The “peace garden” was designed by the Youth Empowerment Project (YEP) at Hazard High School that was started this year to “develop advocacy skills in youth, empower youth to be change agents for their community and implement a program of real-world experiences… and then implement plans to improve behavioral risk factors among their peers,” according to a presentation given by four members of the all-girl YEP.
One of the people behind YEP, Helen Wicker, said she specifically focuses on freshmen girls for this project so she could continue to work with them through graduation.
“This is only the beginning,” Wicker said during a presentation given to the Board. “This gives us four years to actually make an impact.”
The girls in the project have spent the year working together toward achieving a common goal through various activities within HHS and their community.
They have met with leaders from Hazard and the surrounding communities, like Denny Ray Noble, Fitz Steele and Gerry Roll, so they could learn from these leaders ways in which to implement their common goals within the community.
Building a peace carden is what the group finally decided they wanted to do.
“We want to decorate the school a little bit,” said YEP member Lindsey Branson. “Hopefully students will realize that this is pretty, and won’t ruin it.”
The group has received funding through donations and grants, including a $5,000 scholarship from the Cmmunity Foundation of Hazard/Perry County.
With the money, they started a smoking cessation class which just graduated 42 students.
Through student surveys and various activities, the YEP found that improving the landscape of their school grounds would be very beneficial to other students by giving them a place to go to “get away from it all.”
The students hope to start building their peace garden, aptly shaped like a peace sign, in early May. The project was approved by the Board of Education unanimously.
Other items approved during the meeting were activity reports for all Hazard Independent Schools and the financial report, which saw an approximately $45,000 reduction from March because of a nearly $30,000 cut in transportation funding.
Board members also approved an amended calendar for the school system which makes May 26 the last day for students.
Also approved was the summer feeding program which will provided free breakfast and lunch throughout the summer for any student within the Hazard Independent School system who is 18 and younger
Finally, Superintendent Sandra Johnson mentioned that a private donor is giving the Blessings in a Backpack program $20,000 to continue to provide food in a backpack for certain students to take home with them on weekends. These students are those with free or reduced lunches and have been given permission by their parents to participate in the program, Johnson said.
“The kids look forward to it (receiving their backpack),” Johnson said. “Come Friday, they want to know where their backpacks are.”
Johnson also lamented the failure of the Kentucky state budget to pass, saying that it leaves the school system in limbo in regard to allocating site-based funds.
She said for now, the budgets for this year would be determined based upon last year’s numbers because that money has to allocated by May 1.
“That’s all we can do at this time,” Johnson said.
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