The Advocate - May 12, 2017

• What You Can Do Right Now to Help Get PPS Back on Track
• May Election Voters Guide
• Support the Bond for Safe, Modern, and Healthy Schools
• Standing Up for Education on May Day
• Honoring Teachers During Teacher Appreciation Week
• Please Donate to the Sick Leave Bank!
• Securing Full-time Classrooms for Full-time Teachers
• PAT Members Lead Statewide Organizing

By now you’ve heard the news. 

After an extensive—and expensive—search, our School Board was unable to hire a Superintendent. At a time when our District needs stability, this is disappointing

Our recommendations for the May 2017 election are listed below. Candidates share a proven track record of leadership and commitment to strengthening our public schools so that our students can receive the education they deserve. 

On March 22, the PAT Representative Assembly voted to support the Portland Public Schools Bond. This bond is the second step in a 30-year strategic plan to modernize all our schools. Specifically, this bond will provide funds to fully rebuild or modernize four schools: Benson, Madison, Lincoln, and Kellogg. In addition, it will fund much-needed health and safety projects across the district, including removing lead, asbestos, and radon hazards, repairing roofs, seismic upgrading, and improving ADA accessibility. Learn more at www.healthyschoolspdx.com.

On May 1^st, educators across the nation stood in solidarity for strong public schools. Thank you to every school that participated in our May Day action. Together, we sent a clear message that we will welcome, protect, defend, and educate all students, no matter their ethnicity, gender identity, and/or immigration status. We also made it clear that our elected officials must invest in our future by fully funding public education, and protect it from privatization that drains resources from public school students. You can view pictures from across the District here.

On April 25^th, the School Board recognized a few of our educators for teacher appreciation week. Congratulations!

• Gloria Alonso, Teacher – Rigler Elementary School  
• Frances Ankeny, Teacher – Lane Middle School 
• Kristen Brayson, TOSA – Curriculum and Instruction 
• Alisha Chavez, Teacher – Atkinson Elementary School 
• Paula Fahey, Teacher – Stephenson Elementary School 
• Marquita Guzman, Counselor – Lincoln High School 
• Kira Jones, Teacher – Irvington K-8 
• Steve Lancaster, Teacher – Lincoln High School 
• Chrysanthius Lathan, Mentor Teacher – Professional Development 
• Susan Stone, TOSA – Integrated Curriculum Development

Recent changes to the contract increased the number of hours PAT may collect from members for the Sick Leave Bank. This helps ensure that hours will be available through the end of the school year for your colleagues who have exhausted their leave and need assistance. 

Donations of hours are still needed, as there are several pending applications for grants from the sick leave bank.

Please donate here – and thank you!

In September, the PAT Representative Assembly passed our Resolution on School Design and Utilization, expressing the belief that  “new and remodeled school buildings should be designed with the intention for all full-time teachers to have full-time classrooms.”

Thank you to all the delegates who came to the Oregon Education Association Representative Assembly on April 21^st and 22^nd: