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Disclaimer

PPU Disclaimer

PPU always actively seeks a diversity of viewpoints and actions around education, pertinent information, services, support advocacy, and current events affecting our families. Opinions expressed from our website blog partners, constituents, peers, affiliates, other parent union models, articles we posted, others' comments we posted or community partners, are for awareness, educational and training purposes and are not necessarily intended to represent PPU but to represent the subjects of the reports that solidifies the views of PPU. We do search to find that information that will align with PPU's convictions/beliefs. We are in full agreement with most everything that is posted on this report! We do agree that the views are the authors' views and we align ourselves with their information and Yes the views expressed in this article are the authors' own but also may or may not necessarily reflect Portland Parent Union's Stance except where PPU is the author.

When we say Portland Public Schools (PPS) it is directed at those who claimed they are interested in reducing the disparities. Those we are working with and have worked with on the Portland Public School Board.

THIS report claims no credit for any images posted on this site unless otherwise noted. There will always be a link to where the picture came from. Unless it is stock pictures or our own. Most images on this report are linked to its respectful owners of the articles the pictures represent.

This format is similar to a power-point or a vertical blog/news setting, as well as reflecting a timeline. This report includes a right side navigator menu to take you from category to category. The page menu is at the top.

Credits go to Our Partners: Dignity In Schools, Parents Across America Oregon, The Letter, Journey For Justice, Movement for Black Lives, Unite Oregon, our Board Members: Ronald, Tereza, Richard, CaShawn, Deb, Susan, Pedro, and Mercedes (not on the board but a respected teacher in our community.) News Channels, Videos, Public Announcements, and Newspapers: Washington Post, OPB, CNN, CNBC ABC, New York Times's Katie Riley, Education Week, the Atlantic Graeme Wood, McKinsey Report, Pew Research Center, Library of Congress, Henry Giroux, W.E.B. Dubois,VOX.com, Marshall Project, CNN, KGW, Angela Rye, Will Smith, Wikipedia, The Guardian's Kenya Evelyn, *Achieve3000 (we agree with this assessment but don't know much about the program to support it), Power Director, *Revolution Newspaper, Ben Garvin + KARE 11, Associated Press, Stephen J. Fowler, Minneapolis City Council, Portland City Council, BC Democrat Indiana-Abdul Hakim-Shabazz, Oregon Health Authority, Tafari Melisizwe, Khalil Mohammed, Nkenge Harmon-Johnson Portland Urban League, Senator Lew Frederick, and Sheila Washington Warren, Portland Parent Union

Portland Parent Union Statement

"Gathering The Information"

Started June 11, 2020

from Portland Parent Union, Dignity In Schools,

PPU Members and PPU Partners about Virtual Pushout, COVID/Social Distancing, Mapping, Summary, Videos, Hisory, Murder of a Black Man, Defund the Police, Police in Schools as well as Story Telling and Opinion Pieces. + Data and Stats.

You may Go to Portland Parent Union's Main Statement First if You would like.

History

A Red Asterik Beside a Credit means we support the comment we posted but either disagree with the overall philosophy or don't know much about programs

Click on each Subject Title to go to that article and link of the Complete Report.

Portland Parent Union

Counselors Not Cops/History + Opinion Pieces and Data

The U.S. Department of Education recently required every public school to report the number of social workers, nurses, and psychologists employed for the first time in history. Data about school counselors had been required previously.

Schools need counselors, not guns -- and 6 other key things Trump’s safety commission did not seriously address

Portland Parent Union

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.

This is what we need! A parent’s union. Never, ever thought I would be saying that. Perhaps we have been using the wrong language … everyone in education understands what a union is and how it works. Love it! Exactly, parents and teachers working together and we stop the divide and conquer tactics used by soooooo many governments. Click below to learn more or read an excerpt below.

We are the FAMILIES fed up with the racism, push out, so called achievement gap and exclusion within our education institutions.

We are families who will demand our rights for our children to get the education they deserve. We will take our place as experts of our children back. We will model the strength and tenacity of a strong father/mother/grandparent/guardian who does not give up.

These are our children- pushed out excluded, labeled, profiled, hurting and marginalized… Some have no hope. Through our efforts we will restore that hope.

We will do this with our love, support, education, engagement, mentoring and sometimes even with tough love.

