Baylor and Wisd Team to Discuss Full Service School

Baylor University's School of Education, together with the Waco Independent School District have rescheduled a meeting to explore the potential development of a "full service professional development school" from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Tuesday, March 5, in the G.L. Wiley Middle School Cafeteria. The meeting was originally scheduled for Feb. 2 but was postponed due to the ice storm.
For the past three months, members of the Baylor School of Education, WISD and the Waco community have discussed the possibility of establishing a "full service professional development school" at G.L. Wiley Middle School. Baylor's School of Education proposes to bring together in one place innovative schooling, family literacy programs and human services which children, youth and families need in today's environment.
The G.L. Wiley Middle School project would be a field-test for restructuring education and for providing comprehensive and integrated social services to children and families utilizing a broad array of community resources.
Dr. Charles D. Schmitz, dean of Baylor's School of Education, and Dr. James Williamson, professor and chair of educational administration and The Fred and Edith Hale Professor in Education, will host the meeting along with Dr. Sharon M. Shields, principal of G.L. Wiley Middle School, and Dr. Fred M. Zachary, superintendent for WISD.
Several other leading WISD and Baylor educators are expected to attend including principals from Waco and University High Schools, the Hillcrest Professional Development School, and Provident, Lake Waco and North Waco Elementary Schools. Baylor educators from the departments of family and consumer science, nursing, political science, religion, psychology and various departments in the School of Education will be represented. In addition, various community leaders have been invited to attend.
"If G.L. Wiley Middle School becomes a full service school it will provide an exceptional field-based training opportunity for Baylor students in a variety of programs including education, nursing, sociology, psychology and social work," Schmitz said.
The meeting is open to the public. For more information, contact Schmitz at 755-3111.