August 25th, 4-5PM, OEA Welcome Back Webinar: Re-imaging Relationships: Returning and Engaging in our Schools
OEA is proud to announce a new webinar series to welcome back educators with new and relevant topics. This series will be held virtually on the last Wednesday of the month from 4:00-5:00 PM.
Student engagement remains a top priority for educators as we welcome students back into the traditional classroom. Educators will use this session to develop or improve on SEL and safe space practices. With an emphasis on communication and practices building empathy, participants will work to improve their EQ within themselves and within their instructional practice. Building relationships and making connections is critical in these unprecedented times, and by doing so we can increase student engagement in rigorous curricular lessons. This webinar leverages breakout rooms and digital collaboration for an interactive experience.
Did you miss a webinar? No problem. Access the OEA Grow EdCommunity Archive and earn 1 PDU credit for each webinar watched. This archive is password protected and only available to members. If you have trouble creating a login, please e-mail [email protected]
See the link for the full catalog of Fall 2021 OEA Professional Learning Opportunities
Continue readingAugust 12th and 19th, PD Opportunities: Equity 101 for Educators
PAT is sponsoring the following professional development opportunity for PAT members. This is a two-part PD, on August 12th and August 19th, over Zoom. Read more and sign up below!
Join us for our two-day online Racial Equity Professional Development for Educators, facilitated by Kheoshi Owens and Empress Rules Equity Consulting. We will dive deep in the work together, focusing on foundational equity concepts such as: Implicit Bias, Diversity and Equity Vocabulary & Spectrum, What is Whiteness? and How to identify and interrupt racist, sexist, xenophobic, and ablest comments and behaviors.
Space is limited and this professional development is reserved only for members of the Portland Association of Teachers. If you are interested, please register now, as each cohort has space for only 30 members and registration is first come, first served. We ask that if you register, you commit to joining both dates, August 12th and 19th, as the second session will build on concepts covered in the first session.
Let's kick this school year off together in community, centering our students of color. The work begins with you. We can make our schools better and more inclusive for BIPOC students together! See you there!
June 24th, Meet and Greet with Incoming OEA President and Vice President
You are invited to a Zoom meet and greet with OEA president-elect Reed Scott-Schwalbach and OEA vice president-elect Enrique Farrera.
Join members from the Portland and Mt Hood UniServ areas to meet with Reed and Enrique between 5:00 - 6:00 PM for conversation, raffle prizes, and more. Can’t make it? See the OEA website “Events” for other dates.
When: Thursday June 24, 2021 5:00 – 6:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Please register in advance:
https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAtceGqqTopGdQgQfxfVge0HuaMNbrbmJWm
Join PMAE-Retired Today
Congratulations on your retirement! With the annual PAT Retirement Reception canceled again due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we will miss seeing you. Nonetheless, we hope you will join Portland Metro Area Educators-Retired to maintain your connection with your union and other colleagues for an Active Voice. Active Life.
PMAE-Retired maintains an active social presence with hoped-for, once-a-month activities to resume in the Portland metro area, such as visiting museums, manufacturing businesses, outdoor reserves, and other places of interest. We also hold a breakfast every other month—online this past year—at various restaurants around the metro area. We hold membership meetings (again online this past year) every two months with business items, with updates on legislative and political activities and speakers on various topics of interest to retirees. You will receive our electronic newsletter, OurTimes, five times a year. Furthermore, your unified membership will keep your OEA and NEA benefits coming.
To join us, please complete our Membership form and return. Please also visit OEA-Retired's website to join OEA-Retired and NEA-Retired. There are three membership options to consider, with dues of only $10 to PMAE-Retired for each category:
• Lifetime—if you have paid for Lifetime with both OEA-Retired and NEA-Retired.
• Annual—$25 for OEA-Retired and $35 for NEA-Retired, combined.
• Substitute—as you will continue as an OEA and NEA member.
As an added enticement, PAT has agreed again to pay the $10 fee for one year, if you join now.
By mailing in your completed Membership form by July 30, your name also will be entered into a drawing for a $40 gift card.
We hope to hear from you soon!
Marleen Wallingford
PMAE-Retired President
Ray Johnson
PMAE-Retired Vice President and Membership Chair
Apply Today to be an OEA Ed Summer Statewide Member Organizer
OEA is participating in Ed Summer, an NEA supported campaign, to reach potential members over the summer months.
OEA is looking to hire 25 of the strongest applicants to do this work. Please see the Job Description for Statewide Member Organizers and apply today. Please contact Sara Whelan at [email protected] with other questions.
Register Today for OEA Summer Conference
OEA 2021 Summer Conference Register Today
July 19-23, 2021
Virtual Conference through OEA Events App
The OEA 2021 Summer Conference is virtual this year and offers a wealth of workshops and seminars covering topics important to our members in their classrooms, community, and union organizing.
Each morning will start with two content sessions, with opportunities for networking and office hours in the afternoons. OEA values your time, and encourages you to register for the courses that best meet your learning needs and your personal schedule. Below is a sampling of the topics covered that week (some sessions offer PDU credit).