We will take full responsibility along with accountability to galvanize, organize, and strategize the families.

Our goal is to rejuvenate our Family community/families through diverse methods as mentioned above.

Our Vision is to see transformed quality of life within our school communities. Our families will be whole again and the achievement gap closed.

PARENT POWER

The Letter/PPU Report 2020

This is a Special Report "We interrupted the launching of the report called "The Letter" for breaking news" The Letter is the the Catalyst for our report this year but has been diverted to This Special Breaking News Report.
"The Letter" is mentioned here as a Secondary Report until this report
is submitted in the next few months. Stay tuned!

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).

The Achievement Gap is

'More Glaring Than Ever' for Students Dealing With School Closures
By Katie Reilly
March 26, 2020 7:37 AM
When New York City closed schools to combat the coronavirus outbreak and ordered remote learning for its more than 1 million students, English teacher Stephanie Paz wasn’t worried about how she would virtually teach her ninth-graders to take notes in the margins of their books or how they would discuss each other’s essays without being in the same room. Her biggest concern was whether they would have the basic technology needed to access their virtual lessons.

Paz teaches at a school in the Bronx, where she says more than half her students did not have a computer or Internet at home when the transition to online learning was announced in mid-March. The school handed out laptops to some students but did not have enough for everyone before remote learning began on March 23, so others got paper learning packets.

“I am concerned that, in 2020, all of our students don’t have access to technology or Internet at home,” Paz says. “I worry that, as a district, we haven’t prioritized that. And as a nation, we haven’t prioritized that.”

She is right to be concerned. As the virus that causes COVID-19 spreads, the nation’s K-12 schools and colleges have been forced to weigh health recommendations against the needs of students, many of whom are caught in the digital divide separating those who have Internet access and those who do not. About 15% of U.S. households with school-age children lack high-speed Internet access, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of 2015 Census Bureau data. Rural communities lag behind urban areas, as do tribal lands, where about a third of people don’t have high-speed Internet, according to the Federal Communications Commission.

Guardian News

Guardian US reporter Kenya Evelyn explains what the unrest sparked by the police killing of George Floyd says about America right now, and how the coronavirus pandemic set the backdrop for the protests

Inside the George Floyd protests in New York: 'We are not the problem' – video ► https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbsJF...

Moments of hope and solidarity from the George Floyd protests – video ► https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/v...

"KILLIN THE SILENCE"

Killin the Silence
41 subscribers
Killin the Silence presents 'Whose Streets' A short film inspired by the protests across the United States and around the world. Featuring Monivoi Vataiki.

For more information, merch and music go to

Portland Parent Union's Opinion

This is PPU's statement as well as our written support for other partners and their statements concerning the Murder of George Floyd as well as Counselor's Not Cops in schools.

DSC CREATED PUBLICATIONS & TOOLS
RESTORATIVE PRACTICES
These DSC recommendations build on our Model Code and are based on best practices, research and experiences of students, parents, intervention workers, peace-builders and educators from around the country, and on a human rights framework for schools. They are designed so that communities and policy-makers can identify specific areas of concern and implement the recommended language, including changing laws and policies, while taking into account the diverse needs and characteristics of individual communities.

Murder and Mayhem
The Account: Killing of George Floyd
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Discuss) (June 2020)
Killing of George Floyd
Police officer Derek Chauvin stares into the camera as he kneels on the neck of George Floyd, who is lying on his stomach on the street. Minnesota

Charges
Derek Chauvin:
second-degree murder, third-degree murder, second-degree manslaughter

J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas K. Lane, Tou Thao:
aiding and abetting second-degree murder

On May 25, 2020, George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, was killed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during an arrest for allegedly using a counterfeit bill.[1] Derek Chauvin, a white police officer, knelt on Floyd's neck for almost nine minutes while Floyd was handcuffed and lying face down, begging for his life and repeatedly saying "I can't breathe".

Officers J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane further restrained Floyd, while officer Tou Thao prevented bystanders from intervening.During the final three minutes, Floyd was motionless and had no pulse while Chauvin ignored onlookers' pleas to remove his knee, which he did not do until medics told him to.[9]:7:30

The following day, after videos made by witnesses and security cameras became public, all four officers were fired. Two autopsies found Floyd's death to be a homicide. Chauvin was initially charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter,] to which was later added second-degree murder; the three other officers were charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder.

