About the Novato Parents & Family Coalition (NPFC)
Updated: July 18, 2007

Who we are… NPFC is a grassroots group of concerned families and citizens committed to keeping academic excellence paramount by helping ensure a safe and respectful school environment for all.  As such, we of course support diversity awareness and only ask it be age-appropriate and respectful of our role as parents.  In short, we are here first and foremost for our children.

When & why we came to be… On July 29, 2002, we had an initial meeting of several folks. Before then, we became acquainted through our own individual efforts (click here to view an example of one such individual effort) to affect the apparent Aug. 20 vote by the Novato Unified School District (NUSD) Board on the Diversity Materials. We agreed, on July 29, based on our own efforts and our prior conversations with many other like-minded folks, that the views of many/most Novato parents, families, children and concerned citizens had yet to be effectively presented to the NUSD Board, Administration, Faculty, etc. So, we committed to try doing something about that. Not because we wanted to … we'd rather be home with our families, coaching youth sports teams, working (not!), etc. … but, there seemed to be no other choice. No one to date --- despite much publicity, etc. --- had effectively articulated the common ground and broad appeal of "keeping academic excellence paramount by helping ensure a safe and respectful school environment for all."

What happened at the beginning… On Aug. 8, 2002 (shortly after the NUSD Board meeting on Aug. 6 finalizing its decision for a Aug. 20 vote), we launched a petition drive. We then met again to finalize a name, pursue a web site, phone number, etc. … a lot has happened in those first four short weeks.

What we have done from there… The NPFC petition drive was successful.  We have also become a consistent, respected and responsible voice within the NUSD school system. While we don't want to be doing this, we are here to stay … as long as our voice represents so many Novato parents, families, children and concerned citizens.  And as in past school board elections, we will continue to encourage people to become familiar with the issues and to vote.

How we'll dialogue with others… see our Guiding Principles for Public Dialogue.

You can help too… whether or not you get involved with NPFC, please feel free to use our information and positions to interact with the NUSD school system or with anyone else as you see fit. We are glad to serve as an information clearinghouse as well as being a unifying voice on these important issues. We only ask that, if you use any NPFC materials, please credit us by including our name and website address on those materials.

How to contact us… Visit the NPFC website at www.NovatoParents.org (to view this page, the petition, etc.). Our e-mail address is npfc@NovatoParents.org or leave a voice mail message at 415-785-1005 and someone will call you back. We welcome your comments, questions, and involvement.