Our most recent community school to adopt the community school strategy and welcome us into their Rocket family is A.C. Reynolds Middle and we couldn't be more excited.
Reynolds Middle Principal Stanley Wheless connected with us last summer as our Community School Coordinator Corry Hyde began creating a space in the school, meeting teachers and school faculty during the challenging transition in COVID. He wanted to ensure all A.C. Reynolds staff could learn the ropes of their transition in building a Community School. Together we embarked on a year-long professional learning development series doing just that, reading the book Community Schools: People and Places Transforming Education and Community. "I really want my entire faculty to have a solid foundation around the how and purpose in creating an effective community school together," he shared.
Reynolds staff participated in bi-monthly sessions throughout the school year-- learning the foundational elements and four pillars of effective community schools, exploring what it means to be a teacher in a community school and diving into specific strategies to encourage and uplift student and parent voice and leadership.
