Portland observer., May 14, 2014, Special Edition, Page 7, Image 7

May 14, 2014
w p u r tta n i» (O b se rv e r CAREERS S p e d a i
Audit Tackles Achievement Gap
A n nAw
A
ew ctutp*
state a au
u d d it
it hoc
h as f/MinJ
fo u n d
that m inority and econom ically d is­
a d v a n ta g e d 8th g ra d e rs w ere s ig ­
n ific a n tly b e h in d th e ir p e ers in
le arn in g . A fric a n -A m e ric a n , H is ­
p a n ic an d N a tiv e A m e ric a n 8 th
g ra d e rs w e re at le a s t a y e a r b e ­
h in d th e ir p e e rs in re a d in g an d
m a th . E c o n o m ic a lly d is a d v a n ­
ta g e d s tu d e n ts w e re a t le a st a y e a r
b e h in d in m ath .
"O regon m ust im p ro v e a c h ie v e ­
m e n t fo r all stu d e n ts, e sp e c ia lly
m in o rity an d d is a d v a n ta g e d s tu ­
d e n ts w ho are fa llin g fu rth e r b e ­
h in d . T h is a u d it is a first step to
sh in e a s p o tlig h t on the n e ed to
im p ro v e a c h ie v e m e n t fo r all s tu ­
d e n ts an d c lo se the a c h ie v e m e n t
g a p for m in o rity an d e c o n o m ic a lly
d is a d v a n ta g e d s tu d e n ts ," s a id
S e c re ta ry o f S ta te K ate B ro w n .
T h e re are s ig n ific a n t so cial an d
f
~
' ■ " n
Kate Brown
e c o n o m ic c o n se q u e n c e s fo r low
a c h ie v e m e n t. L o w e r a c h ie v in g
s tu d e n ts are le ss lik e ly to g ra d u -
a te fro m h ig h sch o o l. O re g o n ia n s
« • •
.
.
_
w ith o u t a h ig h sch o o l d ip lo m a are
m o re lik e ly to be u n e m p lo y e d , r e ­
c e iv e p u b lic a ss is ta n c e , an d be
in c a rc e ra te d at so m e p o in t in th e ir
lifetim e.
A u d ito rs v is ite d n in e sc h o o ls
th a t w ere s u c c e ss fu lly c lo sin g th e
g a p by m a in ta in in g safe an d p o s i­
tiv e sc h o o l e n v iro n m e n ts w ith
h ig h e x p e c ta tio n s a n d h ig h s u p ­
p o rt, te a c h e r c o lla b o ra tio n , d a ta -
in fo rm e d in s tru c tio n an d stro n g
le a d e rsh ip .
T h e a u d it re c o m m e n d s th a t th e
O re g o n D e p a rtm e n t o f E d u c a tio n
c o n tin u e to re p o rt on th e p ro g re ss
in c lo sin g a c h ie v e m e n t g a p s, and
to id e n tify an d d is se m in a te e ffe c ­
tiv e p ra c tic e s lin k e d to im p ro v in g
o u tc o m e s.
Page 7
First Lady Student Performance
c o n t i n u e d f r o m page 3
S ta g e P ro d u c tio n s ' la st w in te r.
“ W e ’re v e ry p ro u d , a n d h a p p y
a n d b le s s e d ,” sa y s Jo n e s .
R e c a llin g th e n ig h t sh e a n d h e r
h u s b a n d h a d b e e n in fo rm e d th a t
th e ir d a u g h te r S in a i J o n e s w o u ld
b e p a rtic ip a tin g , sh e re c a lls s h e d ­
d in g te a rs o f jo y , a n d h a v in g to
k e e p it a s e c re t fro m h e r fo r a
w h o le d ay so th e sc h o o l c o u ld
“ Sex an d th e C ity ” sta r S a ra h
J e s s ic a P a rk e r, w h o h as v is ite d
th e sc h o o l an d w ill a lso be in
a tte n d a n c e b e s id e s M ic h e lle
O b am a fo r the kids ’ p erfo rm an ce.