Floyd's death triggered demonstrations and protests in over 2,000 U.S. cities and around the world against police brutality, police racism, and lack of police accountability. In early June, the Minneapolis City Council took action to ban chokeholds and require police officers to intervene against the use of excessive force by other officers, and voted an intent to replace the police department with a "new community-based system of public safety". The Minneapolis Police Chief canceled contract negotiations with the police union and announced plans to bring in outside experts to examine how the union contract can be restructured to provide transparency and "flexibility for true reform".

George Floyd Was a Regular at Store That Called 911 and May Not Have Known Bill Was Possibly Fake, Owner Says
NEWS
2:51 PM PDT, June 5, 2020 - Inside Edition Staff
The Minneapolis corner market where a store clerk called police on a George Floyd over an alleged fake $20 bill before his fatal arrest. We will no longer call police when they suspect counterfeit money, unless the situation turns violent, Cup Foods' owner Mahmoud Abumayyaleh told Inside Edition.
He also said the clerk working May 25 was inexperienced and called police on Floyd after the bill he used to buy a pack of cigarettes was flagged by a money-counting machine as potentially counterfeit.
But Abumayyaleh told Inside Edition that "most of the time when people present a counterfeit bill, they don't even know it's fake."

The owner also wants the world to know he is heartbroken that what happened in his store led to Floyd's fatal arrest, in which Derek Chauvin, one of four officers who responded to the call, knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes as Floyd cried out, "I can't breathe."

Portland Parent Unions Statement:

Some of us are Black People who were born into this country with a foot on our neck. Now a knee was chosen without any consideration for a human life! We believe because Floyd was black. the police were called. A black man is guilty of any kind of suspicious criminal activity. Yes of course it was because American police can do anything they want. Especially the white ones.

The Good old boys club which has been active since slavery. (Research the history of Policing in this country and how this institution got started and how they operated in the South.)

PPU condemns the institutional racism that is prevalent and protected in the Police Force. The Blue Code is sacred and our men and women have died because of it and those that kill them get off! The Union who protects those who are guilty have also not protected black Cops. I have personally seen them turn their backs on a black policeman. Just think if all this violence and murder had been done by a black man. Prosecution would be swift and to the point.

Our Statement of Demands continued go to link below.
Go to Page PPU Statement Continued

What's Behind COVID-19 and

RACIAL DISPARITIES?
5/26/20 12:11 PM
Submitted photo
By ABDUL HAKIM-SHABAZZ, guest columnist

There’s an old saying that even a stopped clock is right twice a day. In other words, nobody is wrong all the time.

I think that analogy is perfected suited when it comes to recent comments by progressive political commentator Van Jones regarding the impact of COVID-19 on the African-American community.

Now, before we start, Jones is as progressive as I am not. I will argue if anyone were to implement his views on the economy and health care, America would quickly turn into the northern hemisphere version of Venezuela. However, even with that as a premise, Jones’ recent statements regarding African-Americans’ health and COVID-19 were right on point.

As part of a broader discussion on the impact of COVID-19 on African-Americans, Jones went down the usual laundry list of grievances involving “systematic racism” when it came to health care disparities, which he says are responsible, in part, for the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on African-American communities. However, Jones also says lifestyle choices are also partially to blame.

“We must also take more responsibility for our own health. And boosting our immune health must be job No. 1. The science makes clear that our lifestyle choices — around sleep, nutrition, stress and more — directly affect our ability to strengthen our immune system. And at a time when the virus is doing disproportionate damage to our communities, we need to ask: What can we do as individuals to get ourselves and our loved ones out of harm’s way?”

Looking at some of the reactions Jones received, you could have sworn he was recommending R. Kelly be a chaperone at your teenage daughter’s slumber party. He was accused of completely ignoring the impact of racism. One colleague of mine said instead of preaching at black people, he needed to focus on what he was going to do to fix the problem. And one individual went so far as to say he views black people the same way white people do.

This is why black folks can’t have nice things.

Jones, who would usually be treated as a hero by these people, has now come under fire because he committed the unforgivable sins of telling the truth while advocating personal responsibility in the context of a broader discussion of addressing a societal ill. How dare he!

