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EDUCATION INFRASTRUCTURE AND PROGRAMS

L.1 Improve early childhood education

L.1.1 Provide free full-day kindergarten at all East Portland public elementary schools.
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L.1.2 Advocate through legislature and others for statewide funding of early childhood programs for East Portland.
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L.1.3 Increase academic component for East Portland kindergarten students.
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L.2 Increase availability of youth-focused programs

L.2.1 Encourage needs-based funding for SUN schools - prioritize where indicators warrant resources (i.e., poverty).
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On 11-16-2010 at 3:25 pm, Multnomah County Dept. of Human Services (kathy [dot] m [dot] tinkle [at] multco [dot] us) wrote:

This is an ongoing area that is considered critical by the SUN Coordinating Council and the partners. The Council has adopted a “poverty-index” that identifies each school relative to the number and percent of children participating in free and reduced lunch meals. This list of schools is what is used to identify the next SUN Community School sites as resources become available to the system.

L.2.2 Start "Mentor East" campaign with a focus on recruiting local seniors. Create alliance with other organizations such as Big Brother/Big Sister organizations to increase mentoring, especially within minority communities.
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On 02-23-2011 at 6:19 pm, Leach Botanical Garden (dporter [at] leachgarden [dot] org) wrote:

Exploring a garden bed project involving seniors and youth at Leach Botanical Garden with Cultivate Portland and others.

L.2.3 Create pilot local student exchange program -- cultural exchange within East Portland.
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L.2.4 Increase funding to after-school programs such as Boys and Girls Club, Police Activities League, etc.
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L.2.5 Increase access to community-based youth athletics; reduce barriers such as registration fees.
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On 12-20-2010 at 9:39 pm, Free Swimming Lessons at David Douglas High School Pool (Roxanne [dot] redwine [at] yahoo [dot] com) wrote:

Free swim lessons are available to children in the EPAP neighborhoods who qualify for the free or reduced lunch program. The lessons are flexible in that they are drop-in and if a concurrent session is missed there are no consequences and the child will not fall behind. This eliminates the barriers for parents with fluctuating work schedules, transportation issues, and finding money for registration fees. This grant increases access to community based youth athletics.

Swim lessons are available on Monday and Wednesday evening 7:30 to 8:30. Proof of the lunch program (letter issued by the school district) is required for registration. Advance registration is not required.

The grant has been extended and lessons begin again on 1/3/10 and go until the funds have been used.

On 11-16-2010 at 3:27 pm, Multnomah County Dept. of Human Services (kathy [dot] m [dot] tinkle [at] multco [dot] us) wrote:

Participants in the Bridges to Housing program have access to flexible funds through their case managers which are being used for youth athletics, scouting, after school classes and related activities.

L.2.6 Develop a teen center in East Portland.
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On 11-16-2010 at 3:52 pm, Multnomah County Library (beckyc [at] multco [dot] us) wrote:

Though these areas are not specifically assigned to the library, the library does focus on providing welcoming spaces and services to teens at the Midland Library. For example, the Midland library has a Teen Council which meets twice a month and is open to all teens. The purpose is for teens to work with library staff to make the library and its services teen-friendly. Teen Council program is supported by The Library Foundation.

L.3 Strengthen stability and quality of East Portland K-12 schools

L.3.1 Develop a marketing campaign for East Portland schools showcasing high achievement and innovation.
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L.3.2 Develop connections between high school students and higher education and workforce development, such as SUN schools' business consultants.
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On 01-04-2012 at 11:30 am, Portland YouthBuilders (tonia [dot] kovtunovich [at] pybpdx [dot] org) wrote:

Portland YouthBuilders served high school aged students in our fully accredited alternative high school, connecting them with workforce development opportunities through our Fields to Forks program.

On 01-03-2012 at 10:15 am, Anna Sommo (anna_sommo [at] ddouglas [dot] k12 [dot] or [dot] us) wrote:

Growing Entrepreneurs, offered at Fir Ridge Campus during the summer of 2011, connected high school youth with workforce training opportunities and local businesses through workshops and a small youth-run produce stand.

