Community Conversation: The Future of Preschool Education in Fresno (2005)

The League of Women Voters of Fresno sponsored a Community Conversation on March 15,2005 which was held at the LaRyan Event Center in Fresno. The Conversation was entitled "The Future of Preschool Education in Fresno".

The Community Conversation concept was developed a decade ago by Public Agenda, a non-profit advocacy group, in order to stimulate civil dialogue about education. The technique has been used successfully across the United States. The Conversation differs from a conference in that there are no fixed workshops that present pre-determined messages. Instead, participants meet together in small groups' to dlscuss their own ideas and concerns.

At the Fresno Community Conversation, about 130 invited participants got to know each other over dinner, and then were inspired by the keynote speaker, Carol Whiteside, President of the Great Valley Center in Modesto. Participants broke into predetermined groups to talk about eight areas important to the development of preschool education: Administration, The Children We Serve, Curriculum, Familiesffarenting, Funding, Health/Nutrition, Public Relations and Staffing. Each group had a trained facilitator and recorder.

At the end of the meeting the groups gathered together to present their ideas and recommendations. About two-thirds of the participants volunteered to contribute time and/or service to move forward with the concept of voluntary universal preschool for Fresno four-year-olds. In addition, twenty individuals volunteered to form a Speakers Bureau to promote this concept throughout the City of Fresno.

The purpose of this report is to summarize the results of the Community Conversation and present them to participants, community leaders and the general public so that the recommendations are available for further discussion, planning and implementation by interested citizens, community leaders, and local educational, municipal and civic organizations.