Don’t forget, Article 7.10.3 of the PAT/PPS contract states that “Professional educators will be responsible for completing four (4) hours of District mandatory on line training outside of scheduled staff meeting time. There will be no staff meetings on at least two (2) Tuesdays between the start of the school year and the due date of the mandatory online training.”

The due date for completion is OCTOBER 31st! 

All educators will be automatically assigned the 2022-23 courses under “My Current Courses” in Pepper, the District’s Professional Learning Management System. You can access Pepper at pepper.pps.net.

If you have earned educational credits over the summer, or if you are a new hire and have yet to submit your educational background, you must submit the official documentation to HR no later than October 31st  if you want the credits to count from the start of the year.

The PAT/PPS Contract states in Article 12.2.1.3  “In order to receive a salary adjustment retroactive to the beginning of the current school year, a professional educator must, by October 31st, provide the Human Resources Department with proof of completion of coursework. Adjustments based upon proof received after October 31st will be made effective the first day of the next pay period.”

If you submit the credits to HR after October 31st, they will move you on the salary schedule but the credits will not be counted retroactively to the start of the school year.

Don’t forget to wear blue on Tuesdays! It doesn’t have to be a PAT blue shirt: You can rock a blue scarf, a blue pin, a blue sticker, a blue sweater or anything else you can imagine. But why, maestra? What’s the point? Well, the Tuesday Blue-sday tradition helps us show each other our union solidarity and reminds PPS leaders that our power is in our numbers and unity. Remember, campaigns are not built on one action but many escalating actions. This is just the beginning!

PAT members, please show support for our union coalition members by signing this petition asking PPS to honor their promise to allow those with COVID-19 to use quarantine leave. This ensures that members will not have to make the choice between exposing co-workers to COVID-19 and exhausting their sick leave bank. See the petition link.

From the petition: "COVID leave allows staff the dignity to rest and recover without having to choose between meeting financial obligations and exposing students, co-workers, teachers, and parents to this virus."

In addition, a wide coalition of PPS employee unions is organizing to turn out members for the October 11th board meeting to raise our voices on this important safety issue. Please come to the Dr. Matthew Prophet Education Service Center (formerly BESC) at 6:00pm on Tuesday, October 11th.  Wear your PAT Blue proud, stay for public comment, and then head home. For those who would like more information or would like to testify on this issue during public comment, please email [email protected] for more information.  

PAT Flying Squad members, you will be getting a text reminder about the October 11th action.

Want to join the squad? Use the QR code to sign up!

All community members are invited to COME 

ON THRU to show support for our Portland educators and pick up fun "we love our teachers" SWAG! As families drive (or bike / scooter / walk) thru, we will have a few different fun stations. Please get the word out through your networks, especially school PTAs! (see link below for requesting PTA support)

For more information about the Drive Thru event:

Facebook Event Link   Instagram Event Link

Sign Up to Volunteer    PTA Support Request Doc

In conjunction with the Drive Thru event, our PAT Mutual Aid Team will kick-off our first day of action on October 15th starting at the Drive Thru event. 

Fellow Educators will come together to provide needed supplies to houseless neighbors near our union hall and also pick up trash to help with the upkeep of our collective neighborhood. Please arrive at the PAT office at 11:30 am on the 15th for basic safety protocols and be prepared to go out with a team from 12-1:30, returning to the PAT office to debrief with fellow educators. Due to the safety protocols, this mutual aid project cannot include children or pets. 

Know for sure you will join us? Email [email protected] and/or just show up! The first 14 people to show up will be on the 2 streets teams for October 15th. 

To support the PAT Mutual Aid Street Team, people can bring the following to the PAT union hall on October 15th during the drive-through:

Warm winter socks, Fresh men's and women's underwear (sizes medium and large), Rain jackets/gear, Antibiotic ointment, Bandaids, Hydration (bottled water, Gatorade, iced tea, lemonade...)

If you’ve never come to a meeting, or it’s been awhile, we hope you’ll come check us out next month. SJCO is a fulfilling way to connect with our larger PPS community and to participate in concrete actions. Below is our tentative agenda …and don’t forget, dinner is included! 

SIGN UP HERE.

