E-Chowan hosts forum on student learning

EDENTON — Edenton Chowan Schools recently hosted a community forum with parents to discuss how children can come to school better prepared to learn following two years of restricted classroom instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Participants at the Monday, May 6 meeting were separated into breakout sessions, where they were asked to define what it means when a child is said to be physically, mentally, emotionally, socially, and behaviorally ready for school each day.

Participants also defined the conditions required for a child to meet those definitions and the gaps that exist in both homes and the community that prevent children from being ready for school. Parents were also asked to identify available resources and assets to help fill those gaps.

“The purpose of the meeting was to engage community members in healthy discourse about the importance of a child being physically, mentally, emotionally, socially, and behaviorally ready for school each day,” Superintendent Michael Sasscer explained.

Sasscer previously has noted that the Edenton-Chowan Schools, since the pandemic, has seen falling measures of academic success and increased incidents of student behavioral and discipline problems. The district also was deemed low performing last fall by the N.C. Department of Public Instruction because of poor student performance on state testing.

“With a growing number of children coming to school dysregulated due to external stressors, pressures, and influences, our schools and community are experiencing an increase in undesirable outcomes,” Sasscer said. “The meeting was designed for participants to become more aware of this issue from varying perspectives and to unite around a common goal of reinvesting in our children.”

More than 100 community participants attended the meeting, providing what Sasscer said was increased and renewed energy that can be focused on the issue. He said having parents and community members examine the problem among themselves was a significant first step toward solving it.

The N.C. Department of Public Instruction, East Carolina University, the Dudley Flood Center for Educational Equity and Opportunity, the Edenton-Chowan Board of Education, the Chowan Board of Commissioners, and Edenton Town Council helped the school system organize the forum.

“We successfully brought together a diverse group of community stakeholders to learn more about the issue and talk openly about its impact on our children, school, and community,” said Sasscer, who has resigned from the Edenton-Chowan Schools last month and will be leaving June 21 to take a principal’s job at Topsail High School..