School district scheduling of an event for parents creates obstacles

To the Editor:

I have a concern about the CH-UH school district's poor communication about a major change to a traditional event for the 2013-14 school year.
 
I'm a Roxboro Elementary parent and have a full-time job. This year, the district scheduled Curriculum "Night" for 4:30 p.m. on a weekday (Monday, Aug. 26). The date and time were communicated to parents about two weeks prior to the event. This left insufficient time for me to arrange for time off from work to attend, and I was only able to be there for the last 20 minutes of the session. I have spoken to a few other working parents who encountered the same obstacle.
 
I contacted the representatives of my PTA and Family Connections [to convey] my displeasure at this inconvenience, and was encouraged by both to express my concerns to the district directly. I e-mailed the superintendent. Dr. McDaniels' kind and prompt response offered a pleasant apology, and explained that the district is "trying the earlier time on a pilot basis this school year." I was informed that they "will survey parents and staff," and was encouraged to provide my feedback at that time.
 
In my previous three years as a Roxboro parent, I have been able to attend the majority of the school's events as they have either been presented after traditional working hours or the date was [communicated] with sufficient notice to arrange time off from work. The school encourages parental involvement and I would love to be as involved as possible. However, when the district blatantly contradicts this intention by making it difficult, if not impossible, for many of the parents to attend, it leads me to question its commitment to this endeavor.