Second ‘Guest For A Day’ Event On Tap
Officials Look To Open Eyes, Doors
Posted: February 11, 2013
After just eight of the 25 invitations sent out for the first Guest for a Day program were returned, Shenandoah County school officials are giving it another try. They want to open the doors once again to show civic leaders what really goes on in the classroom.
Superintendent B. Keith Rowland said several of the invitations sent to area politicians received no response in late November.
“We’re going to keep trying,” he said at a December reception called to discuss the benefits of the program.
In the Guest for a Day program’s first round, invitations were sent out to 25 local government officials and politicians. Eight members from the county Board of Supervisors and School Board responded and spent an entire school day in the classroom with a Shenandoah County teacher that month.
The purpose of the program is to give local leaders an in-depth glimpse into the classroom, says Rowland, and to show how education methods are changing.
“We are trying to educate the community and show them this is not the same school they went to,” he said. “We are continually changing and if we are going to ask people to support what we do we need to get them to understand what we do.”
This time, invitations were expanded to local business owners, professionals and the media.
“We are hoping to open some people’s eyes and to debunk some myths,” said Director of Human Resources Andrew Ansoorian.
Rowland pointed out that those who portray public schools and their teachers as ineffective have stepped up their criticism recently on both the state and national levels.
“We actually have a lot of really exceptional things going on,” he said. “We want to give people a better understanding of what [modern education] is. It does not resemble what was happening in the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s, it’s light years ahead.”
Most days this month are available for the invited guests to visit the school. A schedule was distributed to all invitees to show when teachers are available.
A reception will then be held on Feb. 28 from 4 to 5:30 p.m. during which guests will be asked to share experiences from their day at school.
Contact Kaitlin Mayhew at 574-6290 or kmayhew@dnronline.com
Superintendent B. Keith Rowland said several of the invitations sent to area politicians received no response in late November.
“We’re going to keep trying,” he said at a December reception called to discuss the benefits of the program.
In the Guest for a Day program’s first round, invitations were sent out to 25 local government officials and politicians. Eight members from the county Board of Supervisors and School Board responded and spent an entire school day in the classroom with a Shenandoah County teacher that month.
The purpose of the program is to give local leaders an in-depth glimpse into the classroom, says Rowland, and to show how education methods are changing.
“We are trying to educate the community and show them this is not the same school they went to,” he said. “We are continually changing and if we are going to ask people to support what we do we need to get them to understand what we do.”
This time, invitations were expanded to local business owners, professionals and the media.
“We are hoping to open some people’s eyes and to debunk some myths,” said Director of Human Resources Andrew Ansoorian.
Rowland pointed out that those who portray public schools and their teachers as ineffective have stepped up their criticism recently on both the state and national levels.
“We actually have a lot of really exceptional things going on,” he said. “We want to give people a better understanding of what [modern education] is. It does not resemble what was happening in the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s, it’s light years ahead.”
Most days this month are available for the invited guests to visit the school. A schedule was distributed to all invitees to show when teachers are available.
A reception will then be held on Feb. 28 from 4 to 5:30 p.m. during which guests will be asked to share experiences from their day at school.
Contact Kaitlin Mayhew at 574-6290 or kmayhew@dnronline.com