• Union partners: hear updates and work together to deepen solidarity
• Heritage/Affinity Month Planning: updates on work release day successes and determine current needs for Native American and Indigenous People Heritage Month resources/events. Begin planning for Black Lives Matter Week of Action and Black History Month (in collaboration with the Racial Equity Committee), since our next quarterly meeting isn’t until February 9.
• External Organizing: plan the next steps to connect with community partners in meaningful ways to fight for schools our students deserve and to improve our teaching and learning environment.
• Focus Group: ELEMENTARY SPECIALISTS! Come together to share what is going well & where there are gaps in support, curriculum, funding, planning time, etc. Elevate needs, systems of inequity & common frustrations. How can the current contract support you, and how might the future bargain improve teaching and learning for specialists?
• Other PAT business to support the Executive Board, to be announced.

How are YOU weaving social justice and anti-racism into your work? 

Email [email protected] a photo and/or a short blurb describing a meaningful lesson, conversation, or practice that illuminated or cultured an opportunity to deepen anti-racist and social justice work in our PAT community. We would love to share your experience in a future edition of The Advocate to inspire others to center race and justice in all that we do.  

With only about two weeks until ballots drop, it’s time to support our PAT-PAC endorsed candidates! Let’s work together to get them into office so that they can fight for us, our students, and all Portlanders. Please keep this endorsement list handy for when it’s time to fill out your ballot, and talk to friends, family, and neighbors about the importance of electing education-friendly candidates. If you’re able, you can support these candidates further by signing up with a campaign to knock on doors, send texts, or make phone calls. We’d especially love for you to show up for Jo Ann Hardesty on October 29, when we’ll be hosting a canvass out of the PAT office!

Portland City Council Position 3: Jo Ann Hardesty

Multnomah County Chair: Jessica Vega Pederson

Oregon Governor (OEA PAC endorsement): Tina Kotek

Oregon Labor Commissioner (OEA PAC endorsement): Christina Stephenson

US House of Representatives, OR CD 5 (OEA PAC endorsement): Jamie McLeod-Skinner

Oregon Legislature: 

HD 28: Dacia Grayber

HD 33: Maxine Dexter

HD 43: Tawna Sanchez

HD 44: Travis Nelson

HD 45: Thuy Tran

HD 46: Khanh Pham

SD 17: Elizabeth Steiner Hayward

You can find more information about PAT PAC and our candidates here, and about OEA PAC and their candidates here.

We have received emails from multiple educators who have not seen their Extended Responsibility on their paychecks. Please review your pay stub.

• If you are a Site Tech Liaison (STL), please remember this is NOT an Extended Responsibility under our Collective Bargaining Agreement. Please track all the hours you spend doing STL work. Call me old fashioned, but I think all your labor should be paid. If they will only pay you extended hours, you only do STL work outside of the workday.
• Folks have also wondered about the Bilingual and DLI stipend. Those will be paid in October or November once the district gets their sh--... updated list of employees together.
• For those who attend the NON WORK DAY training on October 14th, we have been informed by Payroll that you will be paid for that day in your November paycheck. Because it is on the last day of the pay period, PPS said they won’t be able to complete the payroll in time for the October paycheck. I TOTALLY understand not wanting to work outside of your work hours to get your job done 😑.

Elena Aguilar, author of Coaching for Equity, sent out a newsletter talking about the word “Overwhelm.” Often hearing that word is enough to make folks feel a lot of big feelings. Aguilar describes it as a combination of 3 emotions: anger, fear, and sadness. I don’t know about y’all, but when I feel overwhelmed at work, I’m usually angry about the lack of support for myself and my students, afraid I won’t be able to serve them, and sad that I alone can’t change this system. Aguilar shares a tool to help folks work through those emotions connected to feeling Overwhelmed: ACE. ACE stands for: 

• Acknowledge the feelings
• Cultivate compassion for yourself
• Expand the story: “What else is at play, what other perspectives might you consider, and what wisdom can you gain from your emotions?”

It may not solve the problem, but this tool can help you process your emotions and validate your experience in a way that allows you to move forward.

Are You Registered to Vote?

The deadline to register to vote in Oregon in the upcoming election is October 18, 2022. You’ll also need to update your registration if you’ve moved since you last registered. Registering is easy and can be done online.

Since it is so important that everyone participates in voting, please mention the October 18 voting registration deadline to your students, and encourage them to remind their parents.

• Need to register to vote?
• Not sure if you’re registered correctly? 
• Have you moved and need to update your registration? 

