Armuchee High School will host the first of four systemwide listening sessions tonight at 6:30 p.m in the gymnasium. The session will last an hour and a half and will bring together the Floyd County Board of Education and Local School Governance Teams to discuss issues relating to schools and the community.

The teams have been involved with the board in the past, but the listening sessions will provide a smaller and more focused environment for people to share their thoughts and concerns, according to Tim Hensley, assistant to the superintendent.

“What we wanted to do this time was make those groups part of the school discussion,” said Hensley. “Those people need to be a part of the process. We felt like it would be something valuable for the local school governance.”

The session will begin with a general introduction and welcome. The group will then be split into smaller groups from schools feeding into Armuchee High including Glenwood Primary, Armuchee Middle and Armuchee Elementary. Points will then be brought back to the board for consideration.

The discussions will highlight successes at the schools, challenges being faced and opportunities to take on in the future.

The next sessions will be Thursday for the Model area at 6:30 p.m. at Model High; March 27 for the Pepperell area at 6:30 p.m. at Pepperell High and April 10 for the Coosa area at 6:30 p.m. at Coosa High.

“A big part of the charter school system is local governance,” Hensley said. “Once we finish, we’ll have an overall community perspective that our board can look at as they make plans for the future.”