Niagara High School Join’s Youth ROC

Students at Niagara High School are troubled by the lack of funding for Northern schools and they have decided to fight back. Young people in the small community of Niagara are aware that teachers are being let go and course choices are disappearing. They know this is happening because there is not enough state financial aid for small rural districts. Rural students are then denied educational opportunities that larger, more affluent districts can afford. So Niagara students have joined Youth ROC to fight for changes in the way school are funded. They are the first rural chapter in ROC and their effort received major coverage in the Niagara Journal on December 8th, 2004.

Niagara students Jared Blayne, Erin Sparapani and Jacob Broullire are interviewed by Hank Murphy of the Niagara Journal after deciding to join Youth Roc.

Niagara students are primarily frustrated by the lack of course electives.

“Our school’s core curriculum is great. We have excellent teachers. But we don’t have the same opportunities as students in other districts because our school offers a very small number of electives,” said Lexie Weber a sophomore at Niagara.

Senior Erin Sparapani agreed saying, “Having more course electives would broaden our career possibilities in the future.”

Overall the students at Niagara feel they are receiving a quality education because they have small class sizes and personal relationships with their teachers. This is the most important factor for Niagara’ young people because it fosters a sense of community and family not found in larger districts.

“Just like we want to be able to participate in more extracurricular activities and have more electives like bigger more wealthy districts, we think it is import for students at other schools to have small enough classes so that they get to know their teachers. That’s the benefit of a rural school and all students deserve that closeness,” said senior Jackie Hehn.

The Niagara students are now administering the What’s Going Down in Our Schools student survey and will compile the results into a report in February. The district youth are also planning to do an exchange with students from Milwaukee Public Schools in March and attend the Statewide Youth Leadership Summit on Public Education in April.

For more information about how to join Youth ROC contact Jennifer Epps at 414-384-9094.

Learn more about Youth ROC or request a school funding presentation

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