WPCNR WHITE PLAINS VOICE. November 4, 2004: On November 15, the City School District is holding "an internal workshop," in an all-day meeting at Sam's of Gedney Way, from 9 A.M. to 3:30 P.M. It will include what is described as "a cross-section of district people, including a few Board of Education members."

The purpose of the meeting according to Michele Schoenfeld, is to "reflect on priorities and goals for this and coming years, and how to get there."

Conducting the workshop as "Facilitator," will be the author of the best seller, Family Matters, How Schools Can Cope with the Crisis in Childrearing,"  Robert Evans, a clinical and organizational psychologist and Executive Director of the Human Relations Service in Wellesley, Massachussetts.  Evans is described as a consultant to "hundreds of public and private schools throughout the U.S. and internationally, working with teachers, administrators and boards.

The WPCNR question for this week's poll is whether the general public should be allowed to attend this meeting and participate, considering that the setting of future educational goals and objectives is the purpose. Superintendent of Schools Timothy Connors advised WPCNR that the workshop was not open to public participation, because this was a district administrative function "for us," and that the public would be represented by selected stakeholders in the district who had been invited to the meeting and would be included in the discussion.