Voting is a vital part of our democracy, and your power is in your vote- but you can’t vote if you’re not registered!

Hello Folks! We didn’t forget about Advocacy Cadre here at PAT. If you are new, the Advocacy Cadre is a small group of members who will work closely with UniServ to become experts on our contract, and will provide member-to-member support. Please apply and find out more at www.pdxteachers.org/pat_advocacy_cadre.

For those who have already applied, we will host interviews at the end of October/start of November, along with training to prepare y’all to do the work!

You emailed and called, we listened. We will hold both a TOSA and a SpEd listening and organizing session. 

• SpEd: Monday, Oct 10, from 4:30-6:00 PM at PAT (RSVP for SpEd Mtg)
• TOSAs: Monday, Oct 24, from 4:30-6:00 PM at PAT (RSVP for TOSA Mtg)

The OEA Grow podcast is designed to share tools, ideas, and strategies to improve your professional and personal life. This weekly podcast interviews OEA members and community partners from across Oregon.

Catch this week's episode of OEA’s Grow Podcast.

PAT member Desmond Spann was last week’s guest on OEA's Grow podcast--talking about student motivation and engagement. Find Desmond's episode here. 

Find more Grow podcast episodes here or wherever you get your podcasts.

The PAT Instruction and Professional Development (IPD) Committee encourages you to apply for the following grant opportunities through OEA.

Visit OEA’s website for more information on all the grant opportunities available to OEA members.

OEA PROMISING PRACTICE GRANTS

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.

Applications are due November 4, 2022. See our website for more information, including criteria, project timelines, and the full application.

EDUCATOR EMPOWERMENT GRANT

The OEA Center for Great Public Schools is excited to offer up to $5,000 grants to support member-led efforts to increase student success, advance educator leadership, or improve teaching and learning conditions.

Grant requests should correspond with the local association’s mission/vision/goals, and must relate to engaging members on professional practice issues. Awards will be from $1,000 - $5,000.

Grant applicants must have communicated their intent to apply to their local association President. If you would like to apply, please contact PAT President Angela Bonilla ([email protected]) to set up a time to discuss your proposed application.

All applications are due by November 4, 2022 and projects must be completed by June 16, 2022. See OEA’s flyer for more information, including criteria, project timelines, and a link to the full application.

“Teaching for Joy and Justice in Dangerous Times"

Oct. 22nd, ONLINE. Tickets are $10, or $5 for students. Register here

U.S. and Canadian teachers will share stories of how they teach for joy and justice in the dangerous times we are living through. The panel will be moderated by Cierra Kaler-Jones, who is director of storytelling for the Community for Just Schools Fund, serves on the leadership team for the Zinn Education Project, and is a Rethinking Schools magazine contributor. Panelists include: Lizanne Foster, who began her teaching career in apartheid South Africa, has taught for many years in British Columbia, and now serves as the First Vice-President of the Surrey Teachers Association; Adam Sanchez, a high school social studies teacher in Philadelphia, Rethinking Schools editor and frequent contributor to the magazine; Erin Green, a 5th-grade teacher and now a doctoral student at University of Texas-Austin, who describes her social justice teaching in Rethinking Schools; and Ryan Oto, a Minneapolis-area 6th-grade teacher, who describes his work to support students and colleagues in The Critical Social Educator.

This event has more than 30 workshops scheduled across 2 workshop sessions, including:

• Patterns of Air: Pathways for Indigenous Inspiration, Literacy, and Creativity
• Black Girl Magic in School: How to Ensure Safety and Equity for Black Girls in the Classroom
• We Are Water Protectors: Climate Justice for Elementary Students
• Kūʻē: Standing Against Hawai’ian Land Dispossession
• Nothing About Us Without Us: Integrating Principles of Disability Justice into Schools and Beyond
• Does Our Library Reflect Me? Mathematizing Fairness of Children's Books
• Teaching About the Intersections of Biology, Race, and Racism
• Be Kind: How We Used Critical PBL in Response to the Uvalde School Shooting
• It's a Big Fat Deal: How Schools Teach Contempt for Fat People and What We Can Do About It
• Jewishness and Ethnic Studies: A Discussion of Intersectional Jewish Identities
• Strategies for Supporting Undocumented Students and Families
• Beyond Rescuer as Educator Identity

