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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 21, 2011)
Minority & Small Business Week Page 4 September 21. 2011 Meet Medical Student Omar Washington UC D avis H ealth, a m agazine for the UC Davis M edical School in C alifornia, featured a story on O m ar W ashington o f Portland w ho is on his way to becom ing a doctor: W here did you grow up and co m p lete y o u r u n d e rg r a d u ate stu d ies? 1 grew up in Portland, Oregon. W hile earning a bachelor's in m i crobiology at Portland State Uni versity, I was involved with a number oflocal community groups, including coaching my sister-in- law’s girls' softball team. W h y d id y o u c h o o s e to stu d y m ed icin e? I didn't see a lot o f physicians w ho looked like m e g row ing up. Parent's Corner so I thought becom ing a p h y si cian w ould be a w ay I could give back to underserved co m m u n i ties. M any people lose their lives from a lack o f preventive health care, like my grandm other, w ho died at 59 from a treatable c o n dition. A physician w ith the ab il ity to relate to my grandm a m ight have saved her. Being a p h y si cian puts you in a unique p o si tion: N ot only do you get to e x plore science but also you have the opportunity help people. I am about to finish my second year and am scheduled to graduate in 2012. H ow ever, I'm considering taking a y ear o ff to pursue stem cell research. E ventually I'd like to specialize in surgery. W hat is the best thing about the School o f M edicine? I've had the opportunity to grow and m ature as a lead er by being at UC D avis. I'm a c o d irecto r o f the Im ani C linic, one o f seven free clinics run by UC D avis students, and I'm the c h ap ter president o f the Student N a tional M edical A ssociation. The school has really supported m e in developing ideas on im proving d iv e rs ity w ith in h e a lth c a re , w hich is very im portant to m e. What's new in your life today? M y w ife and I ju st had our first child, a boy . O ur busy house hold ju st got a lot busier! Omar Washington Making Sure the Teaching is Effective In the b e g in ning o f the school year, it is im p o r tant to m eet your c h ild ’s principal and teachers. M ost principals an d te a c h e rs a p p re c ia te you m aking the effort to do this. The visit is im portant because this is often when school person nel are form ing opinions o f chil- dren, including the determ ination m essaging num ber or em ail ad o f w h ic h c h ild r e n ’s p a re n ts dress with the principal and teach “care.” Right or w rong, educators ers. A sk that they im m ediately in R os H erndon frequently give children m ore at contact you if your child is falling tention if they believe their parents behind in any subject or is having P arents Pream ble: I w ill en “c a re .” In su m m a ry , p a re n ts behavior problem s. Let the princi sure m y child receives a quality should quickly meet principals and pal and teachers know you want education. If I d o n ’t fight for my teachers. They will be responsible to be notified right aw ay if your c h ild ’s education, no one else for your child’s education six hours child is having problem s, not nine w ill. It’s w orth the effort. My a day for the next nine m onths. w eeks later on a report card. c h ild ’s future d epends upon me. Share your phone num ber, text A sk school personnel to share the procedure for getting a copy o f your child’s perm anent record. It is referred to as the cum ulative file. Also, request in writing açopy o f any and all inform ation on your A Division of S. Brooks & Associates, Inc. child that is in Portland Public Schools electronic records or ES IS file. It m ay have inform ation that is not in the cum ulative file, such as staff referrals. This follow s your child year to year, and school to school. M any tim es, the inform ation in th ese rec o rd s d eterm in e how teachers view your child. It may influence w hether school person nel have high o f low expectations o f your child. You should be aware Your Full Service o f all official records regarding MEDWeek your child. Again, this information Brooks Staffing has been a long-term partner of Staffing Company the Minority Business Opportunity Committee to m ay im pact how teachers and aid their mission: "To lead public and private Local & Federal Staffing adm inistrators view your child. organizations in achieving a regionally diverse This information will help you bet Temporary Staffing Services and sustainable business community." We do it ter advocate for your child. because we care about our community and its Employee Recruitment T eachers and principals w ho people Think Jobs, Think Brooks. & Executive Searches c o n s is te n tly h e lp y o u r c h ild Consulting B R O O K S S T A F F IN G achieve at or above grade level R E S P O N S IV E , I N N O V A T I V E , D IV E R S E should be publically supported and A pply & Test Online 1130 NE Alberta Street praised. If your child is below Portland, Oregon 97211 grade level, and school personnel sbrooks.com MEMBER: help your child make rapid progress ¡obs@sbrooks.com tow ard grade level, thank them A 800.540.7930 profusely. T hese educators are 503.284.7930 [o] A L L IA N C E Ammtan Staffing A U 503.284.7977 [ f ] helping you protect your ch ild ’s future. A nnounce their nam es at SERVING THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST FOR 30 YEARS church, ask their nam es to be BROOKS STAFFING mocu kwj included in church bulletins. Invite them to com m unity m eetings so th ey c an be re c o g n iz e d an d thanked. Share the nam es o f these educators on Facebook. A sk that these educational heroes be intro duced at the Oregon Sym phony, Blazer gam es, O regon L egisla ture. A heartfelt thank you cannot be said enough or shared in too m any public places. If parents learn a principal or teach er has a consistent record, y ear in and y ear out, o f not being able to help children perform at grade level, every effort should be m ade to m ove y o u r child into a room w ith a teach er w ho has a record o f co n sisten tly helping ch ild ren perfo rm at o r above grade level. E very effort should be m ade to rem ove the principal and teacher, replace them w ith educators w ho have consistently had children perform ing at o r above grade level. C h ild ren do not have years to w aste in the care o f ineffective adults. A dults w ould not return to eat at a restau ran t c o n sis tently featured on “D irty D in ning.” W hy send o u r ch ild ren to prin cip als o r teachers that have co n sisten tly been unable to help ch ild ren perfo rm at o r above grade level? T he dirty little se cret is that parents at schools in upper-incom e com m unities have a long history o f quickly m oving ineffective teach ers and p rin ci pals. M ore next w eek. Ron Herndon is a long-time advocate fo r educational op portunities fo r African-Ameri can children. He has served as director o f Head Start in Port land since 1975.
