July 13, 2016 The Skanner Page 3
News
SEI
cont’d from pg 1
been up and running
for over 10 years, we did
that strictly out of need.
There was a time when
the middle schools in the
Jefferson [High School]
cluster weren’t doing
that well with African
American kids. There
was a time when mid-
dle schools weren’t even
available in the Jefferson
Our model is not to do schools
but to help the public schools
do better
cluster,” Hopson told The
Skanner.
The school was primar-
ily funded by Portland
Public Schools, though
SEI contributed between
$200,00 and $300,000 an-
nually. But Hopson said
the closure isn’t based on
funding. He sees the dis-
trict’s pledge to reopen
middle schools as an op-
portunity for SEI to re-
turn to its core mission.
“Our model is not to do
schools but to help the
public schools do better,”
Hopson said. “It gives us
a chance to go back to
our original model and
provide direct support
there.”
SEI Academy had the
capacity to serve 150 stu-
dents. The school won’t
offer sixth grade this
year, and Hopson expects
an enrollment of about
70 students this fall. In
the end Hopson esti-
mates about 30 students
total — those enrolling in
seventh grade this year
— will need to find anoth-
er school to attend, most
likely the ones in their
neighborhoods.
Hopson said most
live in Inner North and
Northeast, but some
were bused to its North
Portland campus from
East Portland.
“There is a large per-
centage of our kids who
Rally
some of the current SEI
students who bus in
come from the Parkrose
or Reynolds school dis-
tricts and may attend
schools there instead of
in Portland.
Right now there are
just five middle schools
in the district — Beau-
mont and George Middle
Schools on the East Side
and Robert Gray, West
Sylan and Jackson on the
West Side. There are 28
schools offering kinder-
garten through eighth
grade.
Hopson is particularly
encouraged by the re-
opening of Tubman, and
hopes SEI will have a role
in providing support to
students there. Portland
Public Schools closed
Harriet Tubman Lead-
ership Academy, a mid-
dle school for girls only,
in 2012 over protests of
parents and community
members. Trombley told
The Skanner the district
has not made a final de-
cision about how many
middle schools it will
open. He said the closure
of many middle schools
and the placement of
middle-grade students
in K-8 programs, was
prompted both by declin-
ing enrollment in Port-
land Public Schools and
by a decline in resources
from the state.
Far West Region Celebrates 50 Years
Two Delta Sigma Theta Sorority alumnae from Tempe, Ariz., Sunday visited Portland’s Alumnae chapter’s June Key Delta Community
Center in North Portland. They were among many conference attendees who stopped in for a tour of the sustainable building, and for
a post-conference reception. From left, Sandra Henderson and Pam Williams.
Lead
cont’d from pg 3
Portland Public Schools did
not respond to request from The
Skanner News for comment, but
the Multnomah County Health
Department is suggesting that
parents get their children tested
if they’re concerned about lead
contamination -- and is offering
free testing clinics to all children
in the school district.
Lead poisoning can cause devel-
opmental delays, learning disor-
ders, abdominal pain and fatigue
in small children, and reproduc-
tive problems, intestinal prob-
lems and memory loss in adults
– though many who test with high
blood lead levels show no unusual
symptoms. According to the Cen-
ters for Disease Control, drink-
ing water with high blood levels
is not typically enough, in and of
itself, to result in high blood lead
levels, but risk will vary depend-
ing on the person and the amount
of water consumed.
According to Perry Cabot, se-
nior program specialist at Mult-
nomah County’s lead poisoning
prevention program, teenagers
aren’t routinely tested for lead
exposure because public health
officials consider small children
at highest risk for lead poisoning,
due to the possibility for long-
term health problems and dis-
“
havior in homes with high levels
of lead dust.
For instance, typically Mult-
nomah County’s lead testing pro-
gram — which offers free month-
ly clinics — only serves children
up to age six and pregnant wom-
The county has worked with funders to
expand the clinics so that until the end
of the summer, any child in the Portland
Public Schools system may be tested
ruption of cognitive development
in kids who are exposed to lead
at age six or younger. Adults are
typically only tested for elevated
blood levels if there is reason to
believe they’ve been exposed to it
— for instance, adults affected by
chemical spills or other industri-
al accidents are often tested.
“We just don’t have a prece-
dent for testing at this age,” Cabot
said, adding infants are also seen
as particularly high risk due to
crawling and hand-to-mouth be-
en. But Cabot told The Skanner the
county has expanded the clinics
so that until the end of the sum-
mer, any child in the Portland Pub-
lic Schools system may be tested.
The next clinic will take place at
11:45 a.m. Friday at the Kenton Li-
brary. To see more clinic listings,
visit
https://multco.us/health/
lead-poisoning-prevention/get-
ting-your-child-tested-lead.
Read the full story at
TheSkanner.com
cont’d from pg 1
and Los Angeles. In Baton Rouge, more
than 120 protestors have been arrested
in demonstrations over the weekend.
In Dallas, Texas, five police officers
were killed at a Black Lives Matter-or-
ganized protest. The gunman, Micah
Xavier Johnson, targeted and am-
bushed the officers. He then fled to El
Centro College, where he was killed by
a remote control bomb disposal robot.
John Slaughter, Black Lives Matter
activist, had pointed words for “Face-
book vigilantes” and other social media
activists.
“Stop filming and give someone else
your phone. Stop filming and get in-
volved. You need to be able to say, ‘You
know what, he’s not going to die today,”
Slaughter said, urging the crowd to
get involved and do real work to help
the community. “We need to be able to
stand up as a collective.”
The crowd then marched from Pio-
neer Courthouse Square to the Mult-
nomah County Justice Center. Orga-
nizers called for Portland Police Chief
Mike Marshman to meet with the pro-
testors. Ultimately, Marshman did not
talk with the protestors. The next day,
“
rally, a group of protesters walked to-
ward him. Jeff Singer was among the
group that met with Strickland. Singer
told The Skanner News that Strickland
Stop filming and get involved. You need to be
able to say, ‘You know what, he’s not going to
die today’
he issued a statement to the Police Bu-
reau calling for unity.
“As the nation reels from the events
this week, in Portland we must come
together,” Marshman wrote.
The protest had one incident of vi-
olence when a conservative blogger,
who runs the right-wing YouTube
channel “Laughing at Liberals” channel
pulled out a gun and pointed it at pro-
testers. Michael Strickland is known
for showing up at rallies to insult pro-
testers while filming their behavior
and broadcasting on YouTube.
When Strickland approached the
began to walk backwards, but then
removed a gun from his side holster
and swept it back and forth across the
crowd, screaming, “Everyone needs to
get the hell back.”
Organizers tried to defuse the ten-
sion, asking Strickland to leave while
holding protesters back to keep from
engaging with him. The Portland Po-
lice Bureau arrested Strickland and
charged him with disorderly conduct
and menacing.
Read the full story at TheSkanner.com
PHOTO BY ARASHI YOUNG
“
do come in from the num-
bers. There’s a number of
our kids, African Ameri-
can kids, that have been
pushed out that still want
to go to Portland Public
Schools and bus in,” Hop-
son said. Jason Tromb-
ley, co-chair of Portland
Public Schools’ District
Boundary Review Ad-
visory Committee, said
More than 1,000 demonstrators turned out
Thursday to protest the shootings of Alton Sterling
and Philando Castile.