Kylie Coxon’s proposal aims to create a club called High School Here We Come, which would give an opportunity for high school students to mentor incoming grade 9 students. The club would help ease the transition into high school and would allow participants to work on building relationships and make new friends through participating in activities, crafts, and other bonding experiences.
Maeve Dingley’s proposal aims to restart and expand the initial Food for Thought snack pantry, which received positive feedback from students but was suspended due to COVID-19. The Food for Thought snack pantry aims to address food insecurity within the school so that students are able to focus on their classes. The proposal includes an innovative plan to create a food pantry at GMHS that supplies snacks and food items for students in need who may be at school for extended time periods, or who need a healthy snack to help them concentrate. In addition, this pantry could provide meal support for families over weekends and breaks.
Maeve and Kylie campaigned to secure votes for their proposals prior to a school-wide student vote on March 29. On April 8, Maeve and Kylie viewed a live stream event to hear the outcome of the Voice4Change initiative. In a surprising outcome, both students’ proposals received full funding.
Maeve’s Food for Thought proposal won the edge in the school vote, and Kylie was one of five students to receive a Commissioner’s Choice Award after her proposal was found to be “particularly innovative, creative, and worthy of funding on its own merit.” Kylie reflected on the news, saying, “I was in complete shock when I heard my name announced. I am so honored to have been recognized. I am hoping that with hard work, determination, and patience, my proposal will help smooth the transition from middle school to high school for incoming 9th graders.”
Maeve added that the process was a reminder to her to never give up. “We started small and just kept running into obstacle after obstacle. Throughout that time, we never lost our passion for helping others who need help, especially if they are a part of our community. The Voice4Change initiative was our last push for this idea to become a reality and having a winning proposal really makes all of the after school meetings, emails, and contacting other organizations all that much more worth it. The moment of finding out we had a winning proposal was for sure a full-circle moment for us. We had worked so hard on this project and this funding will be a huge help to get it up and running. We could not be more thankful and grateful for this opportunity.”
Principal Mike Dunn remarked, “We couldn’t be prouder of both Kylie and Maeve on this amazing opportunity for our Granby Bears. Through their compassion and dedication, both students have created projects which have already garnered support from students, and we look forward to the work ahead!”