October 4, 2022 – The Sanitary District of Decatur (SDD) and Decatur Public Schools (DPS) announced a new partnership aimed at educating students about the importance of keeping local watersheds, including the Sangamon River, clean by keeping pollutants out of the storm and sanitary sewer system. The partnership is the latest effort by SDD to increase public awareness of the Sanitary District and its role to help create a healthier Decatur and Macon County.
“We all have a responsibility to protect our natural resources and our hope by getting students interested with some cool experiments and fun lessons, is that they will want to adopt practices that help us meet our mission and create healthier communities in and around Decatur,” said Sanitary District of Decatur Executive Director, Kent Newton.
Throughout the month of October, more than 500 DPS elementary, grade school, middle school and high school students will participate in the Sanitary District of Decatur’s School Outreach Program and learn about the importance of keeping pollutants out of the sanitary system, storm drains, and local waterways. Students will participate in fun, educational and interactive presentations with Sanitary District of Decatur team members either in the classroom or at SDD facilities.
“We are excited about the partnership with SDD, and hopeful that we can utilize different types of lessons with our many different classes. These experiences with our community members are so important to help our students become better-informed citizens, and it’s a wonderful opportunity to enrich our student’s learning in the classroom, too,” said Samantha Stark, Science Department Head at Eisenhower High School.
DPS offers students at all grade levels educational experiences in science, technology, engineering, and math, or STEM.
“District 61 is excited about the new partnership with SDD that will further expose and educate our students at all grade levels on the importance of clean water, STEM projects, and career opportunities in this field. DPS always welcomes new partnerships that allow our students fun, engaging, hands-on experiences and this is exactly what SDD has offered our students in various ways from K-12 grade. DPS looks forward to evolving partnering with SDD throughout this school year and hopefully many more to come,” said Ashley Grayned, DPS Executive Director of Innovative Programs.
