Why I support Gayle Goldin to be the next RI District 3 State Senator

I am taking a few minutes to shift gears away from education per se and share a few thoughts about the upcoming Primary Day election, which is a week from today, on September 11. Democrat voters from my neighborhood, in State Senate District 3, will be electing a new state senator following the retirement of Rhoda Perry. (If you're not sure if you're a District 3 voter, click here for a PDF map of the district's boundaries.)

I will vote for Gayle Goldin because I believe she has the experience, commitment, and capacity for thoughtful, fair decisionmaking that we need in the Rhode Island General Assembly. I say this carefully, because also know and respect her primary opponent, Maryellen Butke. I am gratified to see a contest between two strong, smart, capable women.

Gayle is among the parents with whom I am privileged to spend lots of time with during the Little League baseball season. When we’re not cheering on our kids, we have time to talk about a whole range of education issues. Gayle asks smart questions, researches issues, understands the intricacies of policy, and considers a range of viewpoints in ways that make it clear to me that she will be an effective legislator. I know that Gayle will work on behalf of Providence's public schools in ways that build on current strengths to create better places for teaching and learning for all students. 

Gayle also understands the ways that strong public school systems--rather than a preponderance of charter schools--best serve our state's students. She knows that while charter schools have a critical place in school improvement efforts, they're not the only answer to the real challenges Rhode Island's young people face. She is committed to equitable funding and focusing the power of the state legislature to create improvements in areas such as accessible technology that can support all schools in all communities. And she knows well that good schools depend on statewide efforts to mitigate the effects of poverty, family instability, neighborhood safety, health challenges, and more.

I also respect Gayle's expertise in these other areas. She has years of experience in health care policy, women’s issues, and issues impacting families. She has a compelling personal story and a record of work and public service that have prepared her well for service in the General Assembly.

If you are a District 3 voter and haven't yet made your decision, it's up to you to learn more. Please consider attending the College Hill Neighborhood Association's candidate forum tomorrow, Wednesday, September 5 at 6:30pm at List Arts Building, 64 College Street on the Brown campus. 

And if you'd like more time with Gayle, I am co-hosting a coffee and dessert hour with her on Thursday, September 6 at 7:30pm. I’d love to see people who would like to get to know Gayle there Email me at jill.davidson@gmail.com and I'll send you an invitation.

At BlogHer, looking for other school-family-education bloggers

I am not sure if "school-family-education" adequately captures what this blog is about, I'll have time to work on describing my blog as I meet thousands of other bloggers who are here in NYC for BlogHer. I'm posting this on the off chance I miss anyone (and with 2,000 people here, there's a slight possibility that I may not be able to have a meaningful conversation with everyone), because I want to get the word out that I am looking for other bloggers who are writing in the the terrain that Providence Schools and Beyond occupies, the place where parents/family members and students are writing about the schools their kids attend and about the learning experiences their families are having both in and out of school.

So I'm waving this post as a big flag for other BlogHer participants, or any other education bloggers. Let's start to make a list of ourselves. I want to read about other families experiences with schools and school systems for sources of inspiration, alternate perspectives, and different experiences. If we come together and compare notes, we may be able to have a better sense of the ways blogging out school experiences from the parent/family perspective might be having on our kids' education, learning, and growth, and on the ways we may or may not be serving as advocates for all young people, their teachers, and schools themselves.

I am here with Kristen McClusky, writer of Motherload - just go read it, so funny and smart, and if you need another reason, she's from and currently spending time in Rhode Island. Wait, no, she's currently here in New York with me. Okay, where Kristen is at this actual moment is perhaps not mission critical. I mention Kristen so that I can go ahead and use the third person plural and say "we" without sounding overly regal.

We met a good fraction of the BlogHer 2,000 last night, madly exchanging cards and stories, so if any of you are among the readers of this, hi! And I know that today will yield more connections to other snappy, wise writers who are smart about life online and off and to bloggers in the "school-family-education" category (let's work on a better name for that!).

Providence City Council education-related hearings this week: RIDE rankings and elected school board

In his weekly newsletter, Providence City Council member Sam Zurier shares two events likely to be of interest to fellow education obsessives.

1. TODAY (!!!), Monday July 23 at 5:00pm, the City Council Education Subcommittee will hear a presentation from the  Providence School Department concerning the State’s recent rankings of schools for intervention (discussed here on this blog last week). The purpose of the hearing will be to learn how the rankings were compiled, and how they will impact the affected schools.  The meeting will take place on the third floor of City Hall (25 Dorrance Street).


