Family Leadership Council for Wicomico County Public Schools: New Members Welcome

The Family Leadership Council for Wicomico County Public Schools helps to build a strong relationship between the families of our students and our school system. The school system’s overall goal is to improve student performance, and building this strong link with families will greatly assist in improving learning.

Schools choose their representatives to the Council from either nominations or volunteers. Anyone interested in becoming engaged with Wicomico Schools through the Family Leadership Council is encouraged to contact the principal of the school their child attends (or the schools their children attend) to see if there’s an opening for a representative.

The Council meets monthly during the school year. Meetings are held on a Wednesday evening from 6:30-8 p.m. at the school system’s Central Office at 101 Long Avenue, Salisbury. The next meeting is 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 18.

The Family Leadership Council focuses on these critically important areas of discussion:

• How do families fit into improved student performance?

• How might families and the Wicomico County Public Schools partner?

• How can teachers and families collaborate to enhance success?

• How do students feel about their families engaging with schools?

Last month the council considered programs for high performing learners. A presentation was made covering the Magnet Program, Thinking and Doing (TAD – elementary and middle school), middle school extended courses, Advanced Placement, Visual & Performing Arts (VPA), Career & Technology Education (CTE), Honors courses, Dual Enrollment, JROTC, and enrichment classes. Discussion followed the presentation. There was general interest expressed for more opportunities for our students to be challenged – whether in specialized programs or in their regular classrooms.

Current “on-deck” topics for presentation and discussion, as selected by the Council, are:

Training for parents on interpreting SMI (Scholastic Math Inventory), SRI (Scholastic Reading Inventory), other tests

Motivating students to do their best

Putting pieces of the Magnet/TAD toolkit to work in regular classrooms

Changes in the school system’s approach to STEM (Science Technology Engineering Mathematics) education

Progress on PARCC (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers) assessments, both technically and instructionally

Status of Bennett Middle project and the facilities planning process

Approach to attendance area adjustments

Student attire

Budget