Work groups prepare to present reports
By By Georgia E. Frye / staff writer
April 16, 2003
After two months of lengthy, weekly meetings, two work groups appointed by the Meridian School Board are expected this week and next to release reports on the state of city public schools.
Board members plan to use the reports to assist in the search for a new public school superintendent. The first report, from the New Expectations work group, is expected to be released Thursday.
Wile and other school board members appointed the two work groups in February. Once the work groups release their reports, the board is expected to turn its attention to its superintendent search.
Wile said the board hopes to hire one by the end of the year.
New Expectations is made up of representatives from the Meridian community. It is charged with determining what the school system and the community should expect from each other.
What Works, the second group, is composed of teachers, principals and administrators. It is charged with determining what school district programs work; the group is expected to release its report Tuesday.
School board members asked each group to limit reports to two pages. Each report will be used by the school board to create a suitable profile for a new superintendent.
Sylvia Autry, assistant school superintendent and co-chairman of What Works, said her group put each school program in one of three categories "working," "shows promise" and "needs serious restructuring."
Autry also said her group will hold off on recommendations for some programs until Mississippi Curriculum Test scores are released this summer.
Jim McGinnis, a member of the New Expectations group and Meridian's Parents for Public Schools chapter, said his group's report is "a unique look at the system." McGinnis also declined to discuss specifics.
Wile said he believes the work group reports will be vital in the selection of a new superintendent.
Wile also said after the two groups have presented their reports, the school board will bring the reports together and add anything it feels is necessary in order to create "a statement of new direction."
WANT TO GO?
The New Expectations work group will meet at 5 p.m. Thursday in the media center at Meridian Community College, located on the ground floor of the L.O. Todd Library. The meeting is open to the public, but space is limited. The meeting also will be aired live on Comcast Cable channel 12.
