The Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Board of Education is hosting a forum to talk to middle school students about their educational experiences.
The board heard from high schoolers already last week. During a school board meeting on Tuesday, Superintendent Tricia McManus said she heard great feedback from those students.
“Three of the themes that continue to come up, and came up last year with the middle school students, are really around mental health supports and what that looks like," McManus said. "Metal detectors, that was another hot topic, and how are we using those? And then bringing fun back to high school, which really talks to the engagement that our middle schoolers talked about last time they were here.”
In response to the concerns about mental health supports, McManus said the district will work with students to create a video explaining, in their voices, what kind of resources they have access to at school.
“Our goal is that they really do know all that's available in their school and in the community, and the resources that we have at our fingertips to address all mental health concerns," she said.
She says the district plans to invite the same students who voiced these concerns back to another forum next year to see if and how things change.
“If they can say we were feeling the improvements on their end as students, I think that'll be a win for us," McManus said. "And so we're gonna keep at it. Listening to the voice of our children.”
The district will hear from middle school students next at a forum on Nov. 7.
Amy Diaz covers education for WFDD in partnership with Report For America. You can follow her on Twitter at @amydiaze.