Local News
Crew
The AP reported that Crew downplayed
the job to the Oregon Education Investment
Board – Kitzhaber’s education reform panel
set up in combination with the new CEO
position – implying he might not take the it
if it were offered.
In his Tuesday statement, Kitzhaber
praised the work of the board itself but not
Crew.
“The Oregon Education Investment
Board has made tremendous progress shap-
ing the vision behind Oregon’s 40-40-20
“Dr. Rudy Crew brings to Medgar Evers
College an exemplary record of academic,
administrative and governmental accom-
plishment, combined with classroom
experience and a strong commitment to stu-
dents. We are confident that, with his
leadership, Medgar Evers College will
achieve new levels of excellence for its ded-
icated students and faculty and strengthen
its role with the community. The college
was established in 1970 to honor the mem-
ory and ideals of the slain civil rights martyr
and it is highly appropriate that it
will be uplifted by a leader who is
deeply committed to academic
quality, equal access, and student
success.”
“Dr. Crew has stated that his mis-
sion is to “improve student
achievement, especially for poor
and minority students.” To that end
he worked closely with all stake-
holders, first as New York City
schools chancellor and later as
superintendent of the Miami-Dade County
Public Schools, to place those cities’ low-
est-performing schools in virtual districts
whose boundaries were defined by student
need, not geography, and used research-
based practices to accelerate the pace of
student learning.
“Soon after being named Oregon’s chief
education officer in 2012, Dr. Crew ordered
a third of the state’s 197 school districts to
rewrite their academic goals because they
had failed to seek improvement of at least
one percentage point in high school gradua-
tion rates and third-grade reading and math
scores. He also called for boosting educa-
tional achievement for the bottom 40
percent of students through greater use of
technology and learning outside of class
time, after school and during the summer,
along with teacher-developed skill-building
classes pegged to individual student needs
Kitzhaber praised the work
of the Oregon Educational
Investment Board itself but
not Crew
goals to deliver better education results for
Oregon students and more resources for our
educators,” the statement said.
“We now have a framework for better
accountability at the state and local level to
boost high school graduation rates, improve
access to quality post-secondary education
and training and begin to reinvest in educa-
tion.
“Our work will continue,” the governor
said. “I am pleased that at all levels of the
education system – from early learning to
K-12 and post-secondary – we have com-
mitted leaders in place to deliver on our
promise to Oregonians.”
City of New York University system’s
Chancellor Matthew Goldstein recommend-
ed Dr. Crew after a national search. In a
joint press release, CUNY Board of
Trustees Chairperson Benno Schmidt and
Chancellor Goldstein say:
Multnomah County
Commissioner Loretta
Smith toured a home for
sale at 5220 N.E. 28th
Avenue. The county
donated the foreclosed
home to Community
Vision, a nonprofit that
helps people with
disabilities with work,
housing and everyday
living. Now after more
than a year of work and
an infusion of $150,000
Community Vision is
putting the 4-bedroom
home up for sale for
$275,000. The aim is to
sell it to a low-income
family and keep it as
affordable housing. You
don’t have to be disabled
to apply, and you don’t need credit or enough money for the down-
payment. Community Vision will help you through a partnership with Key
Bank. For more information or to apply call Terri Carter, homeownership
coordinator (pictured here with Commissioner Smith) at 503-292-4964,
ext. 150. To find out more about Community Vision and the program,
read “Multnomah County Quietly Tries Alternative to Foreclosure” on The
Skanner News website.
and delivered online.
“CUNY has invested more than $300 mil-
lion in new and newly renovated campus
facilities at Medgar Evers College in recent
years, including a new $235 million, state-
of-the-art academic building and a $22
million School of Business and student sup-
port services building. Meanwhile, the
college has expanded its faculty, particular-
ly in the STEM fields (science, technology,
engineering and mathematics), nursing,
business, social work and library science.
