November 21,2001
Crisis Team Urges
Adoption of Report
Dear Community Member:
Public education in Portland is in a state o f crisis. W e encour
age you to read the C risis T eam ’s publication and ask yourself,
is this the kind o f education 1 w ill accept for m y child or oth er
children? T hen w rite o r call school board m em bers and ask that
they inunediately adopt Dr. S im on-M cW illiam s’ m ediation re
port. T he report calls fo r system w ide changes focused on
quickly getting low -incom e children to grade level.
In June 2001, board m em ber L olenzo Poe recom m ended that
the district seek the educational expertise o f D r. Sim on-
M cW illiam s. She agreed to m ediate betw een the school district
and the C risis Team . M ediation centered on how to rapidly get
low -incom e children to grade level. S trategies developed during
m ediation w ere designed to address teacher quality, E nglish
language learners. T itle 1 program s fo r disadvantaged children,
special education, curriculum , instruction and m onitoring. T he
strategies w ere specific and based upon proven practices and
program s.
T he board has refused to im plem ent the report. Instead, board
m em bers turn to school adm inistrators fo r answ ers to academ ic
problem s they have never solved in their professional careers.
N either the current superintendent no r his key staff has ev er had
low -incom e children perform ing at o r above grade level.
G ross disparities exist w ithin the public education system .
Sadly, education looks different based upon race, incom e and
w here children live in the city . Pom -children tend to be taught by
the least experienced and low est paid teachers. In addition,
schools in low -incom e neighborhoods have hazardous health
and safety risks that adm inistrators ignored for years.
L ow -incom e children in E nglish as a Second L anguage (ESL)
classes are taught by teachers w ho d o not speak their language.
T his contrasts w ith the school district’s language im m ersion
schools w ith faculty that speak both E nglish and the foreign
language children are being taught. T hese children’s parents are
m ore affluent than E SL parents. N inety-eight percent o f E SL 10*“
graders are belcw grade level.
P ortland school board m em bers and adm inistrators have
touted num erous plans to close the achievem ent gap that exists
betw een low -incom e children and their m ore affluent peers. N ot
one o f the plans has been im plem ented.
O v er a year ago, K ati H aycock, president o f E ducation T rust,
a w ell-respected research organization recom m ended that the
district be m ore specific about steps to close the achievem ent
gap. T he trust, in response to the school d istric t's request,
detailed steps that should be taken to close the achievem ent gap.
School adm inistrators and the board have failed to im plem ent the
recom m endations.
W e think you w ill agree that ou r children deserve m u ch better.
A s a first step, please call th e board and ask that they im m ediately
im plem ent the changes called fo r in Dr. Sim on-M cW illiam s*
report.
If you w ant to help in our efforts to ensure that all children
receive an excellent education, call us at 503-282-1447.
®lje “P o rtlattò (©bsertier
Page A3
Sharing Thanksgiving With Others
Pastor B.E. Johnson (left) and Larry Collins o f the Community COGIC Church, stand outside the church doors to welcome people
from thr oughout the city, including the homeless, to a free Thanksgiving dinner held Saturday at the church on Northeast
Killingsworth.
photo bv J ohnny H lff /T he P ortland O bserver
Season Begins for Christmas Tree Cutting at Mt. Hood
The M t. H ood N ational Forest
began selling $5 p erso n al use
C h ristm as tree cu ttin g perm its
M onday to cut or dig a tree up to
8 feet tall.
B ecause w inter w eather in the
forest can change rapidly, forest
service officials encourage cu t
ters to be prepared for rain, snow
and icy conditions. Bring extra food
and clothing. Start early in the day
and be out o f the forest before
dark. Carry an axe, shovel and tire
chains. Tell a friend or family m em
ber where you are going and when
you plan to return.
To purchase your permit and get
more information, contact the Zig
zag Ranger District, 6500 E. High
way 26, Welches, 503-622-7674;
Clackamas River Ranger District, 595
N.W. Industrial Way, off Highway
224, Estacada, 503-630-8700; Hood
River Ranger District,6780Highway
35, Mt. Hood Parkdale, 541-352-
6002; orthe Barlow Ranger District,
D ufur Ranger Station, 780 Court,
Dufur,541-467-2291.
