Grayslake students honored and outline priorities for middle‑school leadership projects
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Summary
Grayslake Middle School students were recognized by the CCSD 46 board for athletics and presented their Way of the Panther leadership priorities — No Place for Hate, career exploration and a community garden — describing survey results and near-term activities.
The Grayslake Community Consolidated School District 46 board opened its Jan. 28 meeting at Frederick School with student recognitions and a student leadership presentation.
Coach Everett introduced the Grayslake Middle School seventh‑grade girls basketball team and praised their 12–3 season and emphasis on teamwork. "I am so, so, so proud of this team," Coach Everett said as she named players and invited them forward for awards and a photograph with the board.
Students from the Way of the Panther leadership team then presented three priorities they will focus on this school year: No Place for Hate (anti‑bullying lessons and climate messaging), career exploration for eighth graders and a GMS community garden. Charley, one of the student presenters, summarized the group’s cadence and goals: "Since late September, we have met at least weekly... our team members are eager to find ways to make our school better," she said.
Presenters described a student climate survey that showed areas for improvement. According to the students’ presentation, only about 38% of the time did respondents report that joking about race, ethnicity, nationality or ability was not happening; roughly half reported that students were kind "about half the time," indicating room to improve school climate. Students outlined planned activities: ADL (Anti‑Defamation League) lessons, a guest speaker (Brian Williams at 10:40 a.m.), lunch‑and‑learn career sessions in partnership with Navigate Lake County and staged steps for the community garden (site visits, raised beds and plans to coordinate donated produce with local food pantries).
Board members praised the students’ work and thanked teachers and staff who supported the effort. Several trustees volunteered to participate in proposed summer service days to help establish the garden. Superintendent Dr. Glickman and board members encouraged student presenters to continue the work and thanked them for their leadership.
The board expressed particular appreciation for the team’s use of data: "I'm really interested in the survey that you did with students," Trustee Hume said, noting the value of measuring progress. The presentation closed with a pledge to follow updates from the student leaders at future meetings.