Superintendent Dr. Lynn Moody, school board member Susan Cox, school system staff, elected officials, and members of the community toured Southeast Middle School on Wednesday.
Moody said these school visits, which occur almost weekly, are an effort to engage the community by giving them the “opportunity to be able to visit the schools.”
It also gives students the opportunity to share about their school, she added.
Southeast Middle administration and staff briefly shared their goals and vision for the school and talked about how the school is involved in the community.
Then, student ambassadors led tours for their guests. In addition to showing off classrooms and other facilities, the students demonstrated how they use technology such as mobile applications in the learning process.
“I love hearing them talk about their teachers,” Moody said, adding that building relationships with students is a vital aspect of being a successful teacher.
“That’s my biggest challenge — changing the culture,” she said.
In Rachel Sniff’s 21st Century classroom, students were building cars out of recycled materials.
Moody said Sniff’s class was a “model” for how 21st Century classrooms should be.
Although the classroom had extra technology, “it wasn’t about technology,” she said. Students had to “get up,” “get engaged” and “solve the problem.”
There are five remaining school visits this school year: Millbridge Elementary on April 9, Hanford Dole Elementary on April 16, Cleveland Elementary on April 30, East Rowan High on May 14 and Salisbury High on May 21. The Millbridge Elementary School visit is at 8:30 a.m. and all other visits are at 8 a.m.