I cannot make it to this hearing - will be en route from work. Am putting this out there in case someone reading this is able and as usual, if you're incline to write up what happened and share here in the comments, so grateful we would be!


2. On Thursday July 26, at 5:30pm, the City Council Ordinance Committee will hold a public hearing on proposed revisions to the City Charter, including one to replace the appointed school board with an elected school committee.


So not likely that I will make this hearing either, though I am quite interested. I am also quite without a firm opinion about the best direction in which to head. I am inclined to support an elected school board more out of distaste for the current appointed board, which puts too much power in the hands of the mayor's office. Clearly much more to say and debate but I'll be quiet about this for now in the interest of sharing this post with 4 hours and 53 minutes to spare before tonight's meeting - should be plenty of time to clear your calendar and be there, right?

Free trip for kids to Newport Jazz Festival!

My friend Gwen shared with me the news that Opera Providence and Jazz is a Rainbow are sponsoring a free trip for kids the Newport Jazz Festival on August 4. This all expense paid trip is for children ages 8-19 only. Event includes a free ticket, free bus trip, free T-shirt and free lunch! Adult supervision provided. Seating is limited!  Bus departs from Providence. To reserve a seat for your child, email ribooks@aol.com by TOMORROW, Saturday 7/21.

Click on the flier for more:

Providence School Board meeting tonight, 6:30pm, public vote on PPSD's next superintendent

Tonight, the Providence School Board is scheduled to vote on the confirmation of the next PPSD superintendent. Originally, this was slated to be a decision that took place entirely in executive session, per this Providence School Board agenda filed on Tuesday, May 1 and posted on the RI Secretary of State's website. On Friday, May 4, a revised agenda was posted stating that the board will meet first in executive session and then reconvene publicly for a vote to confirm the superintendent choice.

This is a welcome change that adds a last-minute smidgen of transparency to a process that has been secretive. I wrote last week about the undemocratic effects of the covert superintendent choice process. I very much wish to be present this evening for the vote in order to take advantage of what little opportunity for participation has been afforded. If you're just learning about this now and have any opportunity to attend, I hope that you do and that you're willing to post here in a comment or otherwise share what you saw and heard.

I didn't plan to be there, since until Friday there was no reason to be there. This week's capacity for evening meetings, already quite limited during Little League season, is already full; I'll be at the monthly PPSD Parent Advisory Council (PAC) meeting on Thursday evening (and if you want to know more about the PAC and how to participate, please let me know!). Mercifully, that's our one baseball-game-free evening this week. Part of me, of course, wants to figure out some way to get to tonight's school board meeting to witness whatever goes down. But a whole lot more of me--as much as I'd like to be there, as vital as it is that we show up and be heard--really needs to be present for my kid who will be playing tonight; for my other kids who will be at the game too; for my husband who's also trying to balance a job, a commute, and a family and who I don't wish to hit with a last-minute plea that he leave work early so I can be at the meeting tonight; and for some semblance of sanity, laundry, homework, dinner, and routine, none of which are easily had right now. 

Had this whole process been more transparent, inclusive, even marginally acknowledging of the importance of public engagement or at least public information, I'd likely have found a way to be at the meeting that should have been public all along. Yeah, I know that I've previously groused about how hard it is for many of us--particularly family members with school-age children--to react to last minute info, drop everything, and show up to stand up for what's right for our schools. We live in an imperfect world, that's just how it goes. Nevertheless, the last-minute change irks me, not because the school board vote has been made public but because it should have been public all along so that (to name just one reason) people could plan to be present  for--and perhaps even participate meaningfully in--important events in the life our our city's schools.

So, to recap: School Board meeting tonight, 6:30pm at 797 Westminster Street, during which the Providence School Board will vote on the next PPSD superintendent. Please go if you can. Please share what you saw and heard. Please know that I really wish I could be there. Thanks,

Parent Involvement in School Reform event - March 22, 4:30pm

I am passing on information about an event happening this Thursday afternoon that will be of interest to those of us eager to know more about the impact of parent/community organizing on school improvement efforts. Sadly, due to a conflict with work and MLK Elementary's PTO meeting that evening, I can't make it to this. I hope some of you can!

