2023-05-22 SB Packet - Released - Laserfiche WebLink

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T�: Jim Malloy, Town Manager FRCJM: James Robinson, Management Fellow; Hemali Shah, Chief Equity Officer; Sean Dugan, Director of Communications and Special Projects DATE: May 8, 2023 RE: Suggestion for renaming Citizens' Academy programming For the following reasons, the Management Fellow, Chief Equity Officer, and Director of Communications and Special Proj ects recommend the Citizens' Academy program be retitled to "Civic Academy" or"Civics Academy". The Town of Lexington is a diverse community with 31% of residents being born outside of the United States, according to the 2022 Census. While plain language may suggest that Citizens' Academy is an inclusive term for all Lexington residents, discourse surrounding United States Citizenship can also suggest exclusivity in the word"citizen". The Citizens' Academy program was designed to expose residents of the Town of Lexington to the various departments and operations of the municipality. The Citizens' Academy program also sought to encourage civic engagement and promote transparency in local governance. The Lexington Citizens' Academy was first held in the Fall of 2009 as a result of a j oint initiative of the Vision for Lexington Committee(previously the Lexington 2020 Vision Committee) and Lexington Community Education. Since 2009, Citizens' Academy sessions have been well attended,received generally positive feedback, and have had alumni of the program become more involved in Lexington Town Government through Town Meeting, and volunteer boards and committees. The word"citizen"does not have a single definition, and can be interpreted as the following according to Merriam-Webster's Dictionary: • "an inhabitant of a city or town"; and/or • "a native or naturalized person who owes allegiance to a government and is entitled to protection from it". The currently-named Citizens' Academy is a civic education program designed for all Lexington residents; and the programming deserves a title that makes no reference to the discourse surrounding citizenship, but to civic education and engagement.