Parents and community members came out on the evening of Wednesday, May 28, 2014 for the last Friends of CRLS (FOCRLS) community meeting of the school year for a talk with CRLS Principal Damon Smith. At the opening of the meeting, FOCRLS President Elaine Schear spoke of the accomplishments of the past year, and the key role of FOCRLS volunteers – many of whom were in attendance – in making all that FOCRLS does to support the school happen. Principal Smith then talked about the importance of the role of community investment in CRLS – like that of the Friends of CRLS and its supporters – for helping students achieve their aspirations. He said that there are 1700+ students at CRLS, with 1700+ unique personal stories, and that we need the community to be invested in the success of each and every one of these students. Principal Smith spoke of how school has undergone a renovation of its physical plant, which has impacted students in a very positive way, and that the school is going through the even more significant transformation of how it carries out its academic program. As part of that, there has been a process to develop an updated mission statement for the school involving faculty, students, parents, and administrators, which will help to provide a focal point for that work. He also shared with attendees the news that the school will be implementing a new class scheduling system in the fall which will help make class scheduling more nimble. The evening underlined the dynamic nature of CRLS, and many attendees made a commitment to work with Friends of CRLS as volunteers in the school year to come.
Photos from the meeting are available in this FOCRLS Facebook album.