Guilford County Schools to focus on student health, safety in new strategic plan

Guilford County Schools celebrated the launch of a new strategic direction Tuesday evening. 

The plan has four main focus areas, which include student health and safety. GCS Superintendent Whitney Oakley drew upon her own experience as a principal as she explained the need for health care in the district. 

“We were looking at data trying to think about what was not working in the school, and we were in a very rural area," Oakley said. "And a school counselor came in and she said, 'The reason that kids aren't performing is because they don't have access to health care.'”

Oakley says student performance improved after opening a health clinic in the school. That’s something she intends to replicate throughout the district. 

“I'm very proud to partner with Cone Health, the Guilford Education Alliance and our county commissioners to expand telehealth clinics at our Title I elementary schools over the next few years," she said.

Oakley also discussed the district’s plans for student safety, which include purchasing 5,000 cameras and adding touchless security scanners to middle schools.

Amy Diaz covers education for WFDD in partnership with Report For America. You can follow her on Twitter at @amydiaze.