On November 8, nine Wilder Elementary School families and a dozen staff participated in “School Culture on the Wilder Side: Family Matters.” The purpose of this event was to elicit feedback from students, parents and staff regarding the school culture at Wilder. The evening began with a light meal and a brief presentation about school culture by instructional coach Brian Meyer. Participants were then divided into small groups facilitated by district and building staff to discuss the positive characteristics of Wilder’s school culture and suggested areas for improvement. The event concluded with a debriefing to summarize each group’s feedback. District staff who joined the Wilder families to facilitate the focus groups included Caley Baker, Education Technology Instructional Support; Lula Mohammed Barre, Parent Liaison; Adam Flugge, Special Education Coordinator; and Rachel Lacy, Blended Learning Coach. Wilder School Counselor Elizabeth Wolfgang facilitated the student focus group.
Family life is busy, but everyone agreed the time to share input is valuable in helping the Wilder Leadership team and staff meet the needs of students. The conversations were rich and creative, and effective ideas to target areas for improvement were discussed in both small group and whole group sessions. The big take-away of the evening was that Wilder families and staff are proud of their school and want to work together to create the best learning environment possible for students. Plans for a follow up spring session are in the works.