Hi everyone. I was one of the original members and still very interested. In the interest of moving forward, I just want to provide my take on things. There was an initial thought on closing the group, but just a thought. The group decided to continue active outreach and invitees continued to be welcomed. An initial meeting was set-up and wound up being out of reach for most. So, thereafter a very well intentioned member seemed to suggest a "needs assessment" from vested members. I think there was the suggestion of submissions of resumes, but I'm not certain. I just remember getting cold feet. There was also concern over some negativity about focus of the group. At this point, I think it'd be positive to put that behind us and resume trying to move forward. I've made some personal strides towards looking at the initial steps and think others may have as well. If we're kindred spirits in this regard, let's try again!

Anonymous wrote:So, the rumor that the HV initiative is dead is not true? I am not looking to get involved and certainly understand that the group needs to be small. But we'd like to know the status--moving forward or falling apart?

I think there are definitely people in the group who are interested and willing to commit time and effort to get it started. However, I think trust was really broken when someone in the group posted in the DCUM group something that frankly I considered mean and judgmental about someone else in the group, without using the name of the person. (It's probably further up in this thread.) For me, that really eroded the trust and I don't feel comfortable sharing info with strangers until we get a core group of people who are dedicated and involved. My sense is that it would be good to reach out, find out who is still interested, and drop others so that an initial meeting can be set. I agree with PP who says that the group should still be open.

So, the rumor that the HV initiative is dead is not true? I am not looking to get involved and certainly understand that the group needs to be small. But we'd like to know the status--moving forward or falling apart?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^ Do you know if others are interested or is it pretty much a done deal?

There are still people interested. I think it was more a scheduling issue than anything else, at least for me. You can send an email to Haricotsverts@yahoogroups.com to get a better sense, though I vaguely recall that the group is private and we decided to keep the initial working group small. That said, if you're motivated, I think it's reasonable to reach out.

If work isn't getting done, then the working group is probably too small and too private. Might help to open up a bit.

Also, it's a little early on to ask for resumes. Start by asking for general experience and expertise. Download the charter application and go through it, figure out what you can do and what expertise you are lacking. While you're at it, download all the charter apps from this year's vote, you can learn a lot from both the successes and the failures. Contact FOCUS, they exist to advocate for charters. They can help you identify experts.

I was one of the first people to join the group. My sense is there is still interest, but a couple of factors may have contributed both to fewer people staying engaged, as well as scheduling problems.

Mostly seems like those interested should take their detailed thoughts/analysis of what it will take to get moving again to the private group, because we've already learned that some will not contribute anything positive and then bring their negative thoughts here to DCUM, and that is wholly counter-productive.

That said, there was discussion about closing the group for awhile, and as I said in the group, until there is a solid, core working group that has many/most of the basic skills, experience and energy needed to get going, it's probably premature to close the group. I think some of that rush to close was brought on by the limits on founders ability to get their kids in - and that is an understandable concern, because it would be more than maddening to go through the incredibly tough process of starting a school and then your own kids can't get into the school you brought into existence.

I don't/can't speak for the group, but I do think a discussion should be resumed on the yahoo group about where we are with staying open to interested parties or being a closed group for now, because if we're still open to other interested parties, we should say so clearly here so others can join in. Also, there are always people new to DCUM or who may not have been reading when the discussions of this school got going.

Last thing, I may have missed it but I don't remember anyone saying people needed to submit resumes. I do remember discussion of needing to do a skills and experience assessment of those already involved - NOT to then exclude anyone, but to see where the obvious gaps are and to try up front to get those types of wisdom involved. But starting a school takes so much energy and time, it would be foolish to say one needs specific skills or experience to start the conversation. There will be more than enough work for everyone to do!

Anonymous wrote:^^ Do you know if others are interested or is it pretty much a done deal?

There are still people interested. I think it was more a scheduling issue than anything else, at least for me. You can send an email to Haricotsverts@yahoogroups.com to get a better sense, though I vaguely recall that the group is private and we decided to keep the initial working group small. That said, if you're motivated, I think it's reasonable to reach out.

^^ Do you know if others are interested or is it pretty much a done deal?

We were supposed to meet last month, but too few people were able to attend. I had originally suggested the venue, but at the last minute, I was unable to get my childcare worked out and there's no way anyone is going to have a productive meeting with a bunch of 3 year olds running around a cafe.

Someone suggested that interest fizzled out when people were asked for resumes. Obviously there are going to be a lot of skills needed for such a process, but that was not why I couldn't make the meeting and didn't make an effort to reschedule.

Could someone contact the group and see where they are with process. Maybe they'll let some more interested people in.

Anonymous wrote:They clearly did not get a charter, but perhaps someone is still working on this in the background.

Putting together an application is usually a multi-year process. Of course they didn't get a charter approved this year.

Lots of talkers, no doers. Lots of haters too.

They clearly did not get a charter, but perhaps someone is still working on this in the background.

It's been really difficult tell how much of a parody...I suspect at least 50% tongue-in-cheek.

IS THIS dead? On another thread it said "haricots verts is KAPUT

^^ As a part of the initial group, we'd really like to reach out to stakeholders who can make this happen. Anyone been down this road before and able to advise some serious meat and potatoes advice, please join. Anyone with fundraising abilities, please let us know. Anyone with real ties to the francophone community, please join. A lot of people are passionate and willing to help, which is awesome. We'd be strengthened by people intimately familiar with this process.