Eat Lunch With Your Child: Reimagined
We’ve come a long way from the wood chips and wiggle wall where the first Eat Lunch With Your Child (ELWYC) was held more than 35 years ago. With event attendance at an all-time high, the Black Parent Organization (BPO) has reimagined a more sustainable format for this beloved Paideia tradition.
Seven years after the founding of the Paideia School, the BPO was established by a group of parents to support and advocate for Black students, families and faculty. Since its inception, the BPO has influenced Paideia’s culture, values and curriculum.
In 1988, the first ELWYC was held, providing parents with a special opportunity to spend time with their children on campus while raising money for financial aid. Acknowledging the power of financial aid to diversify Paideia’s student body, organizers of early ELWYC events, including Karen Reynolds, Lezli Davis and Earlene Stewart, saw this day as an opportunity for advocacy for a more equitable Paideia.
“It was the first big all community event kicking off the school year and BPO took pride in that,” says Jennifer Hill, an alumni parent and Paideia’s former director of communications, “There are few opportunities for parents to be with kids at the school, and for the kids, it was a big deal to have your mom and dad come and have lunch with you.”
During a particularly memorable moment at ELWYC in 1992, when the Atlanta Braves were set to play in the World Series, outfielder Otis Nixon arrived on campus for lunch. As his car pulled into the driveway of the 1509 Building, students and parents swarmed around to celebrate. Paul Bianchi, Paideia’s founding head of school, implored the crowd to move along and allow Nixon to spend time with his family.
Thirty-seven years later, the mission of ELWYC remains the same – parents and students coming together in celebration of our shared community. The event continues to remind us of the essential nature of parents within our school. ELWYC remains one of Paideia’s most-attended events, but as our school has grown, the logistics of hosting upwards of 1,800 parents for lunch have become increasingly challenging.
While in 1989, six servers, two grillmasters and two cashiers could have hot dogs grilled, Cokes poured, and chips and cookies ready to serve, today, the pace of growth has surpassed the generous donations and pool of volunteers that previously enabled BPO to produce this community-wide event at a reasonable cost. “From the start, ELWYC has been a self-funded event largely dependent on volunteer donations. While it historically served as a fundraiser for financial aid, the event grew exponentially, and it became difficult to generate enough proceeds to offset the time and money required to produce it,” explains BPO chair Nedra Rhone.
This year, ELWYC was originally scheduled for September 10, but acknowledging that the event was no longer sustainable for BPO volunteers, the event was postponed to allow time to consider a new structure. “When we decided to pause the event, community members expressed their disappointment,” recalls BPO chair Maria Harsha Wusu. “Parents at all grade levels said they appreciated the opportunity to spend part of the school day on campus with their children. BPO leadership listened to the feedback, our parents mobilized, and we worked with Parent Involvement to make Eat Lunch With Your Child happen this fall.”
After postponing the event, the BPO formed a special committee to review processes for ELWYC. The committee relied on input from BPO members, parents, students, the school administration, as well as the Parent Involvement office to determine which elements of ELWYC were most important to retain and how to move forward with the event in the future. “The most important aspect of ELWYC has always been the opportunity to come together as a community and provide a moment for parents to spend time on campus with their children,” Maria shares.
As we prepare for the return of ELWYC next Friday, November 7, attendees can expect an event that holds true to the tradition and mission of the original event – to celebrate the school community by bringing families together. Rather than serving up hot dogs and burgers, attendees are asked to bring their own lunch. Pi Bites will still be available for students to pick up. Families will have the opportunity to purchase a sweet treat from one of the Black-owned or BPO-parent-owned businesses supporting the event. “The addition of the desserts from BPO preferred vendors reflects our commitment to supporting Black Owned and BPO member-owned businesses,” Maria notes. “Dessert tickets are priced to retain an element of fundraising for financial aid, which has also been a part of ELWYC since its inception.”
The BPO is excited for the future of this event and appreciates the encouragement and support from our school community as they navigate this restructuring process. “By reimagining ELWYC this year and going forward, we hope to ensure that this celebration of community continues to evolve in a way that maintains the core values while reflecting who we are now and who we may become in the future,” Nedra reflects. We look forward to coming together on campus next Friday! Pre-order a dessert for you and your family!