Parents and students have been meeting on weekends to discuss ways to address concerns about student safety and cultural tensions at Highland H.S. We love and believe in Highland and its diverse community, so we're eager to tackle this challenge to help all the wonderful people here. At tonight's meeting, we will present our proposal for organizing and overseeing town hall forums with our primary stakeholders: students, parents, and APS / HHS administration & staff.
Here is our proposal in a nutshell:
Objectives Tonight:
(1) Agreement on firm dates for town hall / community forum meetings at HHS.
(2) Administration acceptance of parents' offer to organize the planning.
(3) APS support for the parents' process, not control of the dialogue.
Why:
(1) The school year will be ending soon, but anticipated meetings have not been announced yet. They should not be deferred until summer or the next school year. We can and should take positive action now to address a valid community concern (no matter how widespread or limited).
(2) APS wants to encourage greater parental involvement. It should demonstrate its trust in parents to handle this responsibility and minimize any possible perceptions that important issues are being glossed over.
(3) Parents sincerely want to support and maximize the effectiveness of the HHS administration and staff.
What: Three separate forums, each conducted as a three-round "fishbowl" discussion. One forum would be hosted by parents, one forum by students, and one forum by APS and HHS administration / staff. At each forum, each stakeholder group (parents, students, and APS) will have ample opportunity to answer questions posed by the other stakeholders — without interruption!
Focus: Discussion will be limited to issues directly related to student safety.
(1) Security policies, procedures, and personnel;
(2) Improved communication with parents; and
(3) Cultural tensions at HHS.
When: Either
(1) Meetings over a several week period:
(a) First weekend -- April 7, 8, or 9 (Friday evening, Saturday morning, or Sunday afternoon) and
(b) Second weekend -- April 21, 22, or 23 (Friday evening, Saturday morning, or Sunday afternoon), and
(c) Third weeknight -- May 3 (Wednesday evening)
OR
(2) All meetings on a single weekend: April 21, 22, and 23 (Friday evening, Saturday morning, and Sunday afternoon)
How:
(1) To speak in the fishbowl — that is, to participate, rather than simply observe — stakeholders are expected to commit to attending all three forums.
(2) Neutral, outside moderators will be sought to conduct each fishbowl.
(3) Community observers will be allowed to submit questions, but moderators will give preference to questions from stakeholders.
(4) Observers will be encouraged to share their thoughts through recorded interviews afterward, advance point papers, or emails at any time.
Contacts: Call Jo Butler (321-1758) or Mike Kruchoski (480-5000) for more information.
Just a reminder that we are meeting again on Monday, March 13th. The usual time (6:00 pm) and place (Library conference room).
Call Mike Kruchoski at 480-5000 for more information.