A Look Into West Side High Local Leaders
West Side High Local Leaders and their Faculty Advisor Mr. Deaver
Even with the circumstances steadily improving due to vaccine distribution and boosted immunities, school districts and their constituents are still being negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and a stalled supply chain.
Based in the food desert of Newark (NJ), West Side High School and their broader Newark School District, are facing these very same issues.
This year our West Side High Local Leaders decided to conduct a project regarding food insecurity, particularly on a school-level by focusing on improving their school meals, in which they found the following issues:
- Limited and inconsistent availability of bottled water
- Poor quality, (at times, indelible)
- Lack of fresh fruits and vegetables
- Lack of Halal options
- Lack of cultural representation
- Limited access to microwaves
These items of concern have caused many students to go without food or water, in which many students at West Side High rely on school meals as their only source of nutrition for the day.
By analyzing and understanding the Newark Board of Educations Wellness plan, our club members identified the public policy gap and identified the necessary steps to improve their school meals.
In addition, to gain a better understanding, club members worked with Dr. Tonya McGill, (the Executive Director of Food Services for the Newark Board of Education), to improve their school meals.
This collaborative effort culminated in the following achievements:
- Dr. McGill inviting West Side High to become a part of future school meal taste tests
- Having the head chef of the district’s Food Services to work with West Side High chefs to improve the quality of their school meals.
- Creation of a Nutritional Advisory Council, in which students, the school chef, and school manager are a part of.
- The establishment of a relationship with Dr. McGill and West Side High to provide more culturally representative meals to all.
- Inspiration for the establishment of another Local Leaders club at Central High
Hear From Our West Side High Local Leaders:
“My favorite part of being in Local Leaders are coming together with my peers to solve problems plaguing our community. As well as, giving me the opportunity to look at things from different perspectives. It showed me that everybody goes through their own challenges and that everybody needs help sometimes. ”
– Phillip
“I believe anyone who wants to see change in issues affecting their community should join the club. They will be able to talk to people with the same interests as them and it makes it so much fun and exciting to see things change for the better. Local Leaders has enabled us to see proper change in our school meals. It has helped us speak to high end officials in charge of food in our city and see progression in our school meals.”
– Ashley