Click on the flier to the right and/or read on for more:

Superintendent Susan Lusi and the Providence Public Schools invite you to join in a conversation with nationally recognized parent organizers Joanna Brown, Leticia Barrera, and Christina Torres from Chicago’s Logan Square Neighborhood Association.

Date: March 22, 2012

Time: 4:30 - 6:00 pm

Location: Providence Family Resource Center 379 Washington Street, Providence

For more information and to RSVP, please contact Janet Pichardo at janet.pichardo@ppsd.org or (401) 456-0686.

Light refreshments, Spanish translation, and children’s activities for ages 5-12 will be provided. Traducción a Español, refrescos y actividades para niños de 5-12 estarán disponible.

The Logan Square Neighborhood Association, which turns 50 this year, serves the 80,000 population of its Northwest Chicago neighborhood. In the past 15 years LSNA has built a national reputation by transforming schools into 'community schools' with deep parent engagement fostered through its Community Learning Centers and Parent Mentor programs. LSNA's members consist of 44 neighborhood organizations, including 10 public schools with over 7,000 students, most of them from low-income Latino immigrant families. The Parent Mentor program was the subject of A Cord of Three Strands: A New Approach to Parent Engagement in Schools (pub. 2011), by Prof. Soo Hong of Wellesley. LSNA also has a Grow Your Own Teacher program which has expanded into a statewide program with 16 sites around Illinois.

Speakers:

Leticia Barrera, LSNA Education Organizer, began at LSNA as a Parent Mentor in 1997 and is now a Lead Parent Trainer. Since 2000, she has been on full-time staff at LSNA, mentoring at least 600 parents and building relationships with school staff. Formerly a teacher in Mexico, she is studying to receive her teaching credentials in Chicago through LSNA’s Grow Your Own project. She is bilingual in Spanish and English. She is part of the new Parent Engagement Institute which is developing new parent mentor programs in 13 new schools outside the Logan Square neighborhood.

Joanna Brown is Lead Education Organizer at the Logan Square Neighborhood Association in Chicago, where she has worked since 1993. She has 30 years of experience in community organizing, community journalism and public relations; urban affairs and politics. She was professionally and personally involved in Chicago’s first school reform elections, serving two terms (1989-93) as a Local School Council member. Her two children attended Inter-American, a Chicago public dual-language elementary school.

Christina Torres is a parent activist with the Logan Square Neighborhood Association and a trainer with LSNA's new Parent Engagement Institute. Christina began her involvement in the Logan Square community as a Parent Mentor in her children’s school. She is a leader in her children's school and in Chicago school reform campaigns.

Providence Schools Superintendent Search Advisory Group Community Forum - 2/15/12, 6pm, PCTA

The Providence Schools Superintendent Search Advisory Group, which is conducting the work of identifying a permanent superintendent for the Providence Public Schools, is holding a Community Forum on Wednesday, February 15, 2012 from 6:00-8:00PM at the Providence Career & Technical Academy, 41 Fricker Street.

As well, the search group has created survey, online here and via http://www.educateprovidence.org that allows you to share input through March 3. Information on http://www.educateprovidence.org says that the survey results will be posted after March 12.

I have to say that I remain skeptical about the extent to which community input will be valued and at the same time totally committed to asking you to participate. My skepticism comes from my belief that the process isn't set up to be swayed or deeply informed by community input, so the survey and the forum may simply serve as release valves. I'd love to be wrong. Prove me wrong! I'm not being cynical. At least I hope I am not. 

I do think it's essential to share your views about whom you want to lead our city's schools and the direction you think that person should take. So weigh in. If you believe as I do that the current acting superintendent, Sue Lusi, should continue, use the comment sections at the end to indicate that, and use the rest of the form to try to indicate what you value and think is important. 

I hope that the forum on the 15th is conducted so that there's some public airing of the public's questions and views. I think there's value to small group discussions, as happened at the community conversation on education that I and 50 or so others attended on January 28, but there's a corresponding lack of accountability. I appreciate the opportunity to connect with others concerned about education in Providence, but that doesn't serve the same purpose as asking hard questions of leaders and being part of a group that hears those leaders respond. That's valuable too, and I hope it's part of the upcoming forum.

Providence Children's Film Festival - February 16-21

This is so awesome. Click here for Kidoinfo's in depth coverage of the upcoming Providence Children's Film Festival and then plan to check out the films with your kids!