It’s been established that the individuals most like to succumb to COVID-19 are usually those with chronic health conditions like obesity, diabetes and heart conditions, just to name a few. And if you look at the data, African-Americans are disproportionately more likely to be impacted by the coronavirus than other groups. Here in Indiana, blacks are less than 10 percent of the population, but so far have been 16 percent of the diagnosed cases and more than 17 percent of the deaths. And in major urban centers, that number is even higher.

But with that backdrop, Jones simply saying black folks should eat better, exercise more, use therapy and spirituality to deal with emotional pain rather than drugs of comfort eating is apparently now the equivalent of being the guy who brought the lighter fluid to the cross burning.

And he is not alone. Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams (full disclosure, he is a personal friend and we have known each other for years) got the black activist classes all worked up over comments he made regarding African-Americans and social distancing, or in other words, telling the truth.

We can have the debate on the causes and solutions to the overall public health crisis in many black communities, but to completely dismiss the thought that you are the first line of defense when it comes to your health because it doesn’t fit the narrative that white folks are the reason that black people are sick is ridiculous.

If these people were doctors, they would get sued for medical practice because I’d be the lawyer leading the charge — because with black advocates like these, who needs enemies like COVID-19?

Abdul Hakim-Shabazz is an attorney and the editor and publisher of IndyPoltics.Org. He is also a frequent contributor to numerous Indiana media outlets. He can be reached at abdul@indypolitics.org.

Switching From Advocacy

To Mutual Aid in the SE 82nd Corridor.
Parent Union Partners and Loving Family. Susan Anglada Bartley and Pedro Anglada Cordera.
May 24 at 8:25 AM Susan A Bartley says:
Blame the radical left for refusing to support toxic, sexist, racist, white male patriarchs and corrupt political parties while we establish networks of mutual aid, plant gardens, communicate at depth about creative resistance, and build trust with our fellows in the working class.

Amid Protests, Majorities Across Racial and Ethnic Groups

Amid Protests, Majorities Across Racial and Ethnic Groups Express Support for the Black Lives Matter Movement
Deep partisan divides over factors underlying George Floyd demonstrations
By Kim Parker, Juliana Menasce Horowitz and Monica Anderson
As demonstrations continue across the country to protest the death of George Floyd, a black man killed while in Minneapolis police custody, Americans see the protests both as a reaction to Floyd’s death and an expression of frustration over longstanding issues. Most adults say tensions between black people and police and concerns about the treatment of black people in the U.S. – in addition to anger over Floyd’s death – have contributed a great deal to the protests, according to a new Pew Research Center survey.

About six-in-ten U.S. adults say some people taking advantage of the situation to engage in criminal behavior has also been a major contributing factor in the protests. There are wide partisan gaps in these views. While roughly eight-in-ten Republicans and those who lean Republican say people taking advantage to engage in criminal behavior has been a major factor, only about four-in-ten Democrats and Democratic leaners agree. Democrats are much more likely than Republicans to say protesters have been motivated by longstanding concerns about the treatment of black people.

Related: Majorities of Americans Say News Coverage of George Floyd Protests Has Been Good, Trump’s Public Message Wrong

Dignity in Schools Campaign

applauds
Minneapolis and Portland Schools for Ending Contracts with the Police, We Need Police Out of Schools Now!
Dignity in Schools Campaign applauds Minneapolis and Portland Schools for Ending Contracts with the Police, We Need Police Out of Schools Now!
Posted June 05, 2020 by Tafari Melisizwe

New York, NY — Dismantling the school-to-prison pipeline starts with ending relationships between school districts and police departments. As we stand with youth and communities across the nation demanding an end to the ongoing police killings and violence against Black people, school districts must act and remove police from our schools.

We applaud the courageous and necessary decision of the Minneapolis Public School Board on June 2nd to terminate its contractual agreement with the Minneapolis Police Department. We also think it’s critical to lift up and acknowledge the years of organizing that parents, students, education advocates and organizations like the Midwest Center for School Transformation, Twin Cities Innovation Alliance, Minnesota Parent Union, Black Youth Project 100, Inclusion Revolution, the students at MPS, PAROS and others have done in Minneapolis around decriminalizing learning environments. This vote wasn’t possible without their work.

On June 4th, the Portland Public School Superintendent also announced his decision to discontinue the regular presence of school resource officers in the city’s high schools and to invest those funds in social workers, counselors, and culturally responsive programs. As in Minneapolis, parent and youth organizations like Portland Parent Union and others have fought for years to remove police and implement positive approaches.

