May 3, 2017 Page 15 Running for School District Change c ontinued from p age 5 need to work with them to come up with solutions that actually work,” she said. Zone 4 has its own unique set of obstacles with less supplemen- tal funding to bring in additional supplies, upgrades and arts pro- grams from school foundations and Parent-Teacher Associations, which in more affluent neighbor- hoods fill in the gap from budget cuts. Moore grew up in Boston in a poor working class family and through public education was able to move into college, eventually achieving a PhD in Political Sci- ence. She’s studied political sys- tems her entire life and spent 18 years teaching at the college level, including Portland Community College and Portland State Uni- versity. Moore also taught abroad and her most recent position as a consultant with the Oregon Health Authority, which oversees the Or- egon Health Plan. A single mother, Moore faced her own personal battle with Port- land Public Schools and found quickly that the work she did to advocate for her son was a full time job. For the last 15 years, she has been a school volunteer and activ- ist. She knows who’s-who and has attended many meetings and helps run a grassroots parent group on Facebook. Moore said in traditional school board meetings parents are given three minutes to bring concerns to the table, but in her Facebook group, conversations grow lively and debates on issues are allowed to grow and find common ground to discover solutions. She argues that Portland Public Schools is teetering on the edge, but with a new school board, new superintendent and clear vision can be fixed to serve its students and families. The high turnover rate of prin- cipals and teachers is one area where Moore sees a breakdown in the system. She said principals are being given a huge workload of administrative duties from bu- reaucrats and not enough balance in their positions to be an educa- tional leader and mentor to the teachers their schools. She is advocating for the transi- tion back to middle schools from K-8, to help reduce class size and give students the opportunity to be in a learning environment which puts them in step with the next phase of their education and helps get them in place to be college ready by high school graduation Moore has been endorsed by the Portland Association of Teach- ers which has been backing school board candidates who oppose school administration, includ- ing the two current school board members who have endorsed her campaign. “We have a new superintendent coming in and I think it’s really important for the board to estab- lish a good working relationship. We’ve got to be a team. He’s go- ing to need a school board who knows what’s happening.” It Does Good Things TM This page is sponsored by Oregon Lottery R C ALENDAR May 2017 MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY 1 2 3 4 Mother Goose Day Hawaiian Lei Day May Day 8 No Socks Day 15 Frank L. Baum born in 1856. Paul Zindel born, 1936 Dr. Benjamin Spock Born in 1903 9 National Teacher Day First Newspaper Cartoon, 1754 16 First US Nickel Minted In 1866 FRIDAY SATURDAY 5 6 National Sun Day Constitution Memorial Day in Japan National Weather Observers’ Day Space Day Cinco de Mayo Children’s Day In Japan 10 11 12 National School Nurse Day Clean Up Your Room Day 17 First Kentucky Derby In 1875 Gary Paulson born, 1939 Twilight Zone Day 18 Mount St. Helens Erupted In 1980. Visit Your Rela- tives Day International Nurses Day Kite Day Limerick Day 19 Circus Day The Ringling Brother’s Circus opened in 1884 Kentucky Derby takes place Eiffel Tower opened in 1889 13 Tulip Day SUNDAY 7 1st Stamp Collec- tion Started Pulitzer Prize Es- tablished (1917) 14 Mother’s Day National Dance Like a Chicken Day 20 Armed Forces Day 21 American Red Cross Founded Founded by Clara Barton in 1881