July IO. 2013
Fortiani» (Observer
IN S ID E
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photo by D onovan M. S mith /T he P ortland O bserver
Multnomah County Commissioner Loretta Smith and Joe Wycowzky o f Community Visions Inc tour
a northeast Portland home that was lost to foreclosure and then rescued for new ownership thanks
to a partnership between the county and the non-profit group.
Foreclosure to Opportunity
Building a
foundation for
new beginnings
by D onovan M. S mith
T he P ortland O bserver
A home lost to foreclosure will be
turned into a win for a deserving
family. The home, located at 5220
N.E. 28th Ave., has been renovated
from the foundation to the roof
thanks to a partnership between a
local non-profit and Multnomah
County.
A waterproofed garage, a new
furnace, and roof repairs were just
some of the many changes that were
introduced to this quaint house built
in 1913.
“W e’re trying to go top dollar so
people have good housing, and we
know they don’t have to have con­
cerns,” says Joe Wykowski, execu­
tive director of Community Visions,
Inc.
The Oregon-based organization
primarily focuses on finding hous­
ing for people with disabilities and
their families.
continued
on page 5
School Discipline Disparities Found
Most dramatic impact on African-American students
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pages 14-15
page 13
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T o o
A fo llo w -u p rep o rt by the
American Civil Liberties Union of
Oregon confirm s that many stu­
dents of color in Oregon public
schools continue to be more fre­
quently expelled or suspended
than their white peers.
The ACLU report, based on 2011 -
12 data reported by school districts
to the Oregon Department of Edu­
cation, indicates that the statewide
disparity is most dramatic for Afri­
can-Am erican students. For ex­
ample, African-American students
represent 2.5 percent of the student
population statewide, but received
6.5 percent of all out-of-school sus­
pensions.
The civil rights organization has
released a step-by-step guide de­
signed to help parents and educa­
tors locate the discipline informa­
tion for their districts as well as
statewide>
ACLU of Oregon Executive Di­
rector David Fidanque said that
making discipline data more visible
and available is essential to help
communities advocate for improve­
ments in policies and practices to
address the disproportionate impact
of school discipline on students of
color.
“We are not saying that teachers
and administrators intentionally dis­
criminate against students of color
in O reg o n p u b lic s c h o o ls,”
Fidanque said, “but the numbers for
both academic achievement and
student discipline consistently have
pointed to practices and policies
that result in a disproportionate
impact on students of color.”
The ACLU report is also critical
of changes in how race and ethnicity
identity is determined under recent
federal rules implemented by the
Oregon Department of Education.
The ACLU notes that the new rules
are resulting in an unknown number
of students of color being “lost” in
the data and may be masking even
greater disparities than the data
currently show.
The report and the step-by-step
guides can be found at aclu-or.org/
stpp.