About Lake Oconee news. (Greensboro, GA) 199?-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 4, 2017)
Friday, August 4,2017 Lake Oconee News Page A9 GREENE COUNTY Greene County schools need your input Mark Engel engel@lakeoconeenews.us In case you missed Brandi Mayo’s live feed on her Facebook page, the first Greene County Board of education community Engagement session was held Tuesday night inside the gates at Reynolds Lake Oconee. The BOE is hosting three meetings to give resi dents a chance to give input on a new strategic plan for the school system. Mayo sat at one of the front tables and used just her cellphone to send a live video and sound feed to anyone in the world who wanted to watch. It was new state-of-the-art tech nology covering the age-old problems of public educa tion in America. More than 100 citizens, educators, politicians and other interested parties signed up for the session. Seating was limited in the ballroom of the Reynolds Lake Club which angered some in the com munity who thought having a meeting inside the gates was not appropriate for a public session. Still, the 16 round tables were each filled with a good mix of participants. School superintendent Chris Houston, assistant superintendent Rotonya Rhodes and director of human resources Tom Mc Clendon started the meeting by updating everyone on the latest statistics on student performance, funding and staffing changes. Information was dis played on a screen using colors and font styles ranging from tiny black type to charts and graphs with arrows and lines darting in different directions. Much of it was readable. This part of the session was punctuated by a cute animated cartoon whose message was to respect the opinions of others even though you know you are right. It was a perfect setup for the important part of the meeting. You’ve probably been to one of these before. Everyone is broken up into small groups. They work on ideas to three common questions with someone writing them down on big sheets of paper that get stuck on the walls of the room. “What do you think are the district’s STRENGTHS that you want to ensure continue?” asked moderator Dr. Stan DeJarnett of The Georgia Vision Project. Up went the words - Family Oriented, Small Group Re mediation, Overall Caring and Engaged Staff. There was everything from some thing called Vertical Artic ulation to a Strong Sports Program. Then comes the big one. “What does GCSS (Greene County School System) need to IMPROVE UPON?” The usual suspects immediately appeared - Low Expectations, Low Grades, Community Per ception, Parental Support, Stability in Systems, Polit ical Division, Kids Expect Handouts, Nepotism in School Jobs, Social Promo tion, Graduation Rate... And finally, “What do you think are the top chal lenges faced by the school district?” At the top of many lists was money - the need for a more Effective Use of Funding. Mix in Collabora tion Among Entire District, Teacher Retention, Grad uates With Direction and Transparency in the Ad ministration. And then there was - We Should Work Together. Two more Community Engagement Sessions are scheduled for Thursday, August 3 at First United Methodist Church in downtown Greensboro and Tuesday, Aug. 8, at Carson Middle School. If you’re interested, RSVP to Robyn Brunson, commu nications coordinator, by calling 706-453-7688 or sending an email to robyn. brunson@greene.kl2 .ga.us For those who cannot make any session, you can give your input on the GCSS website - www.greene.kl2. ga.us. Collecting all this com munity input is the first of a four-step process. By November, the Greene County Board of Education will have a strategic plan that is complete with goals and action items designed to improve education so much that other counties are Greene with envy. _ J w to . SCHOOL C0LL€G€ ESS£HriALS OPEN 10-5 WEDNESDAY-FRIDAY OPEN 10-4 SPECIAL DISCOUNTING WITH VALID COLLEGE I.D. Greene County U Habitat RPStOrf* for Humanity® ■ ■ V# m Mark Engel/Staff More than 100 people attended the first Greene County Board of Education strategic planning session at Reynolds Lake Oconee. Mark Engel/Staff Derry Drake and Ashley Funderburke discuss input they are giving to the Greene County BOE through the strategic planning process. WHO can help with your HOME financing needs? We Can LAND LOANS • CONSTRUCTION LOANS LONG-TERM PERMANENT FINANCING FMB ibankfmb.com 706.485.9858 1011 Lake Oconee Pkwy., Eatonton (at Harmony Crossing) 1371 WILLOW RD., GREENSBORO • 706.453.1718 • GCHABITAT.COM « New location, same great service. B B G A BLASINGAME - BURCH GARRARD - ASHLEY, P.C. Blasingame, Burch, Garrard & Ashley, P.C. is now located at: 1021 Parkside Commons, Suite 104 Greensboro, GA 30642 706.453.7139 706.453.7842 fax Learn more about our skilled team of attorneys at bbgbalaw.com. ■Ill
