#kairospdx

Last Tuesday night I went out to Blanchard Education Center to stand with my community in support of Kairos PDX. Kairos PDX, which serves underserved children in Portland, is advocating to obtain a 5 year lease to remain in Humboldt School. We know Black children matter, beyond the concept of mattering, itself. Black children need space and the foundation to grow. Black Life. Black Youth. Black Imagination, brilliance, continuance, growth. This is where our communities are made. As a school founded by Black educators, Kairos PDX is doing that work and succeeding at it. They need to stay put, in Humboldt School, and PPS should be more than willing to support their continued home there, at least for 5 more years. Portland Public Schools will have an executive session tonight to make a decision regarding the lease for the Humboldt School space. Please do make your voice heard and show your support. There is still time to email PPS board members and however else you see fit to connect or share.

Rita Moore Board Chair [email protected]

Julie Esparza Brown Vice Chair [email protected]

Julia Brim-Edwards [email protected]

Scott Bailey [email protected]

Amy Kohnstamm [email protected]

Paul Anthony [email protected]

Mike Rosen [email protected]

Please see, below, a statement submitted by Senator Avel Gordly in support of our children and Kairos PDX.

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Portland Public Schools Board Meeting August 28, 2018

Submitted by Avel Louise Gordly Oregon State Senator Retired

We are here because we love our children. We are here because we believe in creating beloved community. We are here because we believe in speaking the truth. We are here because we want to advance what Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.said about love and power, power and love- well over 50 years ago:

“Power without love is reckless, love without power is sentimental and anemic.Power at its best is love implementing the demands of Justice and Justice at its best is power correcting everything that stands against love.”

We are here as taxpayers to question why you are arrogantly continuing a pattern of misdirecting Board power against the best interests of educating our Black children at Kairos.

Portland Public Schools as an institution has a shameful history of demonstrating that it does not care about educating Black children and has been terribly slow and resisted efforts to dismantle white racism.

Some of us in this room are products of Portland schools and have been activists in this struggle for justice for our children in this school district for over 40 years.

We will still be here when you are no longer in your roles as Board members. The people who have demonstrated that they know what is best for our children and how to serve them and effectively educate them are sitting before you and in the audience and out in the community. We are here to say--Stop disrespecting our experts.

When will you listen and hear and act on what we are telling you is in the best interest of our children. What will you do with Board power on your watch to interrupt and correct decades of institutional racism. Stop disrespecting our experts. Stop disrespecting what Parents want for their children. Stop disrespecting the Black Community. Stop upholding institutional racism.

What will you do now to demonstrate that you respect the Black Community’s demands for how and where to educate our children. We are here to say that we are sick and tired of being sick and tired of petitioning for Board policies that are right, just and fair for our children’s education.

We are here to say do not serve more platitudes and paternalism- again. Stop harming our children. Stop derailing their paths to success. We are here demanding that you now serve the demands of justice for Black children, for the Black community, and that going forward you commit to putting in place the resources that will lead to a quality non racist education for Black children and all children in Portland Public Schools.