.jpg)
From Sheila Warren, Founder of Portland Parent Union: November 11, 2019
PPU stands in solidarity with Susan and her specific experiences, observations, asks and suggested actions for Equity/Equality. We represent the families that are historically part of those opportunity exclusions.
We are from the Eastside. There are no reasons to repeat the inequities Susan documented. It is true and has been for a long long time.
You with other board members will claim to recognize the indicators of (racism, nepotism, fragility, partiality, inequality, bullying, push out, funding shortage, astute personalities, and others). We argue that you cannot recognize any of it if you have not lived any of it or not had conversations with those who have lived it!
Please recognize the best things you can do for us is to become steadfast, consistent and persistent with engaging the most impacted in conversations ongoing as well as bringing them in as your consultants in such matters! You can’t advocate for what you don’t know. You can only advocate for what you do know and that can only translate to limited understandings! It is impossible unless you do the work of gathering the essence of “ALL” children. Homework is necessary to be a leader who champions all families!
The idea of raising our voices became silenced over time, but we keep raising them and will never stop! We see the specific favors that are afforded to some who look more like you or of color who follow your “whiteness” script. There is no hate intended, but disdain for the act of temporarily listening, promising and acting to please. We believe you are too fearful to give your whole self or the invested time to families who need you the most!
What is Fear (an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain or a threat.)
Dr. Brene Brown says, “we’re all afraid, we just have to get to the point where we understand. It doesn’t mean that we can’t also be brave!”
We at PPU are wary of doing “restarts of hope” only for those who claim they are for all children, by default, are not able to fulfill their promises. This is one of the indicators that creates distrust!
The Power Paradox By Dacher Keltner
True power requires modesty and empathy, not force and coercion, argues Dacher Keltner. But what people want from leaders is social intelligence but is damaged by the experience of power.
A voice can be a metaphor for so many things. The voice, to PPU, is our right to speak, our claims of equal space, our being-ness, our way of letting you know the impact of the intentionally blocked silence and marginalization. It is our experiences and stories being seen as well as heard. We have the right to take up space with our views, especially from that experienced cultural lens.
Our expectations are for you all to fight for “ALL” school children because this is the message given when running for school board. This is the purpose, right?
The obligation is to find the knowledge you don’t know by building relationships, showing up socially or for dialogue when invited and being dogmatic about learning about all whom you claim to represent. You and others have been invited to our PPU Circles, Trust Circles, People Celebrating People and Restorative Listening dialogue over the years. We can name on three fingers who shows up. We keep inviting all to come to us to hear our stories. It’s a simple action! We can, then, answer the question school and board officials often ask “Why is it families of color and poor white families do not show up to our meetings?”
When the opposite side, our side is acknowledged, you’ll then see the invisible ones--who try or are forced to take up as little space as possible.
This happens with the training in our society whether it’s gender or culturally. There’s an acceptable space taking and then there’s pushing away. Of course, we must care deeply about helping those who shrink back, who don’t seem to have a voice that will take up space or are not allowed to take their space to a healing (dialogue/storytelling) process. We constantly, relentlessly strive for people to have a voice and we repeat it has now been taken away.
Make sure that you encourage inclusive ongoing conversations. Always look to empower people in that way! Develop a team of the most affected allies who can counsel you!
Susan is asking again, what we have asked for over and over since 1956. We love her tenacity, but our PPU Community believes the asks will never be honored.
You are not brave enough! The Board is not brave enough.
Who are We?
Organizing Parents for Better Outcomes
PPU has made important steps so that we, amongst the rest of the Family communities, can go forth to do the work that we are called to do. Every family of the educational system has a right to be heard and the children have a right to a great education. We are created in the divine likeness of those who came to demand before us. We live a struggle that we know too well but are creating/demanding safe spaces for us to be heard. This is what will sustain us.
We write of mental and physical oppression that attempts to keep our children bound to that educational slavery (testing, exclusion, labeling, profiling, privilege). Even though our Families have been indoctrinated with the belief that they are inferior, we will be courageous enough to know that families will evolve into strong advocates who are respected and listened to as well as looked at as the true leaders.
Our educational oppression is a timeless message that tells of the struggle of our marginalized families and how every day we push our children to rise above the education system's expectations. We must see and name the process of knowing and connecting to the RLD's message as our Families' capital.
We are dedicated to the growth and maturity of our Families/Students and have an act of inner courage to conquer the trials we come across.
When asked for a word to describe the capital of our Families, we call it "unified collaborative" capital. Ours is a community built on the strength drawn from the love of our Children. This is
PARENT POWER
Organizing for school reform offers an urgently needed alternative to traditional approaches to school reform. While many current reforms are innovative, they often fail to thrive due to lack of trust, understanding, or cultural relevance to the community being targeted by the reform (Oakes & Rogers 2006; Payne 2008). The high turnover of reformers (superintendents, principals, or outside organizations) in high-need schools and districts is another major cause of school reform failure (Mintrop & Sunderman 2009). Finally, reforms also fail because they do not address extreme inequities in resources and empowerment between poor communities and their more privileged counterparts (Oakes & Rogers 2006; Renée, Welner & Oakes 2010).
Credits: Oakes and Rogers 2006; Renee, Welner & Oakes 2010, Sheila Washington Warren Portland Parent Union Founder and Director, BreneBrown, How to Raise Your Voice to Break Through Silence: Laura Sergy and Andrea Menard, Dave Beckwith, with Cristina Lopez -Center for Community Change
In Solidarity,
Susan Anglada Bartley and Sheila Warren