How would you spend 20,000 dollars to benefit the school?
That was the question that students a part of the Voice4Change committee were left to answer this past month.
The opportunity comes from the federal relief funds given towards the Connecticut Public Education system, uniquely giving students the ability to better their school first-hand.
“A first-of-its-kind statewide civic engagement initiative, Voice4Change empowers high school students to propose and vote on how more than $1.5 million in federal relief funds will be invested to reimagine Connecticut’s schools.” The official page on the state website read.
A member of the committee, sophomore Christian Olak, was eager to join when hearing about this meaningful opportunity.
“I decided to join the process because I really enjoy being involved in the happenings of the school and it looked like it would be fun.”
The group decided to spend the funds on two maker carts–a spin on the increasingly prevalent maker labs that are popular in high schools and universities around the country.
The current plan is to have one cart be art based and one stem based. They plan to have items such as cameras, 3D-Pens, and more. The STEM-based cart will likely have items such as 3D Printer(s) and arduinos.
“The maker carts were decided upon because we thought it would be a good and welcomed addition to the school and curriculum and we thought it would be the best choice to use the money for.”
Olak, despite being an underclassman, is one of the club leaders–a constraint made by grant organizers so that he can help oversee the implementation of grants in the following years and hopes for them to become a valued addition to RHHS.
“I think it would be really cool to see them implemented and used in the classrooms” he described. “To see them be used and think ‘I helped bring that here’ would be a really cool feeling.”
The proposal has been submitted and the group will find out later this spring if they received the funding which then can begin to be implemented in the 2022-2023 school year.