Pastor George Mason met twice with Jim Tate, the principal at Dan D. Rogers Elementary School, an at-risk school in the neighborhood. He welcomed Wilshire's interest and identified about 30 teachers that Wilshire members could interview about needs at the school, their willingness to be involved, and their leadership potential. A training session was held in March for persons interested in interviewing the teachers. Ten persons agreed to contact specific teachers to begin to build relationships. There was a great response from the teachers, who presented many ideas about the needs they perceived.
Teachers do much of the planning for events and celebrations.
Minister of Missions Karen Gilbert and Wilshire volunteers have met twice with teachers and administration to continue to build relationships. We want this partnership to be more than that. We would like to help organize parents so they will have ownership of the school and the education of their children. We will continue to work to identify ways we can meet, encourage, involve and organize parents to give leadership along with the teachers and administration to provide an education for the children. A group of 12 Wilshire members has been trained and has met several times.