GREAT FALLS – Great Falls business leaders and Great Falls Public School principals paired up Tuesday for a new look at education.
The Chamber of Commerce and the Great Falls Public Schools Foundation put 20 Great Falls leaders in high schools, middle schools, and elementary schools.
Business leaders spent the morning shadowing principals to build an understanding of how today’s schools operate.
At Longfellow Elementary, Principal Lance Boyd and Architect Max Grebe spent the morning monitoring recess and completing classroom evaluations.
Boyd said education has changed a lot in recent years and both men said the experience provided valuable insight.
“Just being able to listen and ask questions of him as to what the perceptions were coming in compared to what he thought he might be going to see and what he might be going to participate in and looking in comparison to what we were actually doing I think was drastically different,” said Boyd.
Grebe agreed he was surprised by the amount of time spent in the classroom instead of the office.
“I think seeing the feedback between the administration and the teachers is really interesting to me to see that much hands-on engagement,” explains Grebe.
Following their time in the schools, principals and their business partners gathered at the Paris Gibson Education Center to discuss their experiences.
Lunch was catered by Great Falls High culinary students.
-Reported by Joe Huisinga/MTN News
