Wayne County Public Schools chief: Day 1 went well
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on August 25, 2015 1:46 PM
Dr. Mike Dunsmore
With the first day of school now under his belt, the new superintendent of Wayne County Public Schools says he is anxious to move forward with a new strategic plan and facilities plan.
The start of a new school year was "absolutely wonderful," Dr. Mike Dunsmore said Monday evening.
Admitting there will always be some glitches in the first few days, he remained positive about staff and the schools.
"I know (Transportation Director Robert) Lee and the folks over there were really working hard on the bus routes, making sure everything was where we needed to be," he said.
Another concern that arose in recent weeks was the delayed completion of the new cafeteria at Charles B. Aycock High School. Dunsmore attended open house at the school last week to address parents, drawing a packed house and "not a single question." He attributed that to getting the word out in advance.
Meal preparation was adjusted for the first 10 days of school, with breakfast and lunch being transported from Norwayne Middle School to the high school, he said.
"The first day of school out there, bringing in meals and what not, went very well," he said. "Dr. (Principal Earl) Moore was extremely excited. The kids did a great job. They know what to expect. So we're getting there."
Dunsmore took over the job of superintendent July 1 and said that he did not have any time to waste.
"The easy answer would be to say, well, I'm going to come in for a year and observe and assess and do this, do that, do another thing and we'll come back to the table this time next year. No. I'm not going to lose a year," he said Monday. "Waiting a year, all you do is lose a year and our children are even further behind. That's not good business."
One of his first tasks will be to bring people together and start a discussion about helping the district become more successful, he said.
"We had a real productive meeting with the base leadership and the county leadership and the Goldsboro city leadership. We got everybody around the table for that," he said, with a key player being Seymour Johnson Air Force 4th Fighter Wing Commander Col. Mark Slocum.
"He hears from his parents and people are coming onto the base and, with me being new, he wanted to start off and get his concerns out there and see what we we're doing and really work together," Dunsmore said. "We went into our strategic planning, the next phase where we want to be. Him and I think a lot alike -- where do we want to be in 2020 and what do we need to do to get there?"
Dunsmore said he is anxious to develop and to make public the strategic plan for the school system.
"Within the next week, I'm putting a list together of county leadership, city leadership, business leaders, obviously the base leadership," he said. "We're going to identify the people within the schools (who) will be part of that team. We'll go through that process."
The first phase will be to address where the district wants to be in three to five years academically, Dunsmore said. The second phase will be a new facilities plan, he added, asking whether the existing buildings can handle the advancements or does more need to be done.
With the military base receiving arrivals from all around the world, the superintendent said they likely have seen the best and worst of education. Dunsmore wants Wayne County to fall into the first category.
"My goal is to have the educational piece of that strategic plan done in early 2016, like January/February, and then we can really get aggressive on the facilities plan and where that goes," he said. "A lot of that falls into that whole vision of what we need and how we move this whole system forward and where we want to be in five years."
He said he will address the topic at monthly school board meetings, evaluating where the district is, what is being done and what changes need to be made.
"That's an opportunity to keep the public informed and part of that is working with (the newspaper) getting that information out there."
Although relationships have already been forged with the military base, Dunsmore said he wants WCPS to be an even stronger "Air Force friendly school system."
"The next logical step is including them because the perception is out there that we don't have high-performing schools," he said. "Obviously, what's being circulated within the military community and their communication is not real positive. We certainly need to change that perception.
"They want to work together with us. That'll be part of that whole strategic planning process and facilities planning process. The county and the local leadership is involved with that. I think it's an exciting opportunity here for us."