4635-17 Commending and Honoring the 7th grade students of Navarre Intermediate Center

Home Browse Search

sou•rn a 1 11,I s RESOLUTION NO. 4635-17 A RESOLUTION OF THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SOUTH BEND, INDIANA, PUBLICLY COMMENDING AND HONORING THE 7TH GRADE STUDENTS OF NAVARRRE INTERMEDIATE CENTER ON A SUCCESSFUL CAMPAIGN TO ADVANCE EQUALITY AND PROMOTE HEALTHY FOOD OPTIONS FOR ALL STUDENTS IN THE SOUTH BEND COMMUNITY SCHOOL CORPORATION Qk"America lives its values of"justice for all" through the ongoing struggle for equality. For, not long ago "Separate but equal" was the law in the United States and mandated that facilities and services (such as housing,medical care,education,employment,and transportation)be segregated by race.However, separate facilities provided to African Americans were rarely equal or did not exist at all; and 6ACmm, last week, we celebrated the 63`d anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, the landmark Supreme Court case which declared that separate public schools for black and white students are unconstitutional, and yet we know that racism and discrimination still exist in American schools today; and our challenge is to recognize, resist, and reform the subtle and sometimes not so subtle manifestations of inequity; and Ge z, the demographics of schools in South Bend show de facto segregation- students of color make up 69% of the South Bend Community School Corporation but 95% of the students at Navarre-national data indicates that schools made up of mostly children of color operate with fewer resources limiting the students' access to educational opportunities including healthy food choices in school lunches; and 6)6"like most children attending schools in low income neighborhoods,many Navarre students live in a "food desert" where children don't have access to fresh produce and depend on healthy food choices being offered at the schools;and G Cpm, Navarre Intermediate 7`'grade students learned about peaceful protests in their study of the Civil Rights Movement and were inspired to apply what they learned by taking action to advance equality in their own lives. Recognizing that good nutrition is important for physical and mental development, they organized to get a salad bar and a fruit bar,which were provided in other schools as part of the school lunch options;and 6A,"A progress rarely comes without struggle, every student in 7th grade signed a petition, and for an entire week,students brought their lunch or chose not to eat. When met with the resistance of bureaucracy and red tape,students worked together—with the help of some of their teachers—to analyze and overcome barriers; and G*;Ya the Director of Food and Nutrition and the Superintendent of the South Bend School Corporation contacted the students.The principal convened a Town Hall and ever so eloquently, five students,Kae Juan Grimes, Chase Shabazz,Willietia Halbert,Trinity Robertson, and Tey'anna Lyons spoke out. GfiCre, the school corporation granted their request by opening the salad bar for the entire school on April 13, 2017, and thanks to the perseverance and commitment of the 7`s grade students, all the children at Navarre Intermediate Center now enjoy the benefit of fresh produce as part of their daily meal. a, a. dyv, N,�oulli �'artd t-o-nazanal, a� Section I. The Common Council of the City of South Bend, Indiana, publicly honors and congratulates the Navarre Intermediate Center 7`'grade student body for a successful campaign to advance equality and ensure that school lunches provide healthy food choices to all students throughout the South