Getting everyone engaged

One of the fun things about working for PEN is that I am getting to meet lots of people in Pasadena and hear what they have to say about the public schools. I am sure that it comes to no surprise to the readers of this blog that so many people genuinely want to see the schools succeed. The problem of course is that everyone comes to the table of this discussion with their own perspectives, biases, and plans.

If PEN has any contribution to make to this discussion, I think that it boils down to bringing a constructive tone to this conversation. This constructive tone should be based on one premise: there is a large and *growing* group of parents who absolutely love their schools and want to see PUSD, the City Official, and Pasadena community embrace their schools the same way that they have. That is, the foundation for every conversation is what more can we be doing, not, "what needs to change before we can help out."

This represents a big change in tone, but one that is fundamental for Pasadena to have a school district that looks longingly to its neighbors for positive district-community relationships.