WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Winston-Salem Forsyth County Schools Superintendent Tricia McManus walked around Parkland High School Wednesday morning. She stopped into several classrooms to talk with students and faculty.
McManus said she tries to visit at least six schools a week. Her goal is to see students in action and see what support staff needs.
The superintendent said her goal is to get to all the 81 schools in the district within nine weeks. So far, she has been to Parkland and Mount Tabor several times in the past two weeks.
"It’s for several purposes, one is just to see our kids in action, what are they learning, how are they doing in their classrooms, and what’s happening in our schools in general," McManus said.
Last week, McManus said the district will be doing assessments at different schools to address specific needs and security measures moving forward.
“It’s very important I think as we are implementing so many new things within our system, and talking so much about culture, and so much about academics and instruction, to just get a pulse check on all that is important," McManus said. "And, also to have so much to celebrate. I think a big part of my visits are to celebrate what I’m seeing with our kids and staff.”
McManus said they have formed the assessment team that will be going into schools. The team is meeting this week and will actually go into the schools next week. Their plans will focus on the social and emotional needs of students as well as mental health.
McManus said for example, at Parkland they are already in the process of hiring hall monitors. There will be three that will be starting very soon.
"They’ll be in the hallway interacting with students, they’ll be building relationships with students to be a part of that adult supervision in a positive way," McManus said.