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Surry County Schools ALL IN on 2022-23

Editor’s Note: Community Comment is a feature of The Mount Airy News, presenting commentary from community leaders in Mount Airy and Surry County.

On Aug. 15, students and families were welcomed back to our school campuses by staff who have been eagerly awaiting their arrival. Over the past month, teachers have been setting up their classrooms. Child Nutrition staff have been busy planning menus. The Transportation Department has been ensuring that our safe routes to school are ready with pick-up, drop-off, and adjustments for each school around the district. Our maintenance and custodial teams have been hard at work throughout the summer, and the schools are looking great. On behalf of the district, I would like to send appreciation to all who worked throughout the summer to make sure our schools were ready for students on day one.

This new school year brings with it the opportunity for our district to introduce a new yearly theme: “ALL in.” “ALL” stands for Achievement, Leadership, and Life, which are pillars of the Surry County Schools strategic plan. Our strategic plan serves as the compass for our district, directing us to follow the path that best serves our students. We are “ALL IN” every day as we focus on providing for the whole child.

Academic focus areas this school year begin with improving literacy instruction through the state required LETRS training for PreK-5 classroom teachers, elementary exceptional children’s resource teachers, multilingual teachers, and reading specialists. We are certainly excited about the launch of the new elementary Reveal Math textbook. Additionally, all other educators will be participating in their choice of professional development sessions led by teacher leaders from across the district focused on increasing student engagement in all content areas. All of these efforts are aligned to increasing student academic achievement outcomes.

A new year brings the opportunity for growth in our career and technical education offerings. Along with classes, students can look forward to the addition of a new poultry lab at Surry Central High School. Through a partnership with Wayne Farms, Surry County Schools will be able to offer students the opportunity to learn the process of raising a broiler until it is processed. Surry Central High School will also be the site of a new live animal lab, further solidifying the partnership between Surry County Schools and Surry Community College. Teachers will use the facility at Surry Central High School in the animal science program and instructors at Surry Community College in the animal science degree program to offer hands-on instruction on raising calves, goats, piglets, and other small animals. Students from the high school and college will receive valuable training in the field of animal science in this cooperative lab.

The new school year also brings the opportunity for students to continue to grow through our leadership framework, which introduces attributes that help students lead with self, lead with others, and change their world. Surry County Schools believes our students can go out into the world and truly make a difference. The same sentiment echoes with our dedicated employees. Last year, we launched this program within schools for our students and were excited to see the growth that occurred as they learned leadership skills individually and collectively.

Along with welcoming returning students and staff, the district is excited to welcome new students and staff members to the district. Surry County Schools has seen a boost in enrollment, growing from 7,303 in 2021-2022 to 7,552 this year. Many families are returning to our schools this year from homeschooling and hybrid learning environments and we are excited to welcome them. Additionally, principals worked hard during the summer to recruit and hire the best of the best for their schools. Today, we only have 4 certified openings in Surry County Schools! We realize that opening schools this year has been a challenge for some due to staffing but we are thankful to be in a school system where principals have worked tirelessly to staff their schools with talented educators.

In Surry County Schools, we are dedicated to making an impact through our strategic plan in our schools, in our communities, and in our world. We are “ALL IN” on strengthening our approaches to safety in schools, Career and Technical Education, leadership opportunities for staff, and additional enrichment programs for students. I look forward to being ALL IN with our students, staff, and families this year!

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Source: https://www.mtairynews.com

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