PAT is seeking members to serve on the 2023-2024 Advocacy Cadre. To apply, fill out this application form by June 27th. Advocacy Cadre is how I started getting involved in PAT outside of my building. The experience was awesome; I met passionate members from other schools, helped members across our district, and became well versed in the contract. I encourage everyone to apply! Scroll down to read more about the PAT Advocacy Cadre.

In Solidarity,
Angela Bonilla
President
Portland Association of Teachers
http://www.pdxteachers.org/

What is The PAT Advocacy Cadre? 

This small group of members will work closely with UniServ to become experts on our contract, and will provide member to member support.

The Advocacy Cadre will run a Zoom Advocacy Hotline, where Reps and other members can get immediate answers to questions about the contract and support to resolve problems in their buildings. 

In addition, the Advocacy Cadre will provide support with Rep Training, answer member emails to [email protected], and create materials to help members better understand contract issues.

You can read about the 2021-2022 Advocacy Cadre here: www.pdxteachers.org/pat_advocacy_cadre

Cadre Members Commit to:

• 2 days Advocacy Training on August 14th and 15th. (This will be held either live, or remotely)
• 1 Zoom Hotline shift a week, during the school year, Mondays, 4:30pm-6:30pm at PAT (Cadre members stay until 7pm). 
• Additional 3.5 hours/half day up to twice a month to follow up on unresolved member needs from the Hotline shift (release time can be provided).
• In addition to answering the hotline, this time will include ongoing training and other advocacy work with Uniserv Reps. Additional dates may be added depending on need.
• This is a minimum 1-year opportunity and commitment, paid at the OEA cadre-rate ($33/hour). 

Responsibilities

• Assist Building Representatives and members who come to Zoom Advocacy Hotline;
• Respond to emails from members;
• Be a knowledgeable resource about the PAT contract and PAT systems for supporting members in different situations;
• Follow procedure to inform UniServ reps of issues, determining next steps;
• Potential additional release time/ pay for ongoing training or representation work;
• Potential to shadow UniServ Reps on assignment.

Qualifications

• Active PAT membership;
• Experience as a PAT building rep or other similar union experience preferred but not mandatory;
• Interest in continued union advocacy work;
• Special consideration given to applicants with an interest in pursuing work as a UniServ Consultant or Organizer; 
• Special consideration given to applicants with characteristics that help create a group that represents the racial diversity of our membership, and of the job-types that our members hold.

Goals for PAT:

• Build capacity among members to enforce our contract, support member rights, and organize and problem solve in buildings;
• Develop leadership within PAT that represents the diversity of our membership demographics and workforce positions;
• Create a pathway toward UniServ work for interested members.

To apply: Fill out the application form by June 27th. Interviews to be scheduled in mid July.

The PAT Instructional Practices and Professional Development (IPD) committee is inviting educators at all grade levels to a listening session about concerns with the new ELA adoptions. The listening session will be on Monday, May 15th at the PAT office from 4:30-6:30PM. Attendees are encouraged to bring books, artifacts, and specific examples from their curriculum. If you cannot attend, you can still leave comments regarding the adoptions in the RSVP form.

Please RSVP by May 12th so we can order enough food for everybody.

For years, NEA members have advocated together in favor of canceling college debt to help fix the educator shortage. Now, student loans taken out by millions of borrowers are being substantially reduced, forgiven, or even canceled outright due to recent changes in loan forgiveness programs.

However, the fight is not over, and NEA remains committed to helping you take advantage of these opportunities. Join OEA to learn more about how recent changes may impact your student debt, and resources available through your NEA Member Benefits to help you navigate the system.

Register today to reserve your place. Click the image to see our flier.

Date and Time: Wednesday, March 29 from 4:30-6:00 p.m.
Cost: Members $0, free as a benefit of membership. This is a members-only event.

The PAT Week of Action for Special Education kicked-off today. If you are a PAT member and Special Educator, you will be receiving buttons from one of your building reps today. Please wear both buttons and encourage your colleagues to wear a sticker in solidarity throughout the week.

PAT plans to cap the week off with a march on the Special Education department at the District office this Friday, October 28^th at 4:30 PM to present a group or class action grievance for all PAT Special Education members that have suffered a loss of planning time or their 30-minute duty free lunch time in the past 30 days.

We are collecting data pertaining to educator and student safety stemming from a lack of staffing and appropriate student placements in Special Education. Please complete this form now and answer all questions based on your experience in the 2022-2023 school year. Your comments will not be shared outside of PAT advocacy with your name or e-mail, unless you indicate you would like to be named as a grievant when we present this data to the District to support the grievance.