You can go to the PCFF's site for even more info and to buy tickets.

One of the aspects of this film festival that I love is that the selection committee includes kids from 5 to 13 years old. Films for kids chosen by kids - we will see you there!

Navigating School: Social Pressures of Adolesence - panel at Lincoln School in Providence tonight!

Short on time this week but want to share what I can! Just saw this on Facebook - the event is tonight, hard for folks to get out at the last minute but if want to share anyway.

I wish I could go. I have been impressed Dr. Elizabeth Englandar's antibullying curriculum and other work - visit http://elizabethenglander.com for more about it.

Please go to http://www.lincolnschool.org/page.cfm?p=2745&newsid=1241 for full info and to RSVP.

I hope that this is a conversation, redux

Tomorrow, Saturday 1/28 from 10:00-11:30am, Mayor Taveras and Superintendent Lusi are co-hosting another community conversation about Providence's public schools at the John Hope Settlement House, 7 Thomas P. Whitten Way. Full info is here. 

Another such meeting happened last month on the first night of Hanukah, as I noted - happy to see that there's another scheduled. I am going to try to be there and will report on what transpired if so, and of course would love comments from others who were either at December's gathering or who will be there tomorrow.

Pecha Kucha Providence tomorrow - 20x20 on the relationship between schools and families

With other brave souls, I will be sharing thoughts tomorrow night (Wednesday, 12/21) on the topic of relationships at Pecha Kucha Providence at The Met at Hope Artiste Village, 1005 Main Street in Pawtucket. Doors open @ 7:20.

Per the Pecha Kucha format. I'll be presenting 20 images and talking about each for 20 seconds. My topic is not actually on the relationship in general between families and schools but rather on the specific, particular, evolving relationship between my family and the Providence Public Schools. There may be generalizations to be made. Or there may not be. In any event, it's our story about which as, if you're reading this, you know I obsess, so I'm going for it. I would love to see some of you there!

I hope that this is a conversation.

Heads up for those who want to attend meetings about Providence's schools until the bitter end of 2011: on Tuesday, December 20, Mayor Angel Taveras and Superintendent Susan Lusi will be co-hosting a Community Conversation on Education in Providence from 6:30-8:00pm at Nathanael Greene Middle School, 721 Chalkstone Avenue in Providence.

A bit more info about the event is here: http://cityof.providenceri.com/mayor/community-conversation-on-education-in-providence along with a link to what presumably is the subject of the discussion, the Educate Providence website which features the outcome of the Education Opportunities Working Group. I say that I hope it's a conversation because the report from the group is well worth discussing, exploring, and understanding in terms of their likely impact on Providence's education system.

This event is also scheduled on the first night of Hanukkah, so I can't be there. I understand it's hard to find dates that work well for most people, and one assumes that this date was chosen with the understanding that some of us would have family obligations. Nevertheless, it's really unfortunately scheduled; I hope that another such session will be held in early January for those who can't make it either because of Hanukkah or because this is generally such a wildly busy time of year for many across the religious, or not, spectrum.

Update from Angela Romans, who emailed the following: "Yes, we are planning to have 2 more such meetings in January and are working out the dates. Those will be announced and posted by next week." Excellent to hear and when those dates are posted, I'll share them here.

Family and community engagement: less is more

Would you like to go to a meeting? Because, man, do we have them this week. Tonight, tomorrow night, and Thursday night are full of meetings and hearings related to the Achievement First Mayoral Academies charter school application that's been submitted to RIDE. Tonight, there's a Providence City Council education subcommittee hearing at 5:30 at City Hall (more info here). Tomorrow and Thursday night, the Rhode Island Board of Regents is holding hearings in Providence, tomorrow at 6pm at Kennedy Elementary School, Thursday at 6pm at Alvarez High School (more info, respectively aligned along some sort of spectrum here, here, and here). And that's just what's happening in Providence related to this one particular topic.

In Providence, it's also Open Schools Week for elementary schools, which means that families interested in public elementary schools are likely taking time off work or away from other responsibilities to visit schools. I'm spending evenings and lunch hours getting ready for and giving tours of MLK Elementary, where my kids go to school. This is great! But again, this week? With everything else? Too much.

Read on for schedule-related bitching and moaning, if that's your pleasure...

