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.