Community Shares Thoughts on Making the Grade

More than two dozen people gathered at for the first “Topic Tuesday” roundtable event, sponsored by the David Murphy for School Committee campaign.

The roundtable, which was the first in a weekly series leading up to the November 8 election, focused on the relationship between the Attleboro schools and the greater Attleboro community, according to a press release on the event.

Participants included small business owners, real estate agents, former city officials and members of the mentoring program.

Murphy, an at-large candidate for the Attleboro School Committee, facilitated the one-hour discussion, which focused on the relationship between residential property values and the quality of the schools, the importance of building constructive partnerships with local businesses, and the how the city's identity impacts its school system.

The Attleboro High School Mentoring Program was identified as a promising start in helping the schools and the city as a whole to thrive. Implementing a similar program at the middle school level and enlisting Attleboro area businesses to participate as professional role models were suggested as a way to expand the program.

“Attleboro’s identity as a city is inextricably linked to the quality of the Attleboro schools," Murphy said. "The thoughts and concerns voiced at this first round table demonstrate the degree to which this is a priority for the Attleboro community."

The next Topic Tuesday will be held on Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2011 at 7 p.m. at in downtown Attleboro. The focus of that round table will be “Arts, Athletics, and Extras in the Attleboro Schools.”