While I'd be way crankier if there were no hearings or publicly available information, I am sufficiently cranky with all of this happening immediately, right now, one after the other, especially since there is no actual rush as far as I am aware. As Tom Hoffman points out, the deadline for charter applications is four months away. There's ample time for various public entities to schedule hearings in ways that allow families with kids (or any of you out there who may work evenings or just otherwise have plenty going on) to plan to attend. After a strenuous bout of childcare wrangling, I think I'll be able to attend tomorrow night's Regents' hearing at Kennedy but that's it. And I am blessed with a daytime job, fairly easy kids, a car, and a spouse who supports my desire to participate. 

Generally, I regard myself as a fortunate person, especially when it comes to being able to be involved with the schools in my community. Though I work full time, I have enough control over my time to be able to spend time in schools. I have been able to form meaningful relationships with other family members, staff members, students, and administrators. I feel like I am able to contribute to conversations about what's happening in education in Providence and beyond in a variety of ways - in conversations, in public forums, on this blog, in my East Side Monthly column, and in my professional life. And as a member of the dominant culture who speaks English and feels happy and at home in school settings, I am well aware of my privilege and access, and happy to use some of it to ask that we think about ways to schedule hearings and opportunities for family and community involvement that support that involvement. 

When possible, I hope that the various towns involved with this proposal, along with RIDE, communicate with each other about when hearings are happening, and try to make sure they don't happen on weeks when there are other big district-wide events such as Open Schools Week. I have no expectation that all of us can attend everything, but this week's event pile-up is way beyond possible for most regular folks. 

In order to have consistent, inclusive family and community involvement, we really need better planning. Too many events, while better than too few, create their own frustrations that could be avoided by better planning. Moving forward, let's look at the various demands on folks' time and try to schedule them in ways that are possible for the largest possible group of people. 

Teach-in: How Would Achievement First Impact Our Community? 10/19 7pm

Am surfacing from this month's blog break to let people know about an event of interest this week.

On Wednesday, October 19, from 7:00-9:00pm, the Coalition to Defend Public Education is sponsoring a teach-in entitled "How Would Achievement First Impact Our Community?" to offer a forum to discuss issues surrounding the soon-to-be-proposed Achievement First Mayoral Academy in Providence. Hear from parents, educators, community members, and others who will voice their concerns and discuss ideas for the way to truly improve and defend public education in Providence and in Rhode Island. The forum will be held at St. Michael's Church located at 239 Oxford Street in Providence.


Speakers will include Caroline Apgar, New Haven teacher and graduate of Teach for America, Jennifer Davey, Cranston parent, Tom Hoffman, blogger on education issues at tuttlesvc.org and Providence parents and teachers.  For more information, contact the Coalition to Defend Public Education at 401-400-0373 or email coalitiontodefendpubliced@gmail.com.

If you're on Facebook, there's an event page for the teach-in here.

Help Save Central Falls' Library! Adams Memorial Library Gala, September 30

Please join my friends from Leadership Rhode Island and many others at Central Falls' Adams Memorial Library Gala on September 30 at 6:30pm. It's going to be a fabulous night for a cause that could  not be better. As Central Falls struggles financially, services are being cut and its library is at immediate risk of closing. Here's some of what you will enjoy at the Gala and ways to help:

The Fundraiser will be held on Friday, September 30, 2011 at the Adams Memorial Library, 205 Central Street in Central Falls. The evening will begin at 6:30PM with live entertainment by Steve Palumbo, music by Broad Street Ceilli Band featuring members of Pendragon & Freinds, hors d'oeuvres by Tom's Market, open bar from Bartending by Dennis, special appearances by Big Nazo and Ten 31 Productions, and an opportunity to bid at our Silent Auction with items from local businesses and artists. We are asking our immediate and expanded community to support this event by becoming a donor to our silent auction.

Visit the Adams Memorial Library Gala web page for the full line up of fun, and please do what you can to lend your support. Please join us to preserve a safe spot for learning and literacy!

Never stop learning: Idealist.org grad school job fair in Providence, 9/20

I'm passing and fully endorsing a suggestion from my friend Kath Connolly, who suggests that you consider visiting Idealist.org's graduate school fair, happening September 20 in Providence.

