Can I (a non-Asian) attend the Asian Pacific American Parent Engagement Night ?

[Anonymous]

There are topics at this meeting that I am interested in, such as MCPS counseling services, magnet school selection, MCPS at a glance, and rigor and challenges within the MCPS school system.
The meeting is co-sponsored by MCPS, and is near my home (Hoover MS). I presume, given the number of different Asian languages, that all discussion will be in English. Still I might feel awkward as a non-Asian attending this event.

I don't know how to link to the MCPS Facebook posting for the event but here is the signup Google Docs form
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSciUFfjxY1miAcs7nK7fVuvnsMtlqkFeZQx_AD3vzFxQvER9w/viewform

[Anonymous]

Yes, you can.

[Anonymous]

Why not. I am Asian-American, don't speak a lick of any language outside of English. Aside from my skin color, I am no different than you and would attend these events in a heartbeat.

[Anonymous]

Of course!

[Anonymous]

The meeting should not be allowed as it is racist

[Anonymous]

Absolutely! The majority of the meeting should be conveyed in English, so no worry to not understand albeit some accent. You are always more than encouraged to attend.

[Anonymous]

You should be able to, since I do not see any meetings listed for European-Americans or African-Americans.

[Anonymous]

The Latino parent meeting is conducted in / translated into Spanish. I really wonder why this is the only language group needing such help.

No meetings in Korean, no meetings in Russian, no meetings in Hindi, no meetings in French.

[Anonymous]

Sure. You will be welcomed.

[Anonymous]

NO!

[Anonymous]

They will stop and check for your Asian card.

Nobody cares, really. Just go and learn something new.

[Anonymous]

It's funny because I'm partially Asian (mixed with something else) and I never got a flyer about Asian Night.

We are at a predominantly Latino school, however, so I did receive the flyer for the Latino Community Forum!

Do they only send certain ones out to certain schools? I was wondering why they only had a Latino forum, but it looks like they have an Asian one as well.

[Anonymous]

Also, what is this? Some kind of Divide and Conquer strategy that MCPS is employing?

Why are they dividing these Forums up by race?

My plea to the Latino parents is to Please, Please, Please ask Smith about the sexual abuse atrocities in MCPS. He walked out on one meeting about this, and refused to answer questions at another. Maybe if Latino parents bring it up, he'll focus more attention on it.

I'm sure Latino parents are concerned about the recent rape at Damascus just as much as the Greek parents and the Asian parents and the AA parents are. Please, Latino and Asian parents, bring this up at these meetings!!

[Anonymous]

It's not something organized by MCPS. It's MCPS accepting an invitation from a stakeholder group. MCPS representatives also show up for meetings organized by the NAACP and Latino parent groups not to mention special needs and GT organizations.

Some PTAs have an NAACP rep and no one calls that "racist." Such a double standard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Latino parent meeting is conducted in / translated into Spanish. I really wonder why this is the only language group needing such help.

No meetings in Korean, no meetings in Russian, no meetings in Hindi, no meetings in French.

So many people jumping to conclusions. They have them in Spanish because it is the #1 language for ESOL students and presumably the language their parents speak. There's nothing nefarious going on. MCPS employs or contracts with translators that you can request for meetings. I believe they are offered in all the languages you listed.