Community Engagement COVID Style

The School’s Community Engagement Board (CEB) is not slowing down due to the pandemic of COVID-19; in fact, the CEB’s initiatives are continuing to grow via Zoom during these unprecedented times.

The CEB is where the majority of the School’s community engagement ideas stem from. The group is 32 members strong, and right now, they are stepping up and creating immense amounts of positive change for our community. 

Nancy Feidelman, the head of the CEB, is splitting the board into three sections to maximize productivity and to allow space for all ideas. The three sections are composed of political action, support services, and recourse distribution. All of the new and continued projects fall under those categories. Some of the larger ones that Ms. Feidelman emphasizes are the political action campaigns and voter registration. She says, “We have 45 students working at the poll stations, and we as a community are writing thousands of postcards for the upcoming elections.”  

Ms. Feidelman explains that throughout COVID-19, the CEB is continuing to work with their long-standing partners. For example,  the board is working with Achieve Academy to “run Zoom rooms and read with kindergarten students so we can help out the teachers.” 

The Community Engagement Board has also started various personal protective equipment (PPE) initiatives to help those on the frontlines during the pandemic. In fact, It Takes A Village, one of the largest PPE mask making initiatives in the East Bay, was started by the School’s parents and is student-driven. 

Amid COVID-19, the CEB has continued to help our community even with the massive barrier of social distancing. Senior and Project Leader Zoe Beach says, “Community engagement means collaborating with other people to serve your community; but now, we can’t do that because we have to practice social distancing.” 

Beach adds that “we have had to find creative ways to get involved with our community and encourage projects. Right now, people are starting more individualized projects which have been successful and have created many new opportunities for the CEB.” 

The Community Engagement Board is off to a great start in terms of providing numerous opportunities to help our community, and they are continuing to come up with new strategies to support everyone during this time of crisis. Together, the group of 32 is providing service for the pandemic, upcoming elections, wildfires, and the injustices that are prominent in our community.

The CEB is initiating positive and inspirational change, so ask yourself: what are you doing to generate the change that you wish to see in our community right now?