CCSD using community meetings to gather feedback, set future goals

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – The Charleston County School District (CCSD) is holding community engagement meetings to get feedback from parents and leaders to draft goals for the future.

Parents and board members are using the time to ask each other what is needed to prepare students in the county. CCSD Board Trustees are also working to set goals for the future.

“The time we have is the time we’re going to use, and so we’ve been all in,” says Board Trustee Courtney Waters.

Board members are encouraged the meetings will help provide a vision, but some parents say they want more action.

“It’s the same old thing,” says Frank Beylotte, a CCSD parent. “I’ve seen it a million times. I look forward to being proven wrong.”

CCSD Board Trustees plan to hold a series of meetings with the community over the next two weeks to ask how the district can better educate kids across the county. Parents will also have the opportunity to provide some feedback.

“We’re in the midst of setting goals for the district, and we can’t set goals for the district if we haven’t heard from the community,” says Waters.

The purpose is to set goals for the district once feedback and information from the community are compiled. Waters says the district hasn’t heard from the community on the issues since before the pandemic.

“People are generally concerned about the same things,” says Waters. “You know, it was interesting to hear the thing about the financial literacy piece because when we did these with the children that came up as something that they cared about too.”

Some of the questions the board is asking the community include; how should CCSD graduates be described? What should be improved, and what should be addressed first? The meetings are taking place at schools across the county, allowing board members and parents the chance to develop a plan face to face.

“We are making sure to cover as much ground as possible in addition to having the survey out there,” says Waters. “I think that the survey responses being at 400 says that people are really eager to give their feedback.”

Waters says she’s hopeful the community meetings will provide direction for the district. Beylotte says he wants to see more results following the engagement series.

“This should just be a natural integration into their activities, and maybe it will be in the future but I don’t feel confident tonight,” says Beylotte.

Meetings will take place over the next two weeks around the district. The district has a survey online for those who can’t attend in person.