• SpEd Meeting: October 10th, 4:30-6:00 PM, PAT Office
• PPS School Board Meeting: October 11th, 6:00 PM, Dr. Matthew Prophet Education Service Center
• PMAE-Retired Meeting: October 13th, 9:30 AM, PAT Office
• NEO Make-Up and Substitute Meeting: October 14th, McDaniel HS
• Teaching With Purpose Conference: October 14th, Register here
• Community Drive Through Event: October 15th, PAT Office Parking Lot
• Next RA: October 19th, 4:30-6:30 PM, PAT Office
• NW Teaching for Social Justice Conference: October 22nd, Get tickets here 
• TOSA Meeting, October 24th, 4:30-6:00 PM, PAT Office
• Each One, Teach One (EOTO): RESCHEDULED TBD 4:30-5:30 PM, Zoom

PAT Committees

• IPD Committee: October 12th, 4:30-6:30 PM 
• Legislative Committee: October 12th, 4:30-6:30 PM
• PAT PAC: October 12th, 4:30-6:30 PM
• Substitute Teacher Committee: October 17th, 4:30-6:30 PM 
• Advocacy Committee: November 2nd, 4:30-6:30 PM 
• SJCO Committee: November 3rd, 4:30-6:30 PM 
• Bargaining Committee: November 9th, 4:30-6:30 PM
• Racial Equity Committee: November 9th, 4:30-6:30 PM 
• IPD Committee: November 9th, 4:30-6:30 PM 
• Membership Committee: January 4th, 4:30-6:30 PM 

For all upcoming events, please see the PAT calendar and OEA calendar.

The Advocate, October 7, 2022

• President's Message: Back in the Swing of Things
• New Year, New PAT
• Know Your Contract:
  • KYC: Overage Pay Determination
  • KYC: Complete Your Required Training by October 31st
  • KYC: Submit Educational Credits by October 31st
• Tuesday Blue-sday
• PAT Committees + PAT PAC
  • Social Justice and Community Outreach (SJCO) Committee
    • October 11th- Union Solidarity Action RE: COVID Leave 
    • Join the PAT Flying Squad
    • October 15th- PAT Community Drive-thru Event and Mutual Aid
    • Upcoming SJCO and External Organizer Meetings
  • PAT PAC: Get Out the Vote for PAT PAC Endorsed Candidates
• Hot Tips:
  • Check Your Pay Stubs!
  • Self Care Corner: Big Feelings are A-OK
  • Register to Vote by October 18th
• NEW! Advocacy Cadre is Coming Back!
• NEW! Listening and Organizing Sessions for SPED and TOSAs
• OEA Podcast: New Episode
• Grant Opportunities for Educators
• NW Teaching for Social Justice Conference
• Upcoming Events

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

Substitute PAT members have the opportunity to shape our union and participate with other substitute and full time educators to organize inside our union and in our communities for quality public schools for all.

Not a member of PAT? Click HERE to Join PAT now!

Take a look at the Contract to become familiar with your rights. 

Announcements:

• Next Substitute Committee Meeting: Monday, 10/17 from 4:30-6:30 PM at the PAT Headquarters (345 NE 8th Ave). Come eat, drink, and chat with substitutes and get involved in making our union strong! Here’s the agenda for the next meeting.
• The district will be offering another paid professional training day on "Building Your Guest Teacher Toolkit" on Friday 10/14 for substitute educators. If you didn’t attend the last one, you can register through Pepper here.
• Earn an additional $50 per day/ $35 half-day incentive pay if you work at one of the following schools:
• SE: Grout, Harrison Park, Kelly, Kellogg, Lane, Lent, Sellwood
• NE: Beaumont, Faubion, Rigler, Roseway Heights, Sabin, Scott, Vernon
• N: Beach, Cesar Chavez, Chief Joseph, George, Harriet Tubman, James John, Jefferson, Ockley Green, Rosa Parks, Roosevelt, Sitton, 
• If you are applying to renew a teaching license from  01/01/2022 through 12/31/2023, educators are not required to report Professional Development Units (PDUs) to TSPC to renew or reinstate a license. For more information on this waiver, click here.
• Did you know you get a sick day as a substitute for every 17.7 days you work? If you need to take a sick day, whether or not you had to cancel a job on Absence Management, fill out this form.

