On the first official day of the PPS school year, we're inviting you to join the new Google Discussion Group, Pittsburgh Public Schools Open Forum for Parents. Another PPS parent and I have put together the Google group, open to all parents of Pittsburgh Public Schools students. Here is the link and below is a description. PPS Parents Open Forum <http://groups.google.com/group/pps-open-forum?hl=en> This group is open to all parents of children in the Pittsburgh Public Schools. This forum is intended to allow for public incident reporting regarding safety related issues in our schools. The only posts that will be subject to moderation are those that contain the names of minors, offensive language or personal attacks. Otherwise, please feel free to post and comment at your discretion. This is a public forum and teachers are also welcome to post. Group members will only be identified by the email address and information they submit, so the postings can be anonymous, however they must remain within the recommended guidelines; no profanity, no personal attacks. As school safety and our concern for our children are both a-political issues, we want to be clear that this discussion group is meant only to benefit parents and give them an outlet, outside the scope of PPS, to discuss their concerns about their child's school and share their school's successes and not as a vehicle to argue school or individual politics. We recommend not mentioning students names in these posts. "My son" or "my daughter and her friend" or "the second grade teacher" or "the lunch room attendant" are appropriate descriptions for public posts. Parents who recognize trends in their school's safety or lack of safety related diligence or in the location of troubling incidents (lunch room, bus, auditorium, etc.) are strongly encouraged to contact each other privately for follow up with their school's administrators. We feel that these discussion groups will allow parents to be more accurately and fully informed about these types of issues and thus allow them to make better decisions about which schools provide the best atmosphere for their children. Posts about effective and positive safety related incidents and measures in our schools are also welcome. There is a page for each school in the district. Please find the page associated with your child's school. Please limit your posts only to incidents of which you have first hand knowledge. Again, here is the link PPS Public Forum Link<http://groups.google.com/group/pps-open-forum/sub?s=YqgRchQAAAA2kz11EP0PtuETBJ0ASav1l67yuWzE2LchcqSBBvj0jg&hl=en> Thank you! Have a safe and happy holiday weekend. Olga Watkins