The last Quality Education for All Fund community meeting is tonight
8/4/2014
The auditorium of Raines High School was nearly full at 6 p.m. Thursday night with a diverse crowd of parents and children, uniformed cheerleaders and football players, teachers, and other community members. A high energy could be felt as neighbors chatted with one another, teachers reunited after a summer off, and principals mingled at the Quality Education for All (QEA) community meeting. Upon introduction, the honorable Constance Hall (School Board Member from District 5) spoke for a few minutes and charged each member of the crowd with finding their role in the QEA initiative and seeking to do what they can to move it along.
The crowd greeted Dr. Vitti with much applause and listened eagerly to his words. His presentation addressed the rationale for the QEA initiative and the details of how it will be carried out. He spoke passionately about the need to place great teachers in every grade level, getting resources to the schools and students that need them most, and the efforts to ensure that there is great principal leadership to develop supportive culture. His remarks summoned great applause from the crowd at multiple points throughout the presentation, and at it's end, showing the community's agreement and excitement.
The panel discussion that followed invited the voices of those impacting the QEA initiative and those whom will be impacted by it. The audience heard from a donor, a teacher, a student, a principal, and others, about their reactions to QEA and their hopes for it. The Question and Answer session that followed welcomed the voices of the audience to express their questions and concerns directly to Dr. Vitti. Questions and comments ranged from concerns about factors like poverty, hunger, and student motivation to charges from parents encouraging others to get involved in the Parent Teachers Association. When all questions were addressed, Dr. Vitti thanked the community again for coming out. The gathering ended with high energy as people audibly expressed their reactions and thoughts to one another.
The last QEA Fund community meeting will be held tonight at Jean Ribault High School at 6 p.m.
If you attended one of the QEA Fund community meetings held at Andrew Jackson High School or Raines High School, we'd like to hear from you! What were your reactions and thoughts?
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Lindsay Jones