Trails in the Sand by Peter Traceit, the Street Detective
It’s been a while since Ol Pete sat at cafeteria tables in an elementary school, but the Detective managed to squeeze onto the bench along with parents, a few students, community members and business partners. It was a good Community Conversation meeting and for the most part, it was positive. Ol Pete assumes Super Pete Licata walked away feeling pretty darn good about his first Town Hall.
At second glance, Ol Pete noted a few things that New Pete might want to consider. For the first one of three Town Halls, the participation was rather dismal. If Pete extracted Board members, Executive Leadership teams and school staff, there were few participants. Pete’s not sure if it’s a communication thing, interest has waned, or people are just fatigued from Broward schools’ drama.
Whose bright idea was it to have the first event at an elementary school, anyway? Ol Pete seriously doubts high school parents were going to funnel into an elementary school cafeteria. Just seeing the location probably made parents of high school students assume it was not for them. Not a chance that they were coming. The Detective is thinking it may have been wiser for it to be held at a high school or a community location.
Ol Pete just checked the schedule of the two remaining Community Conversations, and they are being held at Sheridan Technical College and Westpine Middle School on September 27 and October 5, respectively. Pete is betting that the response will be similarly dismal if there aren’t changes to the venue and a different marketing strategy employed to get parents and the community interested in being an active part of the school district.
After closer consideration, Traceit is scratching in bewilderment. Where on this list of community conversations is for the Black community? Was the list generated to silence the voice of some? Was the intention to have dismal participation from all communities? Is this a box checking exercise to demonstrate the community was consulted but really wasn’t. It reminds Ol Pete of placing a divorce petition for a spouse with unknown whereabouts in a newspaper with an audience of 500. The likelihood of the spouse seeing it is small, but the mission of notification is accomplished.
Ol Pete is tugging the coat tail of New Pete. Super Licata should be asking staff deeper questions that go beyond the surface. If Super Pete intends to earn his bonus by bringing the A grade back to the district, he and his executive team will have to bury themselves knee deep in the sands of the Black community and if New Pete wants to talk to the Black community he should use Black owned media. I’m surprise his staff is not telling him that or they are and he’s not listening.
Ol Pete promises to be waiting for New Pete and his entourage when they get there.
Be the first to comment