By Jake Zajkowski
By Nora Ptacek
North putting
mental health
front and center
He began his career 36 years ago as a substi-
tute teacher; now he’s the retiring superinten-
dent of theAppletonArea School District. “It’s
a tremendously impactful profession, and I’m
fortunate to have had such a great opportunity
with an excellent school district for so many
years and to be a part of it at the teacher level,
principal level and then central office. It’s been
a real passion and a lot of learning for me as
well,” said Mr. Lee Allinger.
The beginning
“My interest in teaching started in 6th
grade….you know we all find teachers that
make that special connection and I was a
young man who had a lot of energy and was
maybe somewhat immature and [my 6th grade
teacher] found a way for me to get connected
to school in a very positive way so I really liked
that,” said Allinger. When looking at career
Appleton Area School District Superintendent Mr. Lee Allinger celebrates his time with the
district.
Photo by Andrea Calzada-Vera.
After 36 years of service to AASD,
Superintendent Mr. Allinger retires
“The common thing to hear
is ‘it gets better.’ Don’t get me
wrong, it does, but I think a bet-
ter thing to say is ‘it’s all worth
it.’” These words are from Sam
Stratton, an Appleton North ju-
nior who has dealt with mental
illness as early as the 4th grade.
The month of May was Men-
tal Health Month, and helped
draw attention to an issue that
affects everyone, students at
North are no exception.
According to results from
the 2015-2016 Youth Risk
Behavioral Survey question,
which asked “during the past
30 days, how many days was
your mental health not good?”,
60.5 percent of surveyed North
students reported one or more
days, compared to Outagamie
County results of 64.2 percent.
With more than half of North’s
surveyed students reporting
troubles with mental health on
one or more days in a thirty day
period, North has continued to
emphasize awareness and re-
sources.
“I don’t know if we can ever
have enough [resources]. I do
think that Appleton North is
making a cognitive effort to
raise awareness about mental
health,” said Mr. Eric Eastman,
Psychology teacher and leader
of Psych Club. “When you
look at stats saying 20-25 per-
cent of people in the U.S. suf-
fer from depression, people still
try to fight alone. They thinking
they’re alone. Peer-led efforts
work better, so students make
other students aware of re-
sources and peers that can help
them and get them the help they
need.”
Though many fight mental
illnesses like depression alone,
some students are willing to talk
about their experiences with
mental illness.
“If I had a message for people
with mental illnesses it would
be: don’t be afraid of admitting
that there’s something different
about you. Just because there’s
something different about you
doesn’t make you any less ca-
pable,” North Senior Yasmeen
Ashour said. Diagnosed with
anxiety at a young age, Ashour
went to therapists and tried dif-
ferent medications to help her
handle her anxiety. However,
these weren’t completely effec-
tive.
“Whenever I wasn’t occupied
or anxious, I would notice how
tired, sad, and exhausted I was.”
This led to another diagnosis of
chronic depression. “Anxiety
and depression are like two but-
See
Ptacek
, page 2
After 30 years, Mrs. Fenlon steps down
from Appleton Board of Education
“Well, you can think of yourself as an
architect or as a shepherd,” is what Mrs.
Sharon Fenlon’s daughter told her about
her 30 years on the School Board, 23 of
which she served as president.
“When you’re an architect, that’s when
you’re creating something, but when
you’re a shepherd, you’re supporting,
you’re leading, you’re being part of the
process but not necessarily… you’re not
the architect. So I think for most of my ca-
reer I’ve been a shepherd, but there was
one time when I was an architect,” said
Fenlon. In her architectural act, Fenlon
wrote a book and got grants to develop a
display of the Hmong culture. “The idea
See
Zajkowski
, page 3
Lasting legacies
By Nora Ptacek
See
Ptacek
, page 8
Students and staff speak up;
new programming reaches out
The YRBS is an anonymous survey
administered to North freshmen and
juniors. Of the total 732 students sur-
veyed in the fall of 2015, 401 were
freshman and 331 were juniors.
Graphic by Kate Bennett
Appleton Mayor Tim Hanna recognizes
School Board President Sharon Fenlon by
proclaiming April 10, 2017, to be “Sharon
Fenlon Day.”
Photo courtesy of AASD
Local resources include:
NAMI Fox Valley: 920-954-1550 or namifoxvalley.org
HOPELINE: text 741741 for 24/7 support for struggles
North Psychologist Sue Davis and Social Worker Debbie Strick:
davissusan@aasd.k12.wi.us or strickdebbie@aasd.k12.wi.us
For a full list of resources, go to northnoct.com
After 26 years, Dr. Mielke resigns from School Board, says he wants
“to give younger people the chance to serve on this Board.”
Page 3
Appleton, Wisconsin
June 2017
Vol. XXII
Issue VIII
nor thnoct . com @Nor thNoct