A ll o ffic e s w ill b e c lo s e d
T hanksgiving and C hristm as D ay,
but the perm its are available from
som e local vendors.
Sincerely,
R on H erndon, C o-C h air Crisis Team
Entrepreneurs Will
Revitalize Weimer Building
co n tin u ed
fro m F ront
th e re’s not much w ithin w alking distance,” W oolley added. “It
helps to have people collected together. If w e can energize this block,
the new businesses and those already there can help m ake this an
active, vital com m ercial district.”
T he H eritage G roup also consists o f Stephen Foust, form er land
use com m ittee chair o f the neighborhood association and principal
author o f the K ing N eighborhood Plan; D ennis H adley,
architect and Eliot neighboihood resident; H ow ard Loucks, a
construction contractor and a volunteer with the Eliot Neighborhood
Association for more than 15 years; Barry Pappenheim , a northeast
Portland developer; and Eric W entland, a form er Eliot Neighborhood
Association land use com m ittee chair and developer o f properties on
Northeast Alberta, including the Chez W hat building.
Carter Wins Census Lawsuit
con tin u ed A , fro m F ront
adjusted num bers said the ruling likely w ould face an im m ediate
challenge by the C ensus Bureau and head to the 9th U .S. C ircuit
C ourt o f A ppeals in San Francisco.
“It’s possible the governm ent w ill go all the w ay to the Suprem e
C ourt,” said Steven B lackhurst, one o f the attorneys representing
state Sens. Susan C astillo, D -Eugene, and M argaret C arter, D-
Portland.
C astillo and Carter had filed a federal Freedom o f Inform ation Act
request to see the adjusted population count, w hich could show an
undercount o f renters and m inorities, altering the am ount o f federal
funding som e com m unities receive.
“T he people o f O regon are the w inners,” C astillo said.
“T he C ensus Bureau acknow ledged that the num bers released
as the ‘o fficial’ census again left out m illions o f A m ericans,” she
said. “N ow , hopefully, w e can ensure that O regon receives all the
federal funds com ing to us.”
The C ensus Bureau had sought an exception to the general
federal law that requires governm ent to be conducted in the open
barring special circum stances.
A t a hearing last month, U.S. District Judge Jam es A. R edden had
w arned it w ould be difficult to find that secrecy w as justified in this
case.
B lackhurst said he believes R edden based his decision on a 9th
Circuit ruling nearly a decade ago that forced the C ensus B ureau to
release its adjusted 1990 counts, as requested by the C alifornia
Legislature.
Census Bureau attorneys had argued the 2000Census was different
because the adjusted num bers were too flawed to be useful.
In addition, governm ent law yers said that in 1990, the bureau
released adjusted counts for every state and county before it tried
to halt the release o f adjusted counts dow n to the very detailed
“block” level.
F or the 2000 C ensus, the bureau kept secret its adjusted p o p u
lation totals for states and counties, as w ell as for city blocks — so
the governm ent argued that releasing the num bers w ould be a m ajor
and very disruptive disclosure.
The adjusted counts w ere designed to im prove the accuracy o f
C ensus 2000 by boosting the count o f renfers, m inorities and other
undercounted populations in som e places w hile reducing the count
o f w hites, college students and other overcounted people in other
places.
T h e g a m e is j u s t a g a m e . . . It’s how you play that makes it fun, or frustrating, or
dangerous. It’s true for all types of games — including gambling. Three percent of Oregonians have a
gambling problem — and when they play, it’s more than a game. The way they play puts them and
their families at financial and emotional risk.
If someone you know is playing out of control, call the Problem Gambling Help Line:
1-877-2-STOP-NOW
Licensed treatment providers are there to listen, help and make
referrals to local treatment centers 24 hours a day.
Or log on to www.oregonlotteryhelp.org for:
■ Warning Signs
■ Treatment Centers
a How to Get Help
a Reaching Out
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