And here's some words from Kath on why you should go if you have any inkling that graduate education might be in your future, and why you should help spread the word:

Idealist.org, an organization which is near and dear to my heart, is having one of its AMAZING free Grad Fairs in Providence next week. Representatives from 70 different grad school programs that some how are connected to doing good will convene in Providence on Sept. 20 to talk with anyone who is interested about their programs. I've been to these events a few times and it is a really interesting mix of education, policy, advocacy, research, etc. and a wide range of content areas. It is a great way for folks who are not even sure about grad school, but are doing some soul searching about career paths and next steps. It is really interesting to walk around a room with so many different options and think about what feels resonant. 

Here are the particulars:

Idealist.org Grad Fair

Sept 20

5-8 pm

Brown University, Andrews Dining Hall

Brown Street and Cushing Streets, Providence

more details: http://www.idealist.org/view/fair/P8wZb9WtMKh4/

Thanks for the heads-up, Kath!

School Board and City Council education subcommittee meetings this week + more

Week before school starts and it's all PPSD-related meetings meetings meetings. Here are a few that have hit my post-vacation radar:

Tonight - Monday, August 22

Providence School Board Meeting, 6:30pm, 797 Westminster Street, 3rd floor: The School Board will meet to discuss a number of issues including the potential participation of Providence in the Achievement First Mayor Academies being proposed for Providence and Cranston. School board meeting agenda available here. Arrive early to sign up for public comment if you have thoughts on any of the agenda items or if something else PPSD-related is on your mind that you want on the record.

Parents Advisory Council meeting, 6pm, Family Resource Center, 379 Washington Street: The Parents Advisory Council (PAC) is a gathering of representatives from all Providence public schools. If you are interested in joining the PAC to represent your school, please join us! I have been a PAC member for several years and will be representing Nathan Bishop Middle School during the coming year.

Tomorrow night - Tuesday, August 23

City Council Education Subcommittee meeting, 5:30pm, Providence City Hall, 3rd floor: The School Department will report on issues related to the reopening of school, including the length of the instructional day, assignment of children from closed schools and the teacher "match" process.

Wednesday, August 24

Rhode Island Jobs for Justice Cranston parent rally, 5pm (or perhaps 6pm) onward: A series of rallies is planned in Cranston for families in that district to stand up for their schools. May be of interest to Providence folks with an interest in what's happening with the proposed Achievement First Mayoral Academies. More details here at Tuttle SVC.

TONIGHT! Deborah Gist at PCTA for community forum, 6:30pm

Tonight!

Rhode Island Education Commissioner Deborah A. Gist will hold a community forum Tuesday, June 21, 6:30-8:00pm at the Providence Career and Technical Academy, 91 Fricker Street.

During the course of the school year, Commissioner Gist has held community forums in every school district in the state. More info here: http://www.ride.ri.gov/Commissioner/Visits-Forums.aspx

Thanks to Better Providence for the heads up about this.

"The Inconvenient Truth behind Waiting for Superman" screening tomorrow

Heads up for anyone who has some free time tomorrow evening. A film called "The Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting for Superman" will be screened at 6:00pm at the Providence Teachers' Union Office, 99 Corliss Street in Providence.

The film screening is being sponsored by the Coalition to Defend Public Education. More about the film can be found here: http://www.waitingforsupermantruth.org/

I haven't seen it but am happy that someone took on what I considered to be the misleading narrative of "Waiting for Superman." Several PPSD parents who I know have seen "The Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting for Superman" recommend it, so I'm passing it on.

Hope High School Theater Students Ready "Triangle" for Scotland - performances in Providence this week!

Hope students performing "Triangle" earlier this year

As previously on this blog shared here and here Hope High School's theater company will be performing Laurie Brooks' "Triangle" at the American High School Theater Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland in August. Local fans and supporters can catch performances of "Triangle" this week - Hope's theater students will perform at the Carriage House, 9 Duncan Avenue in Providence on Friday, June 24 at 7:00pm and Sunday, June 26 at 3:00pm. Tickets are $10 and as Channing Grey reported in the ProJo over the weekend, "will help defray travel expenses. Students, parents and the community have raised all but $10,000 of $106,000 needed to send the students to Scotland."

"Triangle" focuses on the modern-day connections to the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, which happened in New York City in 1911, killing 140 workers. Hope High School's appearance at the American High School Theater Festival marks the school's third time at the even in recent years, an extraordinary accomplishment for Hope theater teacher Christine Auxier, her students, and everyone who has supported them.

Get out to see "Triangle" this week and celebrate our local - soon to be international - talent!