WE ARE HERE TO INSPIRE YOU

Our Story

PPU Community Building: A Collective Action Initiative started in September 2018. The Community Caring Hub and Leadership Training.

We work to connect and engage the diverse families and communities through PPU by helping all to recognize and develop their leadership abilities and assist them in creating activities and services that benefit the community. Especially the PPU Community.

OUR COMMUNITY/LEADERSHIP BUILDING MISSION

PPU engages residents and partners to craft innovative, culturally sound, community-driven education initiatives, building on community assets. Our mission is to transform education so that all Portland children and youth will be nurtured, supported, and prepared to learn – from before they enter kindergarten through post secondary education.

We work to accomplish this mission by:

Engaging families and the community in the education of their children and youth;
Mobilizing resources and opportunities for families to be leaders and advocates;
Enhancing or expanding existing early learning and kindergarten through 12th grade programs, practices or policies; and
Developing new innovative, multi-lingual/multi-cultural resident-driven/informed early learning and Kindergarten through 12th grade programs, practices, or policies.

OUR VISION

Our vision is that Portland Oregon, will be a thriving, vibrant, and diverse community where all residents’ voices are heard and where all community members work together to transform education.

OUR APPROACH

PPU believes relationships matter and residents will support what they help create. PPU Community and Leadership Building helps communities move ideas into actions. PPU

Listens. PPU convenes and facilitates conversations with families and community – including those who speak different languages – so that they have the opportunity to share their vision and ideas about education in Oregon.
Connects. PPU links families to opportunities and resources – both building on existing local services and serving as a catalyst to mobilize new resources.
Equips. PPU equips residents, particularly parents, with the skills (a) become (a) engaged leaders in the education of their children and youth and (b) help shape education policies, programs, and practices.
Acts. PPU facilitates decision-making processes leading to actions.
Evaluates. PPU uses data and evaluation to inform our practice.
Shares. PPU communicates the strategies, results, and lessons learned from PPU's community building, decision-making processes, and education work with others, inside and outside of Oregon/Portland.

OUR TEAM

The PPU Leadership Team is a group of people dedicated to helping the people of Oregon/Portland be the best they can be.

Portland Oregon a Community Building Campaign (Called Caring Communities (pending) 503-880-9145 ppuportlandparentunion@gmail.com

ABOUT PPU

The Portland Parent Union

was founded in April of 2009 by Sheila Warren a, mother, grandmother, activist and advocate in the Portland Or. Public School Community. She saw the interests of the teachers, school administrators, and district leadership well represented and controlling decision making. The parents and students themselves suffering from the lack of a strong collective voice and support.

Tired of seeing parents - including herself and her family - pushed out, and after struggling with conflicts that should have been easily resolved, Sheila realized there was no organizational framework designed explicitly to advocate for parents and families and represent them when dealing with the school district. Other stakeholders have institutionally powerful support systems: teachers and staff have unions, principals have district administrators, district administrators have the superintendent, and the superintendent has the school board and full-time legal counsel. Against this institutional juggernaut, a family stands alone!

After many failed attempts to get a fair process and closure for her and her family, she was determined that no other family should go thru what she and her family had gone thru.

The Portland Parent Union was born of the desire to give parents representation and a collective voice equal with what teachers have. We will be a centralized group of parents and families connected to resources and supports necessary to be powerful advocates for our children and for each other, and ultimately for positive institutional changes and the greater common good.

Our Mission

is to organize Parents for better outcomes by enriching them through support, information and education. We are dedicated to parents: to involve their families, to anticipate their challenges and help them to take advantage of opportunities to guarantee a successful student. We are dedicated to the Parent's development of leadership skills, knowledge and responsibility