Four Pacific Palisades friends are spearheading an effort to encourage local parents and students to attend Palisades Charter High School rather than commute to private schools around the city. ’We want to create more paths to PaliHi, especially for those people who are hesitant,’ said Megan Webber, who is collaborating with Peter Duke, Gina Vincent and Annie Barnes on the endeavor. In March, they formed a group, People For Palisades High, which meets regularly to discuss ways to strengthen the relationship between PaliHi and the community. The friends, who are all parents of young children, say they think it’s a shame more local families don’t consider PaliHi as an option. Vincent is the only member to have a child old enough to attend the school. Her daughter, Katie, is a freshman. To spread the word about what the school offers, the group is hosting a question and answer session with Interim Executive Director Michael Smith on Wednesday, October 20, at 9:30 a.m. in the community room of the Palisades Branch Library on Alma Real. On October 31, they will have a booth at the Chamber of Commerce’s Village Fair on the PaliHi quad from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. to pass out information about the school. Duke, creative director of his own company, Interactive Design Services, has already designed a Web site: www.peopleforpali.com. The site contains information about college matriculation, course offerings, advanced placement test scores and graduation requirements. It also lists PaliHi’s upcoming events and campus tours. ’We have included the most pertinent information for potential parents and students,’ Webber said. Unless families already have a connection to PaliHi, it’s difficult to find out this sort of information, Barnes added. They are hopeful the data on the Web site will debunk some of the myths about Pali and improve the school’s word-of-mouth reputation. For example, Vincent has heard private school parents say that if their child attends PaliHi, he or she may not gain acceptance to a prestigious college. However, many Pali students are admitted to Ivy League schools, Stanford, Berkeley and other top universities. In the future, the group plans to profile exceptional students and teachers on the Web site. In addition, they would like to make arrangements for Pali students to visit local private and public schools to talk about their experiences and answer questions. They also hope to encourage the community to visit the campus. They have arranged a Chamber of Commerce mixer at PaliHi on January 28 to introduce business leaders to the school. As part of Pali’s 50th anniversary celebration next school year, they want to organize a carnival for the entire community. ’We would like PaliHi to be a more comfortable place for people to come and attend events,’ Webber said. ‘We hope to bring people of all ages through those doors.’
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