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July 12, 2017
‘Our Kids Can Achieve’
L egaL N otices
c ontinued from f ront
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county’s equity director. It was in
this capacity, he says, that he be-
gan to more closely examine the
racial disparities in Portland’s ed-
ucational systems.
“There continued to be a gap
between the educational outcomes
of African Americans and white
students,” said Poe. “I really want-
ed to see that change.”
Poe successfully ran for a posi-
tion on the Portland School Board,
and served as a board member
from 2002 through 2005. He says
that his knowledge of the achieve-
ment gap between white students
and students of color motivated
his campaign.
“We had to come to the district
and demand that they pay atten-
tion to the gap,” Poe said. “There
were a number of schools, primar-
ily where African Americans were
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attending, that required immediate
attention and resources.”
Following his tenure on the
school board, Poe was brought on
as a staff member at the district.
Since 2009, he has worked as the
Chief Equity and Diversity Officer
for PPS. He developed the Racial
Equity Plan, which he says was
one of the first educational equity
plans to specifically target racial
disparities in the nation.
He says that there have been
measurable improvements in Port-
land’s educational achievement
gap since the plan was approved
in 2010. Among other things,
the plan’s implementation has
reduced the disproportionate ex-
pulsion rates of students of color
and boosted the graduation rates at
schools with higher minority pop-
ulations.
Poe says that addressing the
district’s culture is essential to
tackling the racial achievement
gap. “Part of the problem at PPS
is that in spite of our rhetoric we
don’t truly believe, across the
board, that our kids can achieve,”
Poe said.
Initiatives like the Courageous
Conversation
program
have
helped to inspire occasionally un-
comfortable conversations among
educators and students, however,
that are challenging teachers to
reevaluate the role that race may
play in their own unconscious bi-
ases.
Following his retirement, Poe
says that he has confidence that
the district will continue moving
in the right direction. He adds
that community pressure on the
district will continue to improve
learning conditions and academ-
ic outcomes for students of col-
or. “We’ve said as a community
that we want to see the achieve-
ment gap addressed,” said Poe. “I
have to believe that the communi-
ty won’t tolerate the district walk-
ing away from that.”
Despite his retirement, Poe
plans to continue fighting for ed-
ucational equity in his capacity as
a community leader. “I’ve been
doing this professionally for 40
years,” Poe said. “I have grand-
children in this district. I’m going
to stay involved, because this is
my passion.”
Poe says that the community
should recognize the problems
facing the district, and continue to
encourage it to seek out long-term
solutions to racial disparities in
Portland’s classrooms.
“There’s a lot of work to be
done, but we’ve done some good
work,” he said. “We’ve got to
be willing to criticize the district
for its shortcomings, but we also
have to be willing to acknowledge
where we’re making gains.”