As a coalition of over 120 grassroots organizations committed to ending school pushout, fighting racism, and dismantling oppression, we see these decisions as specific and practical steps districts nationwide can take towards meaningfully protecting students and creating healthier learning environments. We call on other districts to follow Minneapolis’ and Portland’s lead and the lead of organizations on the ground that have been fighting for years to remove police from schools in their districts. The daily presence of police in schools does not positively contribute to student success or safety. Frankly, that’s never been their role. With police in schools, students and their families are criminalized, and school-based arrests and referrals to law enforcement go up.

“While we stand in solidarity with this long-fought battle to remove SROs from schools, we also have to be forward-facing, as we don’t want the removal of the physical presence of police to be replaced with technological policing and criminalization through surveillance technology such as cameras and social media monitoring which would only expand the police state and the cradle-to-prison algorithm,” says Marika Pfefforkon of the Midwest Center for School Transformation and the Twin Cities Innovation Alliance.

Sheila Warren of Portland Parent Union shared, “We are thankful for all who think this shift is important! Though a great victory for all of us, we must gear up to demand where that money should be spent both with the schools and police. We did ask for Counselors not Cops!”

As we celebrate these major victories, we know that our work and our partners’ work in Minneapolis and Portland doesn’t cease. We need a human rights framework for schools that is reflected in education policy and present in the everyday learning environment. Fortunately, there are already a plethora of practices that we know can create safety and support students’ well-being, and there are youth and parent leaders and community-based practitioners with solutions for districts to implement. This includes bringing community intervention workers and peacebuilders into schools, implementing culturally relevant curriculums, practicing restorative and transformative justice, adequately funding and hiring critical support staff such as school counselors, and engaging young people around decisions that shape their academic and social future.

As schools divest from policing and other practices that contribute to the surveillance and criminalization of students and families, they can invest in these transformative, culturally responsive, and effective approaches that support students’ full academic, social and emotional development.

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Minneapolis and Portland Schools for Ending Contracts with the Police, We Need Police Out of Schools Now!
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Dignity in Schools Campaign applauds Minneapolis and Portland Schools for Ending Contracts with the Police, We Need Police Out of Schools Now!
Posted June 05, 2020 by Tafari Melisizwe

New York, NY — Dismantling the school-to-prison pipeline starts with ending relationships between school districts and police departments. As we stand with youth and communities across the nation demanding an end to the ongoing police killings and violence against Black people, school districts must act and remove police from our schools.

We applaud the courageous and necessary decision of the Minneapolis Public School Board on June 2nd to terminate its contractual agreement with the Minneapolis Police Department. We also think it’s critical to lift up and acknowledge the years of organizing that parents, students, education advocates and organizations like the Midwest Center for School Transformation, Twin Cities Innovation Alliance, Minnesota Parent Union, Black Youth Project 100, Inclusion Revolution, the students at MPS, PAROS and others have done in Minneapolis around decriminalizing learning environments. This vote wasn’t possible without their work.

On June 4th, the Portland Public School Superintendent also announced his decision to discontinue the regular presence of school resource officers in the city’s high schools and to invest those funds in social workers, counselors, and culturally responsive programs. As in Minneapolis, parent and youth organizations like Portland Parent Union and others have fought for years to remove police and implement positive approaches.

As a coalition of over 120 grassroots organizations committed to ending school pushout, fighting racism, and dismantling oppression, we see these decisions as specific and practical steps districts nationwide can take towards meaningfully protecting students and creating healthier learning environments. We call on other districts to follow Minneapolis’ and Portland’s lead and the lead of organizations on the ground that have been fighting for years to remove police from schools in their districts. The daily presence of police in schools does not positively contribute to student success or safety. Frankly, that’s never been their role. With police in schools, students and their families are criminalized, and school-based arrests and referrals to law enforcement go up.

“While we stand in solidarity with this long-fought battle to remove SROs from schools, we also have to be forward-facing, as we don’t want the removal of the physical presence of police to be replaced with technological policing and criminalization through surveillance technology such as cameras and social media monitoring which would only expand the police state and the cradle-to-prison algorithm,” says Marika Pfefforkon of the Midwest Center for School Transformation and the Twin Cities Innovation Alliance.

