Secrets of a Successful Organizer

• Saturday, January 7th - Secrets of a Successful Organizer Training (10AM-4PM)

Advocacy Trainings

• Monday, January 9th- Best Practices of Handling Plans of Assistance (4:30PM-6:30PM)
• Saturday, January 21st- Extensive Building Rep Training- Beginner and Advanced (10AM-4PM)

Racial Equity Trainings

• Thursday, January 26th- Racial Equity Training Part 1 (4:30PM-7PM) 

Legislative, History, and Unionism

• Monday, January 30th- Understanding the Attacks on Public Education in Oregon and How We Fight Back (4:30PM-6:30PM at PAT) 

See our flyer for more details!

PAT is proud to host our first retirement seminar of the year dedicated to financial wellbeing and planning for the future, led by veteran financial advisor Ed Foster. If you are in the late stages of your career and considering retiring now or in the near future, this seminar is for you! Topics for this seminar include:

• How does my pension work?
• How does the IAP account fit into that?
• When can I retire? Does it make a difference if I retire now or later?
• What pension options are available when I retire?
• Are there recent changes to PERS?
• What is a “PERS Bubble” and how can I get one?
• What District incentives and options are available?

RSVP HERE. The seminar will be in person on Thursday, November 17, 4:30-6:00 PM, at the PAT office at 345 NE 8th Ave. See the flyer here.

(*These retirement seminars are a benefit of PAT membership, and only available for PAT members. Not a member yet? Join Here!)

SEPTEMBER 15th-OCTOBER 19th.

PAT Latinx Heritage Month resource materials are beginning to be renamed Latine Heritage Month. “Latine (pronounced la·ˈ​ti·​ne) is a gender-neutral form of the word Latino, created by LGBTQIA+, gender non-binary, and feminist communities in Spanish speaking countries. The objective of the term Latine is to remove gender from the Spanish word Latino, by replacing it with the gender-neutral Spanish letter E. This idea is native to the Spanish language and can be seen in many gender-neutral words like “estudiante”. – callmelatine.com 

There are many ways for people to name their racial, cultural, and ethnic identities. We also know that language evolves and as invested members of mutually sustaining communities, we need to listen to members of our community and recognize there will alway be multiple points of view. Here are some more resources if you are interested in additional thoughts about the terms Latine and Latinx, but more importantly, we encourage you to listen to those within your own community and follow their lead.

Why People Are Using the Term ‘Latinx’

What’s the Deal with Latinx? 

The X in Latinx is a Wound, not a Trend   

Call Me Latine    

From Hispanic to Latine

Heritage/Affinity Month Release Planning Day

Do you identify as Hispanic, Latine, Latino, Indigenous, Native American, or Filipino? Do you have a personal connection with folx with disabilities? On Friday, October 7th we will refine, revisit, and reimagine our current PAT resources for Latine Heritage Month and Indigenous/Native American Heritage Month. We will also begin to put together resources for Filipino Heritage Month and International Day of Persons with Disabilities. People who do not share an identity with these groups but have the desire to support and augment the work are also needed and invited. Indicate your interest HERE (space is limited, but we will contact everyone who signs up) and be entered to win a gift card to Third Eye Books! PAT will pay your substitute leave and will provide lunch at the PAT office.

 JOIN THE PAT FLYING SQUAD!

Click the link to learn about the PAT Flying Squad and what it has to do with union solidarity! See below for an example of union solidarity

UNION SOLIDARITY ACTION REGARDING COVID LEAVE

Let's build momentum and solidarity as we enter into bargaining for a fair contract!

Who: All community members who love teachers are invited to come by for a community drive thru event at the Portland Association of Teachers office!
Where: 345 NE 8th Ave, PDX, 97232
When: Saturday, October 15th from 12pm-2pm

• Music + dancing 🎉
• Free yard signs
• Temporary tattoos
• Spin the wheel
• for more SWAG!!

Link to FB event here. Thanks for sharing!

Celebrate the Renaming of BESC after Dr. Matthew Prophet

WHAT:  The PPS School Board voted Unanimously on Tuesday September 20th to rename the BESC Building after Dr. Matthew Prophet, who served as Portland Public Schools Superintendent from 1982-1992.  Please join us at his virtual tribute on Saturday October 22nd!

For more information, contact: Lurlene Shamsud-Din: 971.354.0970 or Renee Anderson: 971. 207.1242  

Join us in supporting a Portland that works for everyone!

We are thrilled to share that PAT has announced our official support and endorsement of the Portland United for Change campaign to vote YES on Measure 26-228! 

We are excited by the real and comprehensive change that Measure 26-228 will bring to Portland’s government. Measure 26-228 strengthens our democracy by giving Portland voters more voice and more choice in City Council elections and making our government more accountable and responsive to community needs. Based on the feedback of thousands of Portlanders and the recommendations of the Portland Charter Commission, Measure 26-228 is our opportunity to move toward a more hopeful future for all of Portland. 

We’re not the only ones who are energized by this change. Our endorsement joins dozens and dozens of other civic, business, labor, and community organizations and leaders.

You can join us in supporting Measure 26-228 by donating to their campaign. Any amount you can give will go a long way to helping get the word out. 

If you are unable to donate but want to support the campaign, go to portlandunitedforchange.com/events to get involved. We are kicking off connecting with neighbors in-person THIS Saturday, Sept 24 at 1pm in Southeast Portland (location provided upon RSVP) and over the phone NEXT Tuesday, Sept 27th at 5:30pm. 

Join PUC:

• At any of their weekly Tuesday phone banks 5:30-8:30 PM starting September 27th through the end of the election. 
• Every Saturday and Sunday (morning or early afternoon), starting September 24th they will be knocking on neighbors’ doors in different parts of the city.

Training and materials will always be provided! Many types of volunteer opportunities are available.

And remember, vote YES on Measure 26-228 this Fall!

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.

Our PAT Social Justice Committee invites you to celebrate ASIAN AMERICAN PACIFIC ISLANDER MONTH with your students. Please see our website for engagement opportunities and resources, including:

• Lessons and Resources for your classroom
• AAPI Read Alouds
• AAPI Affinity Space
• Community Events
• And more!

Thank you to the educators who gathered these resources. Please read this note from Karen Liao, of our PAT AAPI Month Planning Committee:

I teach 2nd grade and have a student who consistently uses the word "American" when they mean "white." I'll remind them that Americans can be any race and they will apologize and change their language.. until our next discussion about race. I'm not upset with them because there is so much in mainstream culture that conflates “American” with whiteness. For me, this is the importance of AAPI Month -- when we can learn about and teach about the foundational roles AAPI have in America, not just in terms of infrastructure, labor, and culture, but also in terms of who gets to be an American. (Every elementary teacher should have I Am an American: The Wong Kim Ark Story by Martha Brockenbrough, Grace Lin, and Julia Kuo in their classroom.) If you are planning on teaching about Lunar New Year, or cultural practices and traditions from Asian or Pacific Islander homelands, STOP! Teach that any other month besides this one. May is Asian American and Pacific Islander American Month. 

Come join us on Friday, May 20th at 3:45 PM (or anytime after school) at Laurelhurst Park to help celebrate the (almost) end of the school year! It’s been over two years since we’ve been able to hold our annual Party in the Park, so we are excited to finally be able to gather together again! Food and drinks will be provided (alcoholic and non-alcoholic). Please feel free to bring your families, too!

RSVP here today