The PAT Political Action Committee is proud to announce our endorsement of the following candidates:

		CITY COUNCIL POSITION 3: JO ANN HARDESTY In her first term on Portland City Council, Jo Ann Hardesty has been a fierce advocate for programs that improve the lives of Portland residents, including PAT members and PPS families. She has taken the lead on programs like the Portland Street Response, and on improving transportation with a focus on underserved areas like East Portland.
		MULTNOMAH COUNTY CHAIR: JESSICA VEGA PEDERSON There are several highly qualified candidates in the race for Multnomah County Chair, including incumbent County Commissioners Sharon Meieran and Lori Stegmann, who have been solid allies to educators. However, Commissioner Jessica Vega Peterson stood out, in large part because of her work on making the Preschool for All program a reality. She is a strong voice for public education, housing, and a just economic recovery from the covid pandemic, and is ready to partner with educators to improve services to all children.
		HOUSE DISTRICT 28: DACIA GRAYBER Dacia Grayber is a firefighter, union member, and PPS parent. Dacia comes from a family of teachers and union supporters, and has repeatedly demonstrated her impeccable union values. In her first term in the Oregon legislature, she has been a strong advocate for working people, and we look forward to continuing that work with her.
		HOUSE DISTRICT 33: MAXINE DEXTER Maxine Dexter is a Pulmonary and Critical Care doctor, a first-generation college graduate, and a PPS parent. Having grown up lacking resources, she attributes her own success to her public school teachers, and to a union job which allowed her to fund her own education. In Salem, she is a powerful advocate for public health and affordable health care, revenue reform to fully fund public services, and labor rights.
		HOUSE DISTRICT 43: TAWNA SANCHEZ Representative Tawna Sanchez is a lifelong advocate for her community, and her commitment to public education makes her an asset in the Oregon House. She is a champion for Indiginous families as a co-founder of Native American Youth and Family Services (NAYA), and has proven her dedication to young people by serving as a foster parent to more than 18 children. She will continue to work tirelessly to make sure our underserved students’ perspectives are heard in Salem.
		HOUSE DISTRICT 44: TRAVIS NELSON There are two very strong candidates in this race, and North Portland will be lucky to be represented by either of them. That said, Travis Nelson, a leader in the Oregon Nurses Association, stands out for his strong union values. In his first term in office, he has already shown his support for Portland teachers: He was a leader in the effort to push back against the district’s proposed staffing cuts by helping to collect signatures from his fellow members of the BIPOC caucus. We look forward to continuing to work with Rep Nelson on this and other issues.
		HOUSE DISTRICT 45: THUY TRAN This is another race with two excellent candidates, but optometrist Thuy Tran has earned our endorsement. A former member of the Parkrose School Board, she has an excellent grasp of the current issues in education. We expect her to be an effective advocate in Salem for educators, as well as for the diverse community of Northeast Portland.
		HOUSE DISTRICT 46: KHANH PHAM As a long-time community advocate, Khanh Pham believes that the best policy work is accomplished with input from our communities. She is a working mom, a PPS parent, and a relentless advocate for the diverse communities of the Jade District. In Salem, she is a leader in Oregon's transition to a renewable economy, and will fight for the revenue reform we need to build a more just society.
		SENATE DISTRICT 17: ELIZABETH STEINER HAYWARD As a practicing family medicine physician, Sen Steiner Hayward has long been committed to improving access to affordable healthcare. She sees how issues like healthcare, education, racial justice, housing, and climate are all interconnected, and works to bridge all gaps so that Oregon can be the healthiest state in the US.

YES on Oregon Measure 114 (PAT endorsement) Measure 114 will help keep Oregonians safer by reducing gun violence.

YES on Portland Measure 26-228 (PAT endorsement) Measure 26-228 will change the way Portland City Council is elected.

See OEA PAC endorsements for statewide races here.

Volunteer Opportunities

You can help get education-friendly candidates into office!

Jo Ann Hardesty volunteer calendar

Jessica Vega Pederson volunteer interest form

Tina Kotek volunteer interest form--please say Portland Association of Teachers recruited you to get us a little karma with our next governor.

Jamie McLeod Skinner volunteer signup. Her district is huge, but you can filter by location.