Sheila Warren of Portland Parent Union shared, “We are thankful for all who think this shift is important! Though a great victory for all of us, we must gear up to demand where that money should be spent both with the schools and police. We did ask for Counselors not Cops!”

As we celebrate these major victories, we know that our work and our partners’ work in Minneapolis and Portland doesn’t cease. We need a human rights framework for schools that is reflected in education policy and present in the everyday learning environment. Fortunately, there are already a plethora of practices that we know can create safety and support students’ well-being, and there are youth and parent leaders and community-based practitioners with solutions for districts to implement. This includes bringing community intervention workers and peacebuilders into schools, implementing culturally relevant curriculums, practicing restorative and transformative justice, adequately funding and hiring critical support staff such as school counselors, and engaging young people around decisions that shape their academic and social future.

As schools divest from policing and other practices that contribute to the surveillance and criminalization of students and families, they can invest in these transformative, culturally responsive, and effective approaches that support students’ full academic, social and emotional development.

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Terrorizing Students

Henry A. Giroux | Terrorizing Students: The Criminalization of Children in the US Police State
Violence has become the problem of the 21st century. This claim is indebted to W. E. B. Dubois’ much quoted notion that “The problem of the Twentieth Century is the problem of color line.”[1] For Du Bois, racism was one of the most pressing problems of the time and could not be understood outside of the gross inequities of wealth, power, opportunity and access. What he did not anticipate was the degree to which the violent character of racism would come to define the 21st century on a national and global level. What he described as a ruthless ideology and attitude of racist hostility would later mutate in the new millennium into a raw display of police brutality and state terrorism, camouflaged under the guise of an alleged post-racial society.

The Hidden Legacy of Columbine:

Ignorance About School Violence
On another National School Walkout day, 57 percent of teens are worried about dying in a school shooting. They shouldn't be.
ROBBY SOAVE | 4.20.2018 4:05 PM

Walk out
Paul Hennessy/Polaris/
Newscom
Today, on the 19th anniversary of the Columbine massacre, students around the country skipped classes as part of a National School Walkout to protest gun violence.

This is the latest attempt by survivors of the recent mass shooting in Parkland, Florida, to keep the public focused on school violence and on the various gun control proposals they believe would deter it. Invoking Columbine is meant to remind people that such attacks have been happening for decades, and to imply that this is because national leaders have continually failed to implement solutions.

But Columbine should teach us a different lesson: The press, the public, and policymakers are often ignorant, and doing the wrong thing can be just as counterproductive as not doing anything. In the wake of Columbine, so-called experts completely misdiagnosed the causes of the crime, and they decided to implement "safety" policies that gravely undermined students' rights without making schools any safer.

On April 20, 1999, two teenagers, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, marched into Columbine High School in Columbine, Colorado, and murdered 12 students and one teacher. They had planned to use explosives to kill many, many more, but their bombs failed to detonate.

The Parkland shooting

fueled calls for more school police. Civil rights groups want them removed.
A new report argues that school policing is a racial justice issue.By P.R. Lockhart Sep 20, 2018, 2:40pm
A school resource officer stands outside the main office as students exit South Portland High School March 2, 2018.
Carl Walsh/Portland Press Herald via Getty Images
Seven months ago, the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, sparked an intense debate about how to stop school shootings and make schools safer. One proposal: more police in schools.

One month after the shooting, Florida Gov. Rick Scott signed a bill dedicating $400 million to a number of school security measures, including an increase in the number of school resource officers. The Trump administration called for more armed police officers in schools and also floated the idea of arming teachers, concerning those who believe that more police in schools could create problems for students of color.

PPU Recommendations 2015

WE WANT COPS OUT OF SCHOOLS PERIOD! NO AGREEMENTS NO MOUs
WE ASK FOR MORE COUNSELORS AND MENTORS NOT COPS. (COMMUNITY MENTORING AND ADVOCATING GROUPS SUPPORT)

WE NEED SROS IF THEY ARE IN SCHOOLS TO BE TRAINED

IN RESTORATIVE JUSTICE, BE A PART OF THE SCHOOL CLIMATE TEAM, TRAINED IN CULTURAL COMPETENCY AND TRAUMA INFORMED CARE AS WELL AS PBIS. THEY WILL NEED RESTRAINT CERTIFICATION. http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/11/why-do-most-school-cops-have-no-student-training-requirements/414286/

