October brings spooky season to WPS, and with it, the district’s bi-annual Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) meetings and walkthroughs at all eight schools.
The district's commitment to clean, healthy schools includes adhering to the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) "Tools for Schools (TFS)" program. Connecticut Laws ensure the use of Green Seal-Certified cleaning products in public schools and having an IAQ management plan, which in Westport is the TFS program.
Managed by JoAnn Inserra, WPS TFS Coordinator, new team members are trained each year to conduct bi-annual meetings and walkthroughs at all WPS schools. In recent years, however, Inserra found that the EPA training kit VHS training video felt as outdated as, well, VHS tapes.
"In my role as coordinator of the program," said Inserra, "I help to ensure consistency throughout all the WPS buildings and sustainability of the program. Along with accurate record keeping, good communication is key."
Enter a partnership with Tyler Rockwell, Staples High School '24 and current NYU freshman film student. Rockwell seized the opportunity last year to work closely with Inserra to create an engaging 9-minute video, condensing 8 hours of footage shot at Kings Highway Elementary and Bedford Middle schools. He reflects:
"In making any kind of video, whether it's for the school, commercial, narrative, whatever, you should put yourself out there and get it done. The product you make might not be perfect, but the experience you gain will be."
Rockwell credits Staples' theater program for honing his production skills, reminding us that success is built step-by-step. He adds:
"Seeing that final product and knowing all of the work that went into it brings a great deal of pride and accomplishment and that’s only possible if you put yourself out there and create those opportunities for yourself, instead of waiting for them to come to you."
Tyler credits his time participating in Staples' theater program for his ability to smoothly run this production, noting that it gave him discipline, leadership skills, the ability to remain calm under pressure, and the connections to form a crew.
The partnership and team effort across the faculty and students that jumped in to participate paid off. In addition to an engaging, informative video for the district, the EPA is featuring it on its Indoor Air Quality Champion section and may include it in an upcoming newsletter.
For Rockwell, his creative "tricks" yielded quite a "treat." This October, watch his video and learn about the fall evaluation - it's sure to be more treat than trick!