By Holly Fesperman Lee

Salisbury Post

A three-member assistance team of retired principals will meet with the Rowan -Salisbury Schools superintendent today to discuss the system’s state-required curriculum audit.

The meeting is the first step in the semester-long journey to raise student performance in the Rowan-Salisbury School System.

Team Leader Doris Wilson has been in education since 1971 and retired as a Mecklenburg middle school principal in 2004.

Retired principals Vicki Roland and Dennis Smith will fill the other two team spots.

Wilson said the team will be talking with Superintendent Dr. Judy Grissom, other central office personnel, principals and teachers to assess school-system needs.

As far as school visits, “initially we’ll be visiting, looking at the instructional program … how they’re implementing the standard course of study,” Wilson said.

They’ll talk with teachers and principals about how to achieve the best results with available resources.

“After we do the curriculum audit, we’re going to be working with a district team to develop the plan that we’re going to be using,” Wilson said.

The number of Title I schools in year three of school improvement was one of the reasons Rowan-Salisbury was chosen to receive a state-assistance team, but Wilson said the team’s visit wasn’t about the schools.

The district-assistance program is about the processes and procedures of the district and how they impact what happens in each school, she said.

The goal is for the district to meet all AYP targets under the No Child Left Behind federal accountability program in one subject area at either the elementary, middle or high school level.

Wilson said she wasn’t sure how many schools the team would visit.

The amount of time the team spends in the district will depend on the district’s needs. Wilson said the team’s visits would probably be more frequent initially and lessen as time goes on.

Contact Holly Lee at 704-797-7683 or hlee@salisburypost.com