L.3.3 Create a County service provider forum to develop student "wraparound" services plan for East Portland.
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L.3.4 Advocate with the City Council and Legislature to increase school funding for East Portland schools through system development charges.
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L.3.5 Assess school resources and curriculum in PPS' East Portland schools in relation to other PPS schools; adjust as needed.
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L.4 Increase the academic success of East Portland K-12 students

L.4.1 Include East Portland youth in education planning activities.
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On 12-30-2011 at 2:18 am, APANO Youth Institute 2011 (kathythiri [dot] wai [at] gmail [dot] com) wrote:

Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon's(APANO) 'Youth Advocacy Institute' trained and worked with 10 API youth, former refugees from Thailand to address and advocate for education equity issues

On 07-20-2011 at 7:06 am, Northwest Housing Alternatives (robinson [at] nwhousing [dot] org) wrote:

Our "Subotnik" project addressed action point L.4.1 by coordinating youth-oriented educational programming via the Portland Parks Department, Zenger Farm and Leach Botanical Garden. Field trips were organized for the children and youth at Springwater Commons at both Zenger Farm and Leach Botanical Garden as the culminating events of the larger Subotnik project.

Additionally, Springwater Commons’ youth were involved on the day of the Subotnik event, working directly with the JCWC representative to chart out the bioswale restoration. Participating youth also took initiative in learning how to plant the native species, and led the younger children in the project as well. The youth also took charge of the curb painting project, with excellent results. In addition, a representative from Growing Gardens provided a children’s program in June on growing their own food. Children and youth planted vegetable seeds and learned about food gardening.

On 11-16-2010 at 3:52 pm, Multnomah County Library (beckyc [at] multco [dot] us) wrote:

Though these areas are not specifically assigned to the library, the library does focus on providing welcoming spaces and services to teens at the Midland Library. For example, the Midland library has a Teen Council which meets twice a month and is open to all teens. The purpose is for teens to work with library staff to make the library and its services teen-friendly. Teen Council program is supported by The Library Foundation.

L.4.2 Identify at-risk students and develop targeted services, alternate education opportunities through community colleges.
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On 01-04-2012 at 12:05 pm, Portland YouthBuilders (tonia [dot] kovtunovich [at] pybpdx [dot] org) wrote:

Portland YouthBuilders identified and served low-income, at-risk youth in our fully accredited alternative high school. Students received a mix of academic, vocational training, and workforce development services.

L.4.3 Expand cost-effective college credit program opportunities for high school students.
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L.4.4 Augment Career Consortium (inter-district programs) to expand opportunities and coordinate better between districts.
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L.5 Increase community college and K-12 school districts coordination

L.5.1 Support, promote and expand Mt. Hood Community College's presence and offerings in East Portland.
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L.5.2 Develop programs to locate and assist adults (25 years or older) to complete high school education.
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L.6 Increase partnerships among and with East Portland K-12 school districts

L.6.1 Explore opportunity to add community center programming in East Portland school facilities.
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L.6.2 Consider and include East Portland school districts in Portland Schools Foundation activities and leadership.
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L.6.3 Create a forum for ongoing communication that includes leaders from school districts, community colleges, business community and the East Portland Neighborhoods organization.
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L.6.4 Adopt policy to engage all Portland school districts in matters of citywide policy affecting schools.
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L.7 Increase parental involvement in and access to public K-12 schools

L.7.1 Identify issues and develop program to reduce cultural barriers to school/parent interaction.
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L.7.2 Provide bi-lingual, bi-cultural staff at schools with large immigrant populations to serve as parent involvement coordinators and liaisons.
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L.8 Increase community library services and facilities

L.8.1 Study library service needs and develop plan to increase branch Library services for underserved parts of East Portland.
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On 11-16-2010 at 3:36 pm, Multnomah County Library (beckyc [at] multco [dot] us) wrote:

Multnomah County Library has two neighborhood libraries in the East Portland area: the Midland library and the Rockwood library. Each library serves a population of about 74,000 within a 2-mile radius, with the two facilities representing 21% of the library system’s total square footage. These two libraries have 20% of the system’s library cardholders and 63% of the target language cardholders (Spanish, Vietnamese, Russian, and Chinese). During 2009-10, over 13,000 people attended story times; almost 23,000 people attended programs for children, teens, and families; and 13,000 people attended target language programs. The free meeting rooms were used by over 600 groups. Not all services take place within the library buildings. A couple of examples: story times were also held in local childcare centers and agencies such as WIC, while Books 2 U book talkers made regular visits to local targeted schools to increase kids’ motivation to read.

Due to the current economic situation, the library’s funding limitations, and the need to provide fiscally sustainable services, Multnomah County Library will not be adding any new facilities in the foreseeable future to the East Portland area or anywhere else in Multnomah County. The library’s goal is to continue to maintain the current number of library locations, open hours, and services throughout Multnomah County during these difficult times.

L.8.2 Explore restoring the library at Parkrose High School.
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On 11-16-2010 at 3:50 pm, Multnomah County Library (beckyc [at] multco [dot] us) wrote:

The Parkrose Cooperative Library, a partnership between the Parkrose School District
and Multnomah County Library, opened September 8, 1998. The library's main function during the day was to serve as a high school library. It was open to the public in the late afternoon and evening on weekdays and on Saturday.

When the library was established, Multnomah County Library and the Parkrose School District viewed it as a challenging experiment. Criteria for success were established. Use of the library by students and the public was evaluated at key points. The public's use of the library was consistently below expectations.

On a typical day, the library had only 20-25 regular users during the public hours, and 5-6 families attended the children's story times. The branch manager commented that virtually everyone who used the branch was somehow connected with the school district.

The library's materials circulation was less than 1% of total branch circulation, less than 2.4% of total branch library card registrations, less than 1.3% of the total branch holds, and the collection turnover rate (a measure of how well the collection is used) was nearly 4.5 times lower than the average branch library turnover rate. In the library's last year of circulation, fewer than 140,000 items circulated. (For comparison, Rockwood, the next lowest circulating branch that was open that entire fiscal year, circulated more than 340,000 items.)

Because of its continued low use, closure of the public library hours was a fiscally responsible step, consistent with the other difficult budget choices that were necessary that year. The public library service at the Parkrose Cooperative Library ended on Saturday, August 3, 2002. There are no plans to reopen that facility.

L.8.3 Add book drops, activity center or small scale "storefront" or branch libraries to broaden service in the area.
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On 11-16-2010 at 3:48 pm, Multnomah County Library (beckyc [at] multco [dot] us) wrote:

Multnomah County Library has two neighborhood libraries in the East Portland area: the Midland library and the Rockwood library. Each library serves a population of about 74,000 within a 2-mile radius, with the two facilities representing 21% of the library system’s total square footage. These two libraries have 20% of the system’s library cardholders and 63% of the target language cardholders (Spanish, Vietnamese, Russian, and Chinese). During 2009-10, over 13,000 people attended story times; almost 23,000 people attended programs for children, teens, and families; and 13,000 people attended target language programs. The free meeting rooms were used by over 600 groups. Not all services take place within the library buildings. A couple of examples: story times were also held in local childcare centers and agencies such as WIC, while Books 2 U book talkers made regular visits to local targeted schools to increase kids’ motivation to read.

Due to the current economic situation, the library’s funding limitations, and the need to provide fiscally sustainable services, Multnomah County Library will not be adding any new facilities in the foreseeable future to the East Portland area or anywhere else in Multnomah County. The library’s goal is to continue to maintain the current number of library locations, open hours, and services throughout Multnomah County during these difficult times.
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