T a n is h a Jo n e s , p a re n t to o n e
o f th e y o u n g p e rfo rm e rs , say s
the W h ite H o u se v is it w ill be “ a
on ce in life tim e o p p o rtu n ity ” and a n n o u n c e it to a ll th e se le c te e s .
f o r e c a s ts it w ill c h a n g e h e r
N o w sh e s a y s s h e ’s m o s tly
d a u g h te r’s life fo r th e g o o d . She h o p e fu l fo r w h a t th e e x p e rie n c e
say s i t ’s all th e m o re e x c itin g w ill bring.
c o n sid e rin g h e r d a u g h te r p la y e d
“ W e ’re e x c ite d fo r th e e x p e r i­
M ic h e lle O b a m a in an e x tra -c u r­ e n ce an d fo r th e m to b rin g th a t
ric u la r p la y w ith M a v e ric k M ain b a ck h o m e .”
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Last Thursday Curbs
c o n t i n u e d f r o m page 3
open during the festivities.
“ W e ’re w orking together w ith
the organizers, the neighbors and
the local business com m unity to
m ake L ast T hursday a terrific event
for ev ery b o d y ,” H ales said.
T he m ayor also is asking police to
strictly enforce open-container drink­
ing in the right o f w ay, as well as
m arijuana use. T he city ’s N oise O f­
fice and police will w ork to bring
street m usicians w ithin com pliance
o f the city ’ s noise code, officials said.
In recent years, neighbors have
com plained about livability c o n ­
cerns, including public urinations,
d ru n k e n n e ss, lo ite rin g , litterin g ,
noise, double parking an d fights.
H ales began exploring w ays o f
m aintaining the celebration w hile
addressing neighborhood concerns
last year in his first y ear o f office. H e
also asked staff to investigate a lter­
native funding proposals.
“L ast year, taxpayers throug h ­
out P ortland subsidized L ast T h u rs­
day by an estim ated $75,000 to
$ 8 0,000,” said C had Stover, project
m anager in the m ay o r’s office. “That
includes police, fire, T ransportation
B ureau personnel, and the O ffice o f
N eig h b o rh o o d Involvem ent. T he
M a y o r’s O ffice also covered the
cost o f port-a-potties, garbage, re­
cy clin g and security services.”
S to v er and others in the m a y o r’s
office w ill spend part o f this year
looking fo r a funding alternative
that w o n ’t co st the public.
T y p ically , o rg an izers o f street
fairs develop non-profit status, w ork
to g eth er w ith b usinesses and n eig h ­
bors in the area, and apply fo r a
p erm it from the city. C ity services
are pro v id ed in a support role, but
the organizers are prim arily respon­
sible fo r funding and m anagem ent.
In the case o f Last T hursday, no
such body w as ev er created and, as
a result, taxpayers have been c o v er­
ing the cost.
“T h e m ay o r believes that should
be the m odel fo r L ast T hursday as
w ell,” S to v er said.
“L ast T hu rsd ay is a special event
that m any P ortlanders lo v e,” H ales
said. “W e w ant to find a w ay to m ake
it a sustainable ev en t that is w el­
co m ed and appreciated by n eig h ­
bors and businesses, as w ell as the
L ast T hu rsd ay enthusiasts w ho at­
tend each year. U ltim ately, the event
needs to m anage appropriately and
it needs a financial h o m e.”
an impact
Jason Dorsette, director of the Lonnie B. Harris Black Cultural Center, moved from
North Carolina to Oregon to implement his goals as an agent of change. He set out
to visit all 50 states, but as soon as he stepped onto campus, he was energized to
make a positive impact — to recruit and retain students
of color and educate them about the commonalities all
people share — regardless of their background.
Oregon State
U N IV E R S IT Y
Join Beaver Nation and find your opportunity.
oregonstate.edu/admissions
Charles Washington
Past Publisher of the Portland Observer
In memory of an outstanding and dedicated .
member of Portland's Longest Standing
Minority Publication.
.1 se rv e r