This weekend I happened to discover a large alumni event taking place near my school. Rather than heading home to make some much needed dinner, I decided to investigate. This was the kind of event schools dream of happening and I hadn't heard anything about. There was a quick remark at the previous nights football game, which I now realized referred to this event, but at the time I had no idea.
This event was great. A few students were there. but mostly alumni with tents and BBQs celebrating having graduated from our high school. I found alumni dating all the way back to 1981. One thing we always complain about is community involvement in our schools, but what are we doing to help foster these relationships? This was a perfect example. Where were the representatives from my school and why was this event not publisized? These alumni have stories, they have experiences with the school, and most importantly these are relationships we should build. Clearly they have pride and are passionate about the school, so how do we get them involved in what is going on in the school right now. I'm even guilty of blaming the community for their lack of involvement, but as a school how easy do we make it for them to be involved? What do we do to help bridge the gap between the current school and the alumni? What do we do to help get to know the alumni?
It's a two way street. We can complain and complain about it but we also need to recognize there is a lot we aren't doing either.