Writing
NIL News Story
Project for the IU course, Story Lab (C250) that focused on developing students' journalistic writing and interviewing skills.
March 2024​
Watertown Blog Post
Writing piece for communications internship with CS Effect.
July 2024​
Watertown Public Schools use student suggestions to open salad bar
Watertown Public Schools accomplished several goals for its nutrition program after receiving a Healthy Meals Incentive Recognition Award grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has been working with the nonprofit Action for Healthy Kids (AFHK) to improve food security for school children. Watertown Public Schools have been doing their part by providing healthy and safe meals that fit students' requests.
AFHK gives Healthy Meal Incentive (HMI) Awards to those school districts dedicated to bettering their meal programs and increasing nutrition education.
The district's Food Service Director, Emily Doering said a few Watertown High School students expressed interest in having a salad bar in the cafeteria. Doering and the nutrition team used their HMI grant to source food, get equipment, and hire staff members to oversee the new station.
The salad bar was successfully launched at the high school on January 8, 2024.
“Our salad station is completely customizable, giving students the opportunity to build healthy habits and express creativity all in the same effort.”
She reported that approximately 25% of students are choosing a salad for their meal every lunch.
“When we launched it, we had such overwhelming positive feedback. It has become one of our most popular meal stations,” said Doering.
The team plans to continue using student suggestions to shape the salad bar; they have a survey with a QR code for students to give feedback and report their favorite menu items.
Students are also encouraged to learn about healthy eating through gardening.
The high school started a small garden during the 2022-23 school year. Although the initial yield was small, the HMI grant supplied resources to improve the garden. This spring, students taking an agriculture course planted lettuce which was then used in the salad bar.
The district's nutrition educator, Julia D'Amelio, works to improve wellness policies, conduct taste tests with students, and promote nutrition in the classroom. She and the team arranged for these same students to visit a local farm that the cafeteria routinely purchases from.
“This was a really exciting, multi-disciplinary project in Watertown and we are excited to build upon this success next school year," said Doering.