VIENNA — Dooly School Superintendent Dr. Grady Miles wants to open the lines of communication between the school system and city governments in the county.

As a beginning step, he met Thursday with the mayors of several cities. Attending were Unadilla Mayor Charles West and City Administrator Perry Ivie, Vienna Mayor Emerson Lundy, Byromville Mayor Kenneth Lester and Pinehurst Mayor Walter Blount.

“If people in their districts come to them with questions about the school system, I want them to be able to answer them,” said Dr. Miles. “They should know how to contact me to get the answers they need for their citizens to remain informed.

“Miscommunication and misrepresentation can have a negative impact on the schools.”

Miles said it is important to him that the public knows what is going on the schools and to be a part of it. He says to get the school system to reach its full potential is going to take a collaborative effort.

“If we get everyone going in the same direction, we will get there faster,” he said.

In the meeting, Miles went reviewed the usefulness of benchmark tests, especially the CRCT. Dr. Miles also discussed the OAS or Online Assessment System which is designed to allow students to go online for testing to pinpoint any weaknesses they have and assist teachers in planning.

“We really want students to be in control of learning,” said Dr. Miles. “We want to encourage kids to think on their own.”

Dr. Miles said that Dooly County has some wonderful teachers and he wants to make sure they get the resources they need to become even better teachers. He also talked about the importance of parents taking an active role in their children’s education.

“Students have agendas that they bring home with them each day,” he said. “These agendas are like calendars with assignments listed for each day, materials needed, and days that students have tests.

“These are a good method of correspondence between parents and teachers.”

Dr. Miles asked the mayorrs to take the time to get together and periodically walk through the schools and observe classes.

“I think it will promote student achievement,” he said. “Education is really important and I want the kids to know that the people in the community care.”

Before they went their separate ways, the mayors made plans to visit the schools in October.