Fishers High School students show their character for Day of Service

By AMY ADAMS
For The REPORTER

If you were out and about in Fishers last Friday, April 28, you may have noticed a sea of people in red T-shirts cleaning up parks or painting fire hydrants.

Fishers High School (FHS) held its first ever Day of Service with nearly 4,000 students and staff participating in service projects that benefit the people of Fishers, Hamilton County, and the greater Indianapolis area.

“The genesis of this was a student leadership retreat we do at Conner Prairie,” said FHS Assistant Principal Kyle Goodwin. “We challenged them to really think about our motto: Have Pride, Show Character, Build Tradition.”

One of the ideas that the student representatives came up with as a way to involve students in the community was a school-wide day of service. The teachers and administrators who sponsor student government activities knew that executing a project of that magnitude in a school of almost 3,700 students would be quite an undertaking.

“But when you have a group of teenagers saying, ‘We would be really excited to do this,’ how can you say no?” Goodwin said.

The planning process began with around 25 students and 10 staff members who had a heart for service coming together to form a committee.

“Fishers High School contacted the city in the spring of 2022 about the event they were planning to create for their staff and students,” said Fishers Volunteer Coordinator Amy Crell. “We were thrilled to partner with them.”

The committee then met regularly starting in August, according to Jennifer Pope, teacher and department head for Exceptional Learners and student government sponsor.

“We have such creative and innovative teens, and I feel like sometimes their voices are not heard because they are teenagers,” Pope said. “But it is just so great to sit and listen to their ideas to improve our community.”

The fundraising portion of the committee raised money knowing they would incur expenses in planning for the event. Goodwin said that they spent approximately $40,000 in purchases, with most of that being covered by fundraising.

“Of course, our biggest fundraiser for student government is the homecoming dance,” Goodwin said. “If we’re going to say we’re charging kids $10 to come to the homecoming dance, we want to be able to put that money back into student experiences at the school.”

In addition to student government efforts, Students in Action, which is a student-led service club, also played a large role in fundraising. Some of that money went to providing T-shirts for everyone who participated – 4,000 red T-shirts.

“More than 200 staff members were involved,” Goodwin said. Adults served as project leaders, with at least one designated for each project in an attempt to maintain close to a 20-to-1 student-adult ratio.

“This was a whole building effort: admin, teachers, support staff, food services, and transportation,” Goodwin said. The transportation department coordinated getting students to and from their service locations, while food services prepared sack lunches for any students and staff who selected that option.

Crell worked with the Fishers Department of Public Works to plan opportunities for students to do everything from painting sheds to spreading mulch to picking up trash. She also collaborated with the City of Fishers Utilities and Stormwater Program to have students create two different rain gardens on public property.

“I had no idea how many opportunities she could arrange for us in Fishers,” Pope said.

Overall, the school organized 101 team projects.

“The students worked hard to try to find a niche for every person in the building, whether you wanted to be outside or inside, doing physical work or creating art,” Pope said. “Options covered just about every skill set and interest area.”

Registration for projects went by seniority with seniors registering on a Tuesday, followed by juniors on Wednesday, sophomores on Thursday, and freshmen on Friday. Since participation for the service day was required, any student who didn’t sign up had their names filled in open spots.

Some students stayed at the school to participate in projects such as reorganizing school spaces and making blankets for people in the community. Approximately 2,400 kids went off site. The majority stayed in Fishers, but some teams traveled to Indianapolis, Carmel, and Strawtown Koteewi Park.

One of the most popular projects that filled up first involved a collaboration with Citizens Energy and the city of Fishers. Around 120 students painted every single fire hydrant in the city of Fishers.

Language arts teacher and Day of Service committee member Lori Kixmiller took approximately 30 students from the Gardening Club she sponsors to Fishers AgriPark, a 33-acre urban farm. Students planted thousands of onion plants, but they also cleared refuse and pulled invasive species.

A group of students assembled Cancer Patient Care Kits at the school and then went downtown to deliver them to one of the American Red Cross locations, and they even did some landscaping while they were there.

Students also went to nine of the district elementary schools to serve in a variety of ways, such as sprucing up outdoor learning spaces and reading to classrooms. Upper-level Spanish students taught a fourth-grade Spanish lesson at Sand Creek Elementary.

Some of the projects required more commitment than just one day of service. About 100 students raised $15,000 ahead of time to pay for food brought in by Million Meals Movement, a nonprofit based in Indianapolis. In addition to hearing someone from the organization speak about food insecurity, the students packed about 15,000 meals that went to the local community.

“I am so proud of Fishers High School,” Crell said. “It was such a lofty goal, and I am so impressed that they found opportunities for all of their students.”

Kixmiller and Pope both praised Goodwin for the number of man-hours he put into the logistics of making the service day happen. Kixmiller called him “a mastermind” and Pope said he was the “captain of the ship.”

According to Pope, Goodwin likened the planning and execution of the Day of Service to building a plane and flying it.

“We flew the plane, and it landed beautifully,” Pope said. “I know the hours that went into it, and it just was seamless, which is pretty astounding for a first-time event.”

Despite the rain and mud that day, none of the projects had to be canceled.

“I spoke with a gentleman from the stormwater department, and he said it was a huge success,” Crell said. “Everyone that I have been in contact with said it was a great day.”

Students and staff regrouped around 1:30 p.m. to assess the day. One staff member told Pope it was one of the first times they had seen the students all talking and not just being on their phones.

“I have yet to hear a negative thing from any of the students – and teenagers are typically quite honest,” Pope said.

Even some parents have reached out to thank the school for giving their children the opportunity to experience serving in the community.

“There was an unbelievable energy at Fishers High School, especially as people were coming back at the end of the day,” Goodwin said. “People were coming back dirty but full of smiles. I’m really, really proud of the leadership team to take what was a vision and turn it into reality.”

Kixmiller said that there was still a fun energy in the air on Monday and Tuesday. One student  told her it was one of his “top 10 school days ever.” Kixmiller’s own children, one a freshman and one a junior, said that they really enjoyed their days and that they felt good about what they were able to get done in the community.

“Teachers have said that it was one of their favorite days of teaching, which says a lot since some of us have been doing it for a long time,” said Kixmiller, who has been teaching for 23 years.

As part of the discussion at the leadership retreat last year where the idea for a service day emerged, Goodwin said they asked the students what tradition they would like to see created or revived. The consensus seems to be that Fishers Day of Service is that tradition.

“It just extended so far past our walls,” Pope said.

Throughout the area, you can see small signs announcing that work was done by Fishers Day of Service with a QR code to scan for more information.

The legacy of the day also lives on at Fishers AgriPark where two lambs were birthed on the  Day of Service. While the students who were there didn’t get to witness the births, they were offered the opportunity to name the lambs. They named the first lamb Rumble after the FHS tiger mascot. They are hoping that the park will also take their name suggestion for the second lamb, Roary, in honor of Hamilton Southeastern High School’s lion mascot.