Chamber leadership class tours schools
By Matt Shaw
Published in News on January 24, 2005 1:58 PM
The Leadership Wayne County class held its annual "Education Day" Friday.
In the morning, class members divided up to tour Tommy's Road Elementary, North Drive Elementary, Eastern Wayne Elementary, Greenwood Junior High and Dillard Middle School. Many volunteered in classrooms.
The visits were intended to give the class an in-depth understanding of the challenges that educators face today and the impact they have on the lives of the children of Wayne County.
The class then visited Small World Child Care where owner Mary Batts provided a tour of the pre-school facilities. Small World has expanded to include other buildings in their operation and provides bus service to many areas in Wayne County.
The class met at the Wayne County Partnership for Children offices for a presentation by Executive Director Don McGoon about services provided by the non-profit partnership.
They then had a typical school lunch of fried chicken, potatoes, and broccoli casserole, courtesy of the Wayne County Public Schools. The lunch included cinnamon rolls provided by the cafeteria personnel.
Olivia Pierce, executive director of community relations, media and technology, tested the leadership class on "Fast Facts" of the Wayne County Public Schools. For example, the school system is the second largest employer in the county behind Seymour johnson Air Force Base, she said. More than 19,000 students are in the school system.
Dr. Craig McFadden, assistant superintendent of accountability and student services, talked about the testing methods, grade level proficiency guidelines and impact of the federal "No Child Left Behind Act."
The day concluded with a visit to Wayne Community College. President Dr. Ed Wilson welcomed the class and a copy of WCC's new recruitment CD-ROM was provided to each class member. The class toured the campus and learned of the new buildings under construction and exceptional day care facility on campus.
Also, Tim Woodard, director of admissions for Mt. Olive College, provided an update to the class of the educational opportunities offered by MOC.
Leadership Wayne County is sponsored by the Wayne County Chamber of Commerce and the Wayne Charitable Partnership.
For more information on the program or an application for next year, people may call the chamber at (919) 734-2241.