The first forum attracts a diverse group
Organized by volunteers from the Sharon Chinese Association Lilly Zhou, Qingfen Zhang, and Li Zhu, the Chinese community hosted an education forum that is open to the public at the Unitarian Church of Sharon from 7pm to 9pm on 4/13 of 2016.
Farmer giving opening remark
Wiseman giving opening remark
Featuring school committee Chairwoman Veronica Wiseman and superintendent Timothy Farmer and anchored by Lilly Zhou, the forum touches upon a number of vitally important topics including:
- School committee election cycle and meeting format.
- State of the schools’ facilities, and plans for improvement.
- Volunteer and advocacy opportunities for the parents, and their importance.
- STEM/STEAM education.
- Grant opportunities for the district.
- Better ways to nurture the gifted kids.
- Better channels of home-school communication to help with transitioning between schools, understanding of the teachers and the system, evaluation of the instruction and day structure, etc.
- Brainstorming for ways to propel the school district to the next level.
After the opening remarks and a Q-and-A session, heated yet mutually respectful conversations are ubiquitous on the discussion floor. Members of the community believe this first-of-its-kind forum paves the way for establishing more efficient community-school communication channels which 
ultimately will allow both parties to work together effectively benefiting the whole district.
Disclaimer: the notes-taker bears full responsibility for any verified inconsistency between the minutes and the remarks/discussion during the forum.