Superintendent gets inside look at students, school

Hickory Public Schools Superintendent Lillie Cox learned Thursday that the students of Longview Elementary want to go on more field trips and read more books.

Cox came to the school to eat lunch with a group of students from the third through fifth grade to learn more about what they think of school. She is meeting with students from each school within the system. Longview Elementary is the fifth school she's met with.

"I'm trying to get an idea from the kids what they're learning, what they like, what they want to be," Cox said. "I think it's important that I stay in touch with the students."

The questions Cox asked the group of nine students ranged from what books they liked to read — "Diary of a Wimpy Kid," non-fiction science books, history — to their favorite class, which was predominantly P.E.

When Cox prodded them about which subject they liked the best, students' opinions ranged.

"I love science," said fifth-grader Heather Vaughn. "I like research and studying and the projects we get to do."

Fellow fifth-grader Eduardo Rodriguez said that he likes math the best because he likes the multiplication tables.

Cox quizzed students on whether they would like to have more laptops, rather than textbooks.

"I like books, because you can flip through pages and see what's there," said third-grader Marcus Phillips. "It's not the same on the computer."

When Cox asked him if it would be neat if all the students could look at the same thing on their laptops at the same time, all the students thought it sounded fun.

Eduardo still thought the school needed more books, however. Fourth-grader Lyrec Evans agreed.

"There're a lot of empty shelves in the library," she said.

Cox asked the students what they wanted more of in school. All of the students said more field trips.

"We've only gone on one this year," said fifth-grader, Miliah Smith. "It was to the science center."

Smith said she'd like to go to the N.C. Zoo. Lyrec said she'd like to go to the mountains, because she's never been.

Cox talked to them about what field trips could tie into what they were doing in class, like studying earth formations.

She also talked to them about possibly learning another language — something all nine were interested in — and if they would like their schedule to be switched to year-round school.

The students didn't seem very receptive to the idea, although Lyrec admitted that she forgot some of her multiplication tables when she came back to school after summer vacation.

However, she said, "I need that three-month break."

Cox also reinforced the idea of graduating from high school by asking them what careers they were interested in.

"You have to come to school every day unless you're sick, so you can learn a lot," Cox said. "It's important that you learn and get the best education possible. The more you learn, the more chances you'll have to pick anything you want to do."

Before the lunch, Lyrec was excited about meeting Cox. Afterward, she said Cox lived up to her expectations.

"She was very pretty. I liked the questions she asked," Lyrec said. "She was very sweet."

Cox said the students at all of the schools she's met with so far have told her consistent informa-tion.

"They like hands-on learning and they want a variety of learning," she said. "They like learning with partners and working alone."

Cox said she also likes to get information from students on things that can become a reality — like field trips — and things that are more intangible, like a laptop for every child or year-round school.