At our last meeting (Oct. 13), one parent commented that our name, specifically the word "partnership", made us sound elitist. Her concern was that other parents weren't attending because they didn't feel welcome, preceivingthe group as somehow "exclusive".
A bit of background might be helpful. Last year we felt the old name, "Parent-Faculty Committee", was something of a turn-off. There were few (if any) faculty members, other than administrators, attending the meetings. And anything called a committee was likely to sound too bureaucratic to accomplish anything worthwhile.
We embarked on a brief search for a new name, hoping not to spend the entire school year arguing about it but not accomplishing anything else. We made suggestions, offered and discussed our rationale for each, then voted. "Faculty" was out, as was "committee".
We were involved Highland parents who wanted to forge a partnership with other parents who might not be involved yet, for whatever their reasons. We wanted to connote a partnership with the community -- neighbors, businesses, civic institutions, teachers, administration, the APS Board, and students!
It was hardly intended as "elitist" or exclusive, but rather to embrace everyone as equals: partners.
We could spend more time this year trying to find the right name -- another name -- that everyone would feel comfortable with, but I suspect we'd fall far short of that goal. And of course, we could do it again next year, when the membership had changed again.
I propose that we consider whether we might make better progress if, instead of focusing a new name, we take a new approach. "Talk up" our organization. Tell others about our vision, what we want to accomplish. Reach out to those who aren't currently involved. Ask what they would like to see in a parents' group. Ask them to work with us, at whatever level they can feel comfortable doing.
Perhaps we can show through our actions that our goal is to be inclusive, not exclusive. Let's spread the word and see what kind of response we get. Isn't that worth trying? Wouldn't we still have to do that, regardless of what name we've chosen? I think so.
(For what it's worth, my favorite suggestion last year was "Highland Parents Community.")
Mike Kruchoski
480-5000