- Building Our Local Leaders: Distributive
Leadership in Action - Confronting White Nationalism in Schools
- Engaging Our Newest Hires: Success from
the Field - Integrating an Inclusive History and Social
Science Curriculum in Your K-2 Classroom - Introduction to Grievances: Grieve, Gripe,
Grumble? - Peer Conflict Resolution and Mediation
Strategies - School and College Board Elections
- Strong Start for the Fall: Building Community
- The Role of a Building Representative in an
Organizing Union - Transgender Inclusion
- Weighted Workload: A Student-Centered
Approach
Download the program for the whole schedule and topics lined up for that week. A condensed participant agenda is also available.
1619: Centering Black History and Black Futures in Oregon: An Evening with Nikole Hannah-Jones
You are invited:
1619: Centering Black History and Black Futures in Oregon: An Evening with Nikole Hannah-Jones
Friday, May 7, 2021 4:30 PM - 6:00 PM
REGISTER HERE
As we center our work in equity throughout the state, we are pleased to invite you to participate in a discussion with Nikole Hannah-Jones, author of “The 1619 Project” reframing the Black experience in American history.
This discussion, moderated by TV anchor Ken Boddie, will focus on how the inclusion of 1619 historical events into our educational system will further Oregon’s efforts at breaking down systems of oppression.
This event is geared to engage with Oregon educators statewide, with specific emphasis on our shared national history and “Centering Black History and Black Futures in Oregon”.
This event is sponsored by the Oregon Alliance of Black School Educators (ORABSE) and the Oregon Department of Education.
Continue reading
Community Healing Event for the PAT Asian and Pacific Islander Community
This Friday, April 16th at 3:30pm, the Asian and Pacific Islander Month Planning Committee, will be hosting a community healing event for the Asian and Pacific Islander community.
If you are an educator who identifies as Asian, Pacific Islander, mixed, Hapa, multiracial, etc. you are welcome!
You are enough.
There is no gatekeeping--no one will ask "how" you qualify to be in the circle (though you can share how you identify if that feels good).
You are enough.
Join us and spread the word. Here is the zoom link to join.
Upcoming Events and Resources for Educators of Color
We hope that you are doing well and are experiencing or preparing for a safe and positive return to the classroom with your students. We want you to know that we value you, we see you, and we are here to support you. There are a few awesome workshops and offerings we want to make sure you are aware of and have the opportunity to participate in, should you choose to do so.
OEA Sponsored Book Groups for BIPOC Participants ONLY
- Everyday Antiracism: Getting Real About Race in School: A 6-week facilitated virtual learning community led by Diane Hicks to discuss the book by Mica Pollock. Participants will be provided with the book. Additional details on the event page. April 19-May 28, 2021, live sessions on Mondays from 5:30-6:30 p.m. Registration is open! Open to BIPOC participants only.
- My Grandmother's Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies: A 7-week facilitated virtual learning community led by Paula Dennis to discuss this book by Resmaa Menakem. Participants will be provided with the book. Additional details on the event page. April 12-May 28, 2021. Live discussions on Thursdays from 4:30-5:30 p.m. Registration is open! Open to BIPOC participants only.
Get reimbursed for your TSPC Licensure Fees!
The Oregon Legislature, through the Student Success Act, has authorized TSPC to mitigate costs associated with TSPC licensure and assessments for racially, ethnically, and/or linguistically diverse teacher and administrator candidates. If you have incurred an initial license or renewal expense (for example, fees paid in eLicensing to TSPC, fees paid to complete an ORELA or Praxis test) between the fiscal year of July 1, 2020 and June 30, 2021, you may qualify for repayment. You can find further information regarding qualifications for the program, what is eligible for reimbursement, and application forms here: TSPC : Diversity License Expense Reimbursements : Financial Assistance
NEW NATIONAL BOARD CERTIFICATION GRANT OPPORTUNITY FOR BIPOC AND EARLY EDUCATORS
National Board Certification is the most respected professional certification available in education and provides numerous benefits to teachers, students, and schools. It was designed to develop, retain, and recognize accomplished teachers and to generate ongoing improvement in schools nationwide.
Under a new grant, there are funds allocated specifically to support BIPOC and early career educators in Oregon in obtaining their certification.
If you are interested in learning more about why National Board Certification is referred to as the best professional development you will ever take and the "gold standard" for teaching, consider registering for one of the upcoming information sessions on April 7th and April 8th.
In addition to these opportunities for Educators fo Color only, please see our website for more upcoming events and opportunities, open to all members, including:
-
A VIRTUAL VISIT WITH DR. BETTINA LOVE, AUTHOR OF WE WANT TO DO MORE THAN SURVIVE.
In Solidarity,
Jacque Dixon and Nedra Miller, PAT Racial Equity Committee Co-Chairs
Portland Association of Teachers
http://www.pdxteachers.org/
OSU Provost's Lecture Series Featuring Ibram X. Kendi
April 14, 2021 from 5:00 -6:00 p.m. via Zoom. Free and open to the public. Register Here
