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Garrett Dillard, Henry County Public Schools director for community outreach, outlines monthly 'walk and talk' and partnership plans
Summary
Garrett Dillard, director for community outreach for Henry County Public Schools, described plans to boost the district's presence at community events and launch a monthly "walk and talk" program to highlight school activities, deepen family ties and coordinate volunteers and donations.
Garrett Dillard, director for community outreach for Henry County Public Schools, outlined plans to deepen ties between the district and local families and organizations and to spotlight everyday work inside schools.
"My name is Garrett Dillard, and I am the director for community outreach for Henry County Public Schools," Dillard said, noting he began working with the district on 05/01/2011. He described his role as building relationships that help students and families access resources and real-world experiences.
Dillard said the district will increase its presence at community events such as Smith River Fest, the Latino Festival and the back-to-school clothing drive so staff can share information and collect community input. He listed typical community partner contributions as volunteering and donations of clothing and food, and said the outreach office will both coordinate those offers and bring district expertise into the community.
A central part of Dillard's outreach plan is a monthly "walk and talk" initiative. "What we're gonna call a walk and talk," he said, "...we're just gonna identify certain individuals in the Henry County school system, and we're gonna do this once a month, and I'm gonna walk and talk with them in in their space." Dillard said the conversations will be informal and could happen in school hallways, outdoors or with preschool classrooms to let staff and students explain their daily work.
Dillard also emphasized the district's focus on inclusion and professional supports. He said the outreach role is intended to "connect people to the resource" and to promote trainings and development so teachers and administrators have what they need to serve students.
Dillard framed the work as reciprocal: "a school system can only be as successful as its community," he said, adding that the district wants to share positive stories about schools that go beyond test scores and personnel moves. He said the outreach office will highlight accomplishments from preschool through the superintendent level.
Dillard did not announce funding sources, timelines beyond the monthly frequency for the walk-and-talks, or specific staff assignments for the initiative. He said he is "looking forward" to the program and expects it to be "a lot of fun."
