Emily Tracy
By EMILY TRACY, guest columnist
The vision for Brown County Schools is to create “World Class Opportunities,” develop “Small School Relationships” and leave a “Lifelong Impact” among our students.
In order to reach that vision, Brown County Schools provides the highest quality educational experience where students and staff feel safe, valued, inspired, civically engaged and globally connected. We reach that vision through our academies, our educator and graduate profiles and through our core values.
On Monday, Dec. 13, Brown County Schools held its annual Educational Workforce Advisory Team meeting. This is a meeting where we invite all stakeholders of Brown County to join us in learning about the incredible work that has been and is being done to ensure we are reaching that vision each year. It was an opportune time together once again with a new leader and the opportunity to celebrate the work coming to fruition since 2017!
We were able to share with the community our system pillars of “Ready Student,”“Innovative Teaching and Learning” and “Community and Regional Engagement” and how these pillars are driving the transformation of the district.
The team was excited to share the work behind the graduate profile, educator profile and our academies and programs of study. And I was elated to share my vision for Brown County Schools moving forward.
One important piece to this stakeholder meeting is the opportunity to invite levels of engagement with our partners.
There are many ways to engage with the district on different levels. Partners are invited to be a part of school advisory boards like the Career Resource Center, Academy Councils, Eagle Manufacturing, Governor’s Work Ethic Certificate, STEM (Science, technology, engineering and math), Safety Commission for Brown County Schools, Early Childhood and even PTO boards.
A new and very exciting addition to community engagement will begin in August of 2022. I will be forming the first cohort of Brown County Schools Ambassadors.
This cohort will comprise about 20 key stakeholders in the community. These stakeholders could be parents, business owners, local government officials and/or residents of Brown County that are interested in our district. The BCS Ambassador program will consist of a commitment of meeting at the district once per month for a two hour period to learn about our schools.
My vision is to have our team educate our community on everything about Brown County Schools from finance to transportation to food service to instruction to athletics and more. In May, our first cohort will “graduate” and then be an ambassador for our district out in the community. We want to tell our story and we want the community to be able to help us tell our story.
Program participants will be exposed to all facets of running a district, including business management, academic programs, student services, technology, operations and more.
Cohort members will have the opportunity to:
Gain firsthand, “behind the scenes” knowledge of how Brown County Schools functions.
Experience the engaging learning style used with students.
Participate in an extended dialogue with leadership on education issues.
Develop an understanding of how Brown County Schools is creating a unique culture of educational excellence and innovation.
Ambassador graduates are partners in sharing Brown County Schools’ vision throughout the community and will be invited to continue to engage with the district through future project team and input gathering opportunities.
Here are sample agendas for different meetings:
The business of kids and strong foundation of the basics
Agenda items: School Finance, human resources, operations, school board, transportation and food service.
Academics: How BCS does teaching and learning?
Agenda items: Teaching and learning, programs of study, standards and accountability.
Wellness and Safety: How BCS supports the whole child and keeps children safe?
Agenda items: Student wellness, mental health, community partnerships and student resource officer.
Relationships: How BCS enriches students’ learning
Agenda items: Extracurricular opportunities, clubs, sports and community partnerships.
Innovation: New initiatives and programs underway
Agenda items: Early childhood, career pathways, early college high school, global citizenship, Eagle Manufacturing and entrepreneurship.
Citizenship: How BCS educates all students and ability levels?
Agenda items: Special education, high ability, career and technical education, AP and college courses.
Our district and building leaders will be hard at work finalizing details for our first cohort of Brown County Ambassadors. I will be sending out applications to interested stakeholders this spring.
If you are interested or have any questions at all, please reach out to me!
Emily Tracy is superintendent of Brown County schools. She can be reached at 812-988-6601 or [email protected].
