State Rep. Conroy speaks with Willowbrook students

Top left and right: State Rep. Deb Conroy visits Willowbrook students on April 16. Those students are enrolled in U.S. Government, Advanced Placement (AP)/college-level U.S. Government & Politics and AP Comparative Government & Politics at the school. Bottom left: Conroy speaks with Willowbrook junior Annabella Mindo. Bottom right: Conroy poses with members of Willowbrook's Student Board of Communications. See more photos in the gallery below.

On April 16, State Rep. Deb Conroy visited Willowbrook to meet with students.

Conroy spoke with about 175 students, who are enrolled in U.S. Government, Advanced Placement (AP)/college-level U.S. Government & Politics and AP Comparative Government & Politics at the school. She shared her background and journey of becoming a state legislator, as well as her experiences through serving in that role. Conroy also discussed the issues and legislation on which she is focused, including mental health and addiction programs and supporting education and women. Conroy answered questions from participants as well. For more information about Conroy, go to www.facebook.com/repdebconroy.

Conroy then sat down with about 25 students, who are members of the school’s Student Board of Communications. In March 2018, a group of Willowbrook students helped coordinate a School Safety Forum, where about 400 student leaders from 28 Chicago-area high schools came together for a day of conversation and planning regarding school safety during a forum at Willowbrook. Those Willowbrook students then formed the Student Board of Communications to continue working with staff and administration on issues such as school safety and student health and well-being. During their visit with Conroy, the students shared updates and future initiatives with regard to school safety at Willowbrook, including:

• BluePoint Alert Solutions: The Addison Police Department, District 88 and Addison School District 4 worked together and received a grant from the Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) for the School Violence Prevention Program. With the funding from this grant, District 88 and District 4 have bought and are installing a rapid emergency response system in all school facilities through BluePoint Alert Solutions. This system includes pull stations similar to fire alarms, strobe lights and mobile panic buttons that will be placed throughout the schools and outside the buildings.
  
  
• ALICE Training: At the beginning of this school year, District 88 adopted new procedures to ensure the buildings follow best practices with regard to school safety. District 88 administrators, staff members and students received training in these new procedures, and the district worked with the Addison and Villa Park police departments to implement ALICE Training, which stands for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate.

See more photos in the gallery below.