APPLY FOR AN OEA PROMISING PRACTICE GRANT

Every year, OEA gives Promising Practice Grants to educators to support student learning and professional development for OEA members across Oregon. This year, there is $2,000 available for grants to PAT members. Members may apply for grant funds up to $1,000.

Grants can be used to fund projects or materials that support improved student achievement. The application is fully online this year and available here. 

Some examples of past projects funded by the Promising Practice Grant are:

• A library of books with QR codes attached that link to a video of the book being read in ASL for families of students who are deaf and hard of hearing.
• Supporting Latinx students through a MECHA conference.
• Books for classroom libraries featuring main characters who are People of Color so that students see themselves in literature.

TIMELINE:

• November 4, 2022 - Applications due. No late applications will be accepted.
• Mid-November 2022 - PAT IPD Committee will review grant applications from our Council members.
• December 12, 2022 - Final decisions communicated to applicants.
• December 13 - 17, 2022 - Grants for those awarded will be processed and distributed by OEA.
• June 30, 2023 - Final grant summary due to OEA Center for Great Public Schools.

CRITERIA:

In the event that, among qualifying grant applications, there are more funds requested than are available, IPD Committee will prioritize grant requests that fulfill the following criteria:

• Grant applicant is a first time applicant
• Project or idea which serves a historically underserved population
• Project or idea which serve large numbers of students
• Grant applicant is an early-career educator

Teaching Against Climate Despair: A Climate Justice Teach-In

Monday, May 23, 2022

4:00 pm – 5:30 pm, Virtual. 

Hosted by the Portland Public Schools Energy & Sustainability Team, co-sponsored by the PPS Climate Justice Committee and the Portland Association of Teachers

REGISTER HERE

Join us online as teachers from around Portland share how they creatively incorporate climate justice topics into their classrooms, from art and activism to Indigenous knowledge to the science and economics of a green future.

Let’s share how we equip our students to recognize the breadth of the climate emergency, to probe its social and economic causes, and to come to see themselves as activists for a just society and a stable climate. 

Panelists include:

Erika Alabarca, Roseway Heights Middle School — Erika is a 7th-grade social studies teacher at Roseway Heights, where she helps organize an after-school ECO club, and incorporates soil regeneration into her classes. She is an active member of the PPS Climate Justice Committee. 

Christina Aucutt, Grant High School — Christina teaches the Climate Justice elective at Grant High School, where she brings speakers from across Portland to tie climate justice education to real world issues and grassroots initiatives. 

Caitlin Blood, MITCH Charter School — Caitlin is a former farmer and agricultural advisor. She is the Director of Sustainability at MITCH Charter School, where she works to root classroom content in an agricultural framework. Her students explore math, language arts, science, and history through hands-on agricultural observation and practice.

Treothe Bullock, McDaniel High School — “Tre” teaches Climate Justice and Chemistry at McDaniel and is an active member of the PPS Climate Justice Committee. 

Joe Ferguson, Alliance High School — Joe is the Natural Resources, Science, and Instructional Facilitator at Alliance. He incorporates climate science and sustainability lessons into his classrooms, setting up wildlife cameras at Whitaker Ponds and partnering with Community Cycling Center for bike mechanic lessons. 

Rachel Hanes, Glencoe Elementary — Rachel is a 2nd-grade teacher, member of the PPS Climate Justice Committee, and active in the Portland Association of Teachers. Her teaching aims to connect students’ lives to climate issues, such as oil pipelines and forests. 

Jesse Hunter, Woodstock Elementary — Jesse is a 2nd-grade teacher at Woodstock School in Southeast Portland. He has led efforts to establish school gardens and garden education programs at Lent Elementary and Woodstock.

Suzie Kassouf, Grant High School — Suzie has a deep background in grassroots climate justice organizing. At Grant High School, she has focused on turning her classroom into a place for connection, community, justice, and love.  

Cat Phung, Growing Gardens — Cat is the North Portland Youth Grow Educator and Community Organizer for Growing Gardens. She is a first-generation Vietnamese American, gardener and cook, with a background in environmental science and outreach. 

Gerald Scrutchions, Grant High School — “Scutch” teaches Human Rights and Environmental Justice at Grant. He has been a mentor, educator, and advocate for many of the student climate activists from Tubman Middle School protesting the I-5 freeway expansion.

Tim Swinehart, Lincoln High School — Tim teaches environmental justice and is a member of the PPS Climate Justice Committee. He works with district staff to devise and implement policies to spread climate justice education across Portland Public Schools.