Shorewood News NEW VAPING POLICY
District partners with American Heart Association to educate and inform students and families E-cigarettes have become the most common form of tobacco consumption among high school students, and Shorewood High School Principal Tim Kenney is taking action to help inform students and families of the risks. “The 2023-24 school year represents a significant shift in our School District policy when it comes to tobacco use among our student body and how we can better educate them about the dangers,” Kenney says. As part of a four-month partnership Kenney has forged with the American Heart Association,
SHS now has updated language in the school and athletic codes of conduct that align with the AHA’s Tobacco-Free School Toolkit. “The new language now includes an allencompassing definition of the different tobacco products on the market and also makes any student violation a non-suspendable offense,” Kenney explains. The intervention not only affects the students in school, but will involve parents and caregivers at every level in a non-punitive way. “As educators we remain committed to serving the needs of our District’s nearly two thousand students,” Kenney says. “With our partnership with the American Heart Association, we will continue to work toward ending tobacco use across the board.” Submitted photo
UW-Madison students during a recent visit to Shorewood for their UniverCity Year project.
UW-Madison Students
TACKLE VILLAGE CHALLENGES
Shorewood was selected last year to participate in UniverCity Year, a three-year program that partners college and graduate students from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with municipalities around the state to tackle projects of the community’s choosing. The students are conducting research into three Shorewood issues, each one dovetailing with the students’ own coursework. Areas of focus include conducting a feasibility study on the electrification of the Shorewood Police Department’s automotive fleet; assisting in the development of historic preservation strategy aimed at protecting Shorewood’s unique housing stock; and reviewing the Village’s communications strategy. 4 SHOREWOOD TODAY WINTER 2023
The students will propose solutions and then collaborate with community leaders to implement them. “For the students, this is a realworld project that is a feather in their cap when it comes time to build their resumes,” says Assistant Village Manager Chris Anderson. “For the Village, it’s a great way to get some fresh eyes and creative solutions on issues that we’ve long wanted to investigate more fully.” The UniverCity Year Program touts its ability to bring new solutions to what seem like intractable community problems. Each of the 20 municipalities that have participated in the program since 2016 are asked to cover some of the costs, and Shorewood will pay approximately $25,000 over the course of three years to support the work, “primarily, to have some skin in the game,” Anderson says. Students have bi-weekly check-ins with their assigned managers to provide updates on their progress and professors oversee their work throughout the project. Implementation of the projects’ recommendations will wrap up in the summer of 2025.
Voting Returns to SHS in April Beginning with the April 2, 2024 election, voters in wards 5 through 8 will resume voting at the Shorewood High School North Gym. These voters were temporarily redirected to the Village Center polling location beginning in 2020, due to renovations taking place at the high school. Voters in wards 1 though 4 will continue to vote at the Village Center. All Shorewood polling locations will be open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day.
Shorewood School District Welcomes New Communications Specialist Maria Campbell has joined the Shorewood School District as its new communications specialist. With a background in public relations, freelance writing and photography, she brings several years of agency and entrepreneurial experience to the District team. Along with her communications pedigree, Campbell served for 20 years in the Air National Guard at the 128th Air Refueling Wing in Milwaukee. She looks forward to working with the students, educators and staff members in Shorewood to share the diverse stories and the great things happening within the Shorewood schools.