Christina Stephenson volunteer signup

Measure 26-288 volunteer signup

• Instructions for Each Document Listed
  • Updated PAT Calendar Dates
  • Schedule Check-Up Sheets
    • Elementary Full-Time
    • Elementary Part-Time
    • K-8 Full-Time
    • K-8 Part-Time
    • Middle School Full-Time
    • Middle School Part-Time
    • High School Full-Time
    • High School Part-Time
  • PAT Brag Sheet
  • RA Agenda- September 21st
  • RA Meeting Minutes- from August 22 RA
• 10-Minute Meeting Slides to use at your site
• Presentation Slides from September 21 RA
• PAT Heritage Months Resource Page
• SJCO Heritage Month Planning Release Day Interest Form 
• Help Build Our List of Community Partners!
• PAT Flying Squad Organizing
• Vote YES on Measure 26-228
  • Portland United for Change Volunteer Events
• Join PAT CAT (Campaign Action Team)
• OEA/PAT Membership Link
• Bargaining Committee Interest Form
• Drive-Through Organizing Event, October 15
• Article 9 Checklist
• 

WELCOME BACK, EDUCATORS!

Wow, what a start to the school year! We are dealing with wildfire smoke and hot classrooms, multiple curricular adoptions, new admin, new staff, less staff, “post”-pandemic student needs, national politics, racial injustice, COVID and "all the traumas, problems, and issues we had before the list above!"

Thank you for coming back. You could have chosen to teach anywhere else but you came back to our Portland students and community, and we appreciate you.

UNIONS ON THE RISE

I don’t know about y’all, but everywhere I turn I see more and more workers coming together to build unions and fight for dignity in the workplace! We have seen the federal government scramble to do something about the railroad workers possibly striking. Mental Health Nurses under Kaiser in California have been on strike for a month over staffing ratios. Seattle Teachers just ended a strike over class sizes, Special Ed caseloads, interpretation and translation services for students. Columbus EA just settled a contract in August over pay and working conditions in buildings.  Unions are not only for the trades: Starbucks, Amazon, New Seasons… Our service workers know that they deserve safe and sustainable working conditions. 

With this rise in unionization across the nation, we are also seeing a renewed fight on the side of the employer. Starbucks, Amazon and New Seasons have all fired several union organizers across the country. Starbucks, for example, has given extra benefits to non-unionized stores as if that “benevolent gift” will be enough to convince workers they don’t need a union… Even though they only gave these benefits due to the THREAT of a union. As Fredrick Douglass said, “Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.” 

We will get more educators into our profession by making sure we have livable wages, sustainable caseloads, safe working conditions, support for all students regardless of need, and to be treated like the trained professionals we are. The only way to make that happen is when we UNITE, when we ORGANIZE. The future of Public Education depends on it.

WHY SHOULD I READ THE ADVOCATE?

The Advocate is Portland Association of Teachers’ Bi-Monthly newsletter, keeping you up to date on what your union is doing for you, for our students, our community, and the greater good.

In the next few months, PAT will be:

• Building Union Engagement, Solidarity & Accessibility through stronger internal structures and centering Racial Equity
• Developing Community and Parent Solidarity around Community Schools through increased communication, internal & external organizing, and social media 
• Creating Great Public Schools for All through our Contract Negotiations and the maintenance of our current contract

Please keep yourselves informed and up to date by checking out The Advocate, pdxteachers.org, @pdxteachers & @AbonillaPAT on Twitter, @patpres & @pdxteachers on Instagram and our public Facebook page, Portland Association of Teachers. (If you are interested in supporting our PAT communications team, please email us! We can’t compete with PPS’ ~$80k, but we have bubbly water!)

In Solidarity,

Angela Bonilla

President, Portland Association of Teachers

The Advocate, September 21, 2022

• President’s Message: ONE MORE E-MAIL?! 
• Know Your Contract:
  • KYC: Give Your Schedule a Check-up!
  • KYC: Advancing on the Salary Schedule
  • KYC: Salary Placement for New Hires: Credit for Teaching Experience & Education Level
  • KYC: Using Professional Development Funds
  • KYC: Parent/Teacher Conferences
• Join a Committee!
• PAT Committees + PAT PAC Announcements
  • Social Justice and Community Outreach (SJCO) Committee
  • External Organizing
  • Racial Equity Committee
  • Legislative Committee
  • PAT PAC
• Hot Tips: Prepare for Absences
• NEW: Each One, Teach One
• OEA & NEA Opportunities
• Upcoming Events