EVERYONE THESE DAYS SEEM TO WANT A CRISIS TEAM WHEN A CHILD IS OUT OF CONTROL, WHAT IS THE DEFINITIION OF A CHILD OUT OF CONTROL? THE TEACHERS' UNION IS ASKING FOR THIS AT PPS IN THEIR CONTRACT WITHOUT THE INPUT OF THE FAMILIES AND OTHER SERVICES, THIS WILL MEAN DEPENDING MORE ON INTERVENERS LIKE SROS AND OTHERS WHO ARE NOT EXPERIENCED. IT GIVES FOLKS CART BLANK TO DO WHATEVER TO THESE CHILDREN AND IT WILL BE COVERED UP.

WE ARE ASKING FOR A PROTOCOL AND AGREEMENT FROM THE POLICE DEPARTMENT AND SROS IN SCHOOL WHICH WILL NOT CRIMINALIZE A CHILD IF THE FOLKS WHO FEEL LIKE THEY ARE BEING HARMED DIRECTLY CALL THE POLICE.

"On those rare occasions when it is appropriate for law enforcement to enter a school building, there should be agreements with police departments that limit the cases when law enforcement can be called in to a school, with particular safeguards in place to ensure students' rights are protected," the organization said.

NEED SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICERS TO COMPLY WITH CIVIL RIGHTS LAWS.

http://www.ncjfcj.org/sites/default/files/Today%20Winter%202011Feature%20(2).pdf

WE DEMAND A TASKFORCE OF COLLABORATIVE APPROACHES TO PUBLIC SAFETY

Committee for Real Police Accountability

Partnering With The Portland Police Accountability Campaign Supporting
Richard Gilliam, PPU's own ( Representative for "Committee for Real Police Accountability".) Please vote yes on 26-217.

As Well as recording the Work of Harriet G. Walden (Founder of Mothers For Police Accountability, Seattle) Our Partner and Our Advisor.

Contribution from PPU:
Portland Parent Union Statement
"Gathering The Information" https://simplysheilas.wixsite.com/2020woappudsc/police-accountability-team-pg2

Started June 11, 2020
from Portland Parent Union, Dignity In Schools,
PPU Members and PPU Partners about Virtual Pushout, COVID/Social Distancing, Mapping, Summary Videos, Hisory, Murder of a Black Man, Defund the Police, Police in Schools as well as Story Telling and Opinion Pieces. + Data and Stats.
You may Go to Portland Parent Union's Main Statement First if You would like.

Portland Parent Unions Statement:

Some of us are Black People who were born into this country with a foot on our neck. Now a knee was chosen without any consideration for a human life! We believe because Floyd was black. the police were called. A black man is guilty of any kind of suspicious criminal activity. Yes of course it was because American police can do anything they want. Especially the white ones. The Good old boys club which has been active since slavery. (Research the history of Policing in this country and how this institution got started and how they operated in the South.) PPU condemns the institutional racism that is prevalent and protected in the Police Force. The Blue Code is sacred and our men and women have died because of it and those that kill them get off! The Union who protects those who are guilty have also not protected black Cops. I have personally seen them turn their backs on a black policeman. Just think if all this violence and murder had been done by a black man. Prosecution would be swift and to the point.Portland Parent Union Statement
"Gathering The Information"
Started June 11, 2020
from Portland Parent Union, Dignity In Schools,
PPU Members and PPU Partners about Virtual Pushout, COVID/Social Distancing, Mapping, Summary Videos, Hisory, Murder of a Black Man, Defund the Police, Police in Schools as well as Story Telling and Opinion Pieces. + Data and Stats.
You may Go to Portland Parent Union's Main Statement First if You would like.

