A group of parents, school advocates and business leaders has been assembled by the Scottsdale Chamber Foundation to provide synergy and direction on education issues, chamber officials say.
"This is really the beginnings of it," said Rick Kidder, director of public policy for the Scottsdale Area Chamber of Commerce.
"The Scottsdale chamber’s foundation pulled together individual groups, who are parts of meeting some of the unmet needs of the district, into a collaboration," he said. "We want to see whether there is opportunity for a common project or goal where we can all support something that would help the Scottsdale Unified School District."
The collaboration could help existing groups increase support and volunteering at schools, he said.
Andrea Beaulieu, executive director for the Scottsdale Education Foundation, said the group, which has no name yet, has met three times.
"We want to work together and we think we can be more effective," she said. "The first thing we’re really focused on is: ‘What kind of information are people in the community receiving from people in education? What information are they getting about what they can do to be involved or to make a difference in their school community?’ "
If you go
What: Meeting of parents, school advocates and business leaders
When: 7:30 a.m. Tuesday
Where: Scottsdale Area Chamber of Commerce, 7343 E. Scottsdale Mall
