Superintendent’s Corner . . .

Strengthening partnerships with the Merrill community

One of the key components of the mission of the Merrill Area Public Schools (MAPS) is creating and strengthening partnerships within our community. I am pleased that, over the years, we have been able to establish strong relationships with various aspects of the community through one of the most successful Youth Apprenticeship programs in Wisconsin, strong student organizations such as the FFA, great booster clubs and PTOs, community volunteerism with staff and students, the renewal of our Junior Achievement program, etc. Our schools and our community are certainly intertwined and rely heavily on each other for our continued success.
This year we are excited to strengthen our relationship with the community even further with the introduction of a Community Education program. Community Education, a concept that is growing throughout our state, allows community members the opportunity to take and/or teach low cost, high interest classes using our school facilities. These classes typically take place in the evenings and are a wonderful way for community members to learn about a variety of topics, socialize and network with new and old friends, and to take advantage of the outstanding facilities we have throughout our district. The potential course topics are limitless and will be based on interest from the community, but typically involve such things as cooking, fitness, arts and crafts, financial topics, technology, etc. Because the instructors serve as independent contractors and charge a fee for the classes which is then shared with MAPS, there is the great potential for a valuable service to our community with little to no impact to our district budget.
This past winter, we pulled together a number of community members to discuss the idea of starting a Community Education program in Merrill, and the interest and support for the concept was very high. From that larger group, an advisory group of local citizens was formed to learn all that we could about community education, to hear from other districts who have successful programs, to learn about logistics and the nuts and bolts of running such a program, etc. This community advisory group worked very hard throughout the spring and summer and recently presented the concept to our Board of Education who unanimously approved the idea for this school year.
You’ll be hearing more about Merrill Community Education throughout the fall, and we expect to run our first evening classes starting this winter. In the meantime, if there is a particular topic you would like to learn more about, or something you would like to teach your fellow community members about, keep us in mind as we will be seeking your input soon.
We’re very excited for what a strong Community Education program can mean to the Merrill area and look forward to continuing to build the relationships with our community that are so important to the success of both MAPS and the community we call home.

- Shannon Murray, Superintendent