Opinion Writing Turns Into Advocacy at Balmville School

Fourth-grade scholars in Ms. Rayford’s class were learning about opinion writing when one student, Innvy Franklyn, decided to take it a step further.

During Innvy’s lunch period, she approached Mrs. Beckett about her concerns regarding the school lunch. Mrs. Beckett encouraged Innvy to take action.

The next morning, Innvy brought in a letter stating her opinion. Mrs. Beckett reached out to Ms. Consani and Ms. Schade from the food services department. Ms. Consani and Ms. Schade spoke to the students, explained the guidelines, and encouraged them to express their opinions.

They also took the time to explain to the students why differences exist between the elementary, middle and high school level lunches. All students’ voices were heard by Ms. Consani and Ms. Schade. Together, they came up with some solutions and agreed to continue the discussion.

A special thank you to Ms. Consani, Ms. Schade, Ms. Wood and Mrs. Beckett, for taking the time to educate students on the lunch guidelines, listening patiently as students made suggestions, and empowering them to respectfully speak up.

Photos from the discussion can be found by clicking this link. 

Story and photos submitted by Mrs. Rayford.

ATTENTION: Are your scholars or colleagues doing something great? Please contact the district Communications Team at communications@necsd.net. We’d love to visit your class or event and/or post your pictures and recap to highlight the amazing accomplishments throughout our district!