“The newest faculty hires bring impres-
PHOTO BY HELEN SILVIS
Community Vision
continued from page 1
sive academic and professional credentials
to Medgar Evers College, along with
research backgrounds in venues as varied as
NASA, South Africa and Vietnam, and in
disciplines as cutting-edge as stem cells,
remote sensing of greenhouse gases and
renewable and sustainable energy.”
Project
continued from page 2
ple who are sick can go and get treatment.”
Nwerem hopes that once a center exists,
villagers will be able to engage the services
of a visiting doctor who can offer vaccina-
tions to children, and other primary medical
care.
But even with running water and a new
health center, Nwerem says his group will
have plenty of development work to do. The
region recently saw the construction of its
The region recently saw the construction of its
first properly paved road
first properly paved road, but while it con-
nects two major towns, it doesn’t include
the 3-mile stretch that leads directly into the
village. That remains a mess of subsided
earth.
“We need to pave it,” Nwerem says, “But
nobody can afford it. The villagers can’t
afford it and the government ignored it. It’s
frustrating and humiliating to watch.”
Birth
continued from page 3
This is a key point because the Black
infant mortality rate – 9.1 deaths per 1000
live births – is almost twice that of white
babies; the Native American child mortality
rate is almost as high, at 9.0 deaths per 1000
live births.
The infant mortality rate measures the
number of babies who die before their first
birthday.
“When African-born women come here
from Africa, their birth outcomes are the
same as Caucasian women,” Monroe says.
“They celebrate pregnancy, the village sup-
ports you, there are certain prayers and
rituals, you don’t birth alone.”
But once they settle in the United States,
the stresses of racism take a significant toll
on the moms and the families, Monroe says.
In the moms she has studied, too often the
stresses – together with a lack of prenatal
health care and education about infant and
maternal health — lead to premature birth.
It’s the preemies who are most at risk,
Monroe says, because when infants are born
so long before their real due date – nine
months is normal – their bodies are not fin-
ished developing, they end up in a
specialized hospital ward and even if they
live can face major disabilities including
cerebral palsy, vision and hearing problems,
attention deficit problems, and more.
“We want more women of color to know
that there are options that can help them
have a healthy, full term baby,” Monroe
says. “We provide information to let people
know when there is a problem and what we
can do to reduce that problem.”
At the Afro-centric Pregnancy Fair, a big
focus will be on educating families on the
importance of breastfeeding and making
moms feel comfortable nursing their babies
anywhere they need to.
There will also be free blood lead testing
for children and loads of fun activities, even
birthing classes in the park.
It’s really about community building as
well.
A first of its kind survey of Black mothers
on their childbirth experiences in Multnom-
ah County in 2011 – conducted by ICTC in
cooperation with Portland State University
– found that Black moms are impacted by
the lack of a whole range of basic services,
as well as the lack of family and communi-
ty support during the birth itself.
http://theskanner.com/article/Oregons-
FirstEver-Survey-of-Black-Mothers-Sheds-
Light-on-Poor-Birth-Outcomes-2011-12-01
Monroe says the goals of the Afro-centric
Pregnancy Fair event are to prevent infant
mortality and premature birth, increase
breastfeeding duration, and support fathers.
“The fathers’ involvement is crucial and
too often they have a harder time being
present for their families,” she says. “We
want dads to come to the park and feel wel-
come and understand how important they
are in the health of their kids.”
Organizers have planned activities includ-
ing “birth balls” for kids to bounce, free
massages for moms, baby sling-wearing
demonstrations, face painting, breast pump
demonstrations, henna tattoo tables, free
baby clothes, face-to-face meetings with
doulas and community midwives, a father’s
tent to share birth stories, a stroller-decorat-
ing contest, a DJ, and more.
The ICTC office is located at 3821 NE
Martin Luther King Jr Blvd. Call them at
503-460-9324, or go to their website at
www.ictcmidwives.org.
June 26, 2013 The Portland Skanner Page 3