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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 11, 2015)
November 11, 2015 The Skanner Page 3 News cont’d from pg 1 hind Open School is to make the learning rela- tional and relevant to the students’ goals. The school is commit- ted to forging meaning- ful relationships with students and their fami- lies. Andrew Mason, the ex- ecutive director for Open School, said the teachers “ ty-five percent of Open School students live in poverty and 78 percent are students of color. Open School also uses culturally inclusive learning as part of its curriculum and one-on- one interventions for students having hard time meeting classroom expectations. One size does not fit and should not fit all. and staff at Open School know the aspirations of their students. “They have dreams — and I know that because we ask them that when they enroll,” Mason said. “Our programs work. We offer our students an ed- ucation that fits, teachers who believe in them, and academic results no one else can.” Open School East opened in 2014 with a class of 46 students. That number grew to 76 stu- dents this following year. The school intends to grow every year with the goal of serving 270 stu- dents by 2019. Already students had advanced an average of 2.5 grade levels in math and two grade levels in reading over the last aca- demic year. Open School works in partnership with six Multnomah County school districts: Portland Public, David Douglas, Centennial, Reynolds, Parkrose and Gresh- am-Barlow. Together, they identify sixth-grade students who are strug- gling in school. Students with poor test scores, low grades, high absence rates and a history of suspensions are those most at risk of dropping out. Seven- The new Open School East building will be a 22,000-square-foot facil- ity that will also host the Rockwood neighborhood Boys and Girls Club. The new school should open in August 2016. Current Open School East students are using classrooms in Oliver Ele- mentary School in south- east Portland. “Everyone here knows the Oregon State motto, ‘She flies with her own wings,’” Gov. Brown told the crowd. “I believe the programs like the open school will enable all of our students to soar,” she said. After the ground break- ing ceremony, Mason introduced Vinnie De- Wayne who performed his song ‘Burnt Out.’ DeWayne was a former graduate of Open Mead- ow in partnership with Roosevelt High School , who now volunteers with Open School. “I felt like it was only right,” he said in refer- ence to giving back. “I do the music thing and I know that Open and Step Up helped me along the way the entire time to get where I am now,” De- Wayne said. “I feel like it was only right and it’s all family here… I am still part of the family.” Surveillance PHOTO COURTESY OF OPEN SCHOOL NORTHWEST School Gov. Kate Brown addresses the crowd last week at the groundbreaking of Open School East, situated at the former location of Drake’s 7 Dees on Southeast Stark Street. Toast cont’d from pg 1 truth to power is always needed,” Hales said. Grace Stratton, a field repre- sentative for Sen. Ron Wyden delivered a Congressional re- cord on behalf of the senator. The document is an official record of the proceedings of the United States Congress which informs President Obama of The Skan- ner’s 40th anniversary. To view the Congressional record, visit https://www.flickr.com/photos/ “ paper helped them see the sto- ry of Black Portland in a larger context. Community organizer Lakeitha Elliott said the written history in the paper was exciting. “It’s a place where I can go for the history before I was born and from when I was young. I can look back and see stuff from when I was a kid and remember those things that I might not have remembered and be able to see them in print and understand the The role of The Skanner in speaking truth to power is always needed theskannerstaff/22487753768/in/ album-72157660958732006/. Copies of the recently published 40th anniversary commemora- tive edition were laid out on ta- bles for guests to thumb through. The edition chronicled local community leaders, businesses and events that touched the com- munity over the last 40 decades, through photos and reflective ed- itorials penned by former Skan- ner editors Helen Silvis and Lisa Loving. Attendees said the record of the history,” Elliott said. Elliott is planning on keeping a copy of the special edition and other older The Skanner newspa- pers to share with her daughter in the future. Charles McGee, president of The Black Parent Initiative, said the paper has a pivotal role with- in the community helping new residents understand Portland’s relationship with the Black Com- munity. McGee mentioned read- ing The Skanner with his wife, who isn’t native to Portland. “One of the most amazing things has been reading The Skanner newspaper to just get integrated into the community,” McGee said. “I think for a lot of Black trans- plants, The Skanner newspaper is the place and the way that they find out and get connected.” Oakland, Calif., transplant Chris Fuzelll said the paper has been integral in informing him on his quest to learn more about the history of African Americans in both the city of Portland and the state of Oregon, respectively. Cindi Fischer, who has done work as a mental health advo- cate up and down the Northwest, commended The Skanner for spreading the voice of African Americans not just to other Afri- can Americans, but to the wider community as well. “We’re a part of them, and they’re apart of us,” Fischer said. “We’re the canary in the coal mine. To have an independent voice for African Americans [in the media] is essential to our sur- vival, and our ability to move into thriving as a people in our com- munity.” View photos on pages 6 and 7. cont’d from pg 1 to take immediate action and support a full and transparent investigation,” Rogers’ statement said. Portland attorney Bronson James, who represents the anti-violence group Don’t Shoot PDX, told The Skanner he found the revelations deeply troubling. “I believe that she didn’t know what was going on,” James said of Rosen- blum. “The key question is to what extent it was going on. Was this a single individ- ual or a coordinated effort? Was there federal collaboration? How long has this data gathering been going on? All of these questions need to be answered. I think it’s good that the Attorney Gen- eral has appointed an independent investigator to do this. I think it’s im- portant that the investigator partners independently with myself and the afflicted groups to ensure the investi- gation is thorough and asks the right questions.” The Skanner also contacted the Black Lives Matter Portland chapter but did not receive a response in time for its deadline. Black Lives Matter Portland is a local chapter of the national group started in 2012. The phrase “Black Lives Matter” has “ subject to state surveillance. “When there is probable cause to suspect that a crime has been commit- ted, law enforcement can and should investigate,” Harmon Johnson wrote. “But what motivation could the Oregon Department of Justice Criminal Justice Divi- sion have had for con- ducting a threat assess- ment of my husband in the first place, let alone creating a file, and de- livering it to the Attorney General, for further action? Yet, when nothing threatening was found, the department continued its investigation and escala- tion. If they labeled him a threat, who else is being wrongly targeted in this way?” The Urban League is encouraging members of the public to share stories, concerns, questions or support regard- ing state surveillance by writing to WeMatter@ULPDX.org. Not only is such profiling ille- gal, but it seriously threatens our democracy also been used by protesters and orga- nizations not connected to the organi- zation, including Don’t Shoot Portland, which held its first public demonstra- tion in August 2014. Harmon Johnson also released a let- ter to Urban League members Tuesday hosted on the Urban League’s site in which she said she spoke for herself and her family only, expressing dismay that simply using a hashtag intended to express solidarity would make one Nkenge Harmon Johnson, President and CEO of the Urban League of Portland, published letters Tuesday afternoon saying the Oregon Department of Justice was conducting “threat assessments” on Oregonians using the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag. Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum has confirmed the surveillance took place and has placed an employee on administrative leave.