Portland Parent Unions Statement:

Some of us are Black People who were born into this country with a foot on our neck. Now a knee was chosen without any consideration for a human life! We believe because Floyd was black. the police were called. A black man is guilty of any kind of suspicious criminal activity. Yes of course it was because American police can do anything they want. Especially the white ones. The Good old boys club which has been active since slavery. (Research the history of Policing in this country and how this institution got started and how they operated in the South.) PPU condemns the institutional racism that is prevalent and protected in the Police Force. The Blue Code is sacred and our men and women have died because of it and those that kill them get off! The Union who protects those who are guilty have also not protected black Cops. I have personally seen them turn their backs on a black policeman. Just think if all this violence and murder had been done by a black man. Prosecution would be swift and to the point.Portland Parent Union Statement
"Gathering The Information"
Started June 11, 2020
from Portland Parent Union, Dignity In Schools,
PPU Members and PPU Partners about Virtual Pushout, COVID/Social Distancing, Mapping, Summary Videos, Hisory, Murder of a Black Man, Defund the Police, Police in Schools as well as Story Telling and Opinion Pieces. + Data and Stats.
You may Go to Portland Parent Union's Main Statement First if You would like.

Portland Parent Unions Statement:

Some of us are Black People who were born into this country with a foot on our neck. Now a knee was chosen without any consideration for a human life! We believe because Floyd was black. the police were called. A black man is guilty of any kind of suspicious criminal activity. Yes of course it was because American police can do anything they want. Especially the white ones. The Good old boys club which has been active since slavery. (Research the history of Policing in this country and how this institution got started and how they operated in the South.) PPU condemns the institutional racism that is prevalent and protected in the Police Force. The Blue Code is sacred and our men and women have died because of it and those that kill them get off! The Union who protects those who are guilty have also not protected black Cops. I have personally seen them turn their backs on a black policeman. Just think if all this violence and murder had been done by a black man. Prosecution would be swift and to the point.Portland Parent Union Statement
"Gathering The Information"
Started June 11, 2020
from Portland Parent Union, Dignity In Schools,
PPU Members and PPU Partners about Virtual Pushout, COVID/Social Distancing, Mapping, Summary Videos, Hisory, Murder of a Black Man, Defund the Police, Police in Schools as well as Story Telling and Opinion Pieces. + Data and Stats.
You may Go to Portland Parent Union's Main Statement First if You would like.

Portland Parent Unions Statement:

Some of us are Black People who were born into this country with a foot on our neck. Now a knee was chosen without any consideration for a human life! We believe because Floyd was black. the police were called. A black man is guilty of any kind of suspicious criminal activity. Yes of course it was because American police can do anything they want. Especially the white ones. The Good old boys club which has been active since slavery. (Research the history of Policing in this country and how this institution got started and how they operated in the South.) PPU condemns the institutional racism that is prevalent and protected in the Police Force. The Blue Code is sacred and our men and women have died because of it and those that kill them get off! The Union who protects those who are guilty have also not protected black Cops. I have personally seen them turn their backs on a black policeman. Just think if all this violence and murder had been done by a black man. Prosecution would be swift and to the point.

Defund The Police

There's a growing call to defund the police. Here's what it means:
By Scottie Andrew, CNN

There's a growing group of dissenters who believe Americans can survive without law enforcement as we know it. And Americans, those dissenters believe, may even be better off without it.
The solution to police brutality and racial inequalities in policing is simple, supporters say: Just defund police.
It's as straightforward as it sounds: Instead of funding a police department, a sizable chunk of a city's budget is invested in communities, especially marginalized ones where much of the policing occurs.
The concept's been a murmur for years, particularly following the protests against police brutality in Ferguson, Missouri, though it seemed improbable in 2014.
Content by CNN Underscored
But it's becoming a shout. With the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor at the hands of police and nationwide protests demanding reform, Minneapolis officials announced their intent to defund and disband the city's police force altogether.
Does defunding the police mean disbanding the police?
That depends on whom you ask, said Philip McHarris, a doctoral candidate in sociology at Yale University and lead research and policy associate at the Community Resource Hub for Safety and Accountability.
Some supporters of divestment want to reallocate some, but not all, funds away from police departments to social services and reduce their contact with the public to reduce the likelihood of police violence.
Those seeking to disband police consider defunding an initial step toward creating an entirely different model of community-led public safety.
The concept exists on a spectrum, and the two aren't dichotomous but interconnected. But both interpretations center on reimagining what public safety looks like -- shifting resources away from law enforcement toward community resources, he said.
It also means dismantling the idea that police are "public stewards" meant to protect communities. Many Black Americans and other people of color don't feel protected by police, McHarris said. go to link to continue

INSPIRATIONS

We Must All

A conversation on being Black in America with @Angela Rye
Jul 6, 2020
