What’s a parent to do when their child comes home in tears because their best friend is moving? I asked my middle-schooler why. She managed to choke out between sobs, “I don’t know.” So I went and asked her best friend’s mother, “Why?” The response that came back was “because the high school isn’t a good school; the students are out of control; nobody learns there.”

There it was, the proverbial “elephant in the room.” The Perception (with a capital “P”) “elephant” that: tramples on one's decision to send one's child to a majority minority school; that questions whether it was the right choice to make; that casts doubt on your standing as a “good parent” even though your child is happily blossoming before your eyes. Stand around at any local social gathering and inevitably the conversation will turn to what school your child attends. “Heights High” is my answer as I prepare myself for a possible look of distain, a gasp of disbelief, or a disapproving “Oh” followed by one raised eyebrow that sends me into righteous mode and unleashes my arsenal of defensive phrases: “Heights High is an excellent school…wonderful education…lots of opportunities…exceptional courses…I’m a good parent…I CHOSE to use Heights High…AP classes…strong instrumental music program” –and on and on.

This time I took a breath and asked this mother to come up to the high school with me and see for herself what was going on there. The next morning we stood in the middle of the main hallway as the bell rang. Classroom doors flew open. Students spilled out and began making their way to their next class. The decibel level rose as students loudly greeted friends, laughing, making plans for later in the day. Another bell pierced the air and just as suddenly the crowded hallway emptied. “Well?” I asked. “This isn’t anything like I was told,” she answered. Then the two of us sat down and talked about her concerns, what I was experiencing as a parent of a Heights High School student, and the classes my older daughter was taking.

That was eight years ago. Three years ago my youngest daughter graduated from Heights High. Her friend graduated too. Both girls were taller, wiser, still friends and headed off to college in the fall. They had spent their high school years learning how to juggle a full load of classes and extracurricular offerings; learning how to date, how to dress, how to dance; making some unwise decisions; hating their parents one minute, loving us the next; and experiencing what most high school students experience—the highs and lows, the laughter and tears, and the challenges of maturing into young adults. I’ve shared that story many times over the years because it was the reason why, in 2003, I started PATH (Parent Ambassadors To Heights). PATH is a volunteer, parent led initiative that offers prospective parents the opportunity to visit Heights High when school is in session, sit in on a class, discuss their concerns and have their questions answered by a parent of a Heights High student.

PATH is a parent-to-parent mentoring program; a way of building positive relationships with prospective high school parents; those presently in the CH-UH middle schools as well as those whose children attend many of the area’s private schools. By sharing their knowledge and experience of Heights High School, PATH volunteers help to counter the “Perceptions” of Heights that are present in the CH-UH community –perceptions that often don’t match the reality of the quality of education our own children are receiving. PATH doesn’t get rid of the “elephant.” It does seem to shrink it and make it more manageable.

Last year my older daughter graduated from college with two degrees. Next year my younger daughter will graduate from college. I have no doubt in my mind that the education they received at Heights High prepared them well for the next phase of their educational adventure. The other day I thought of these facts and reminded myself once again that I did just fine with the schools I chose for my children. I then left to take another prospective parent on a tour of the high school, challenging the elephant once again.

For more information about taking a PATH led tour of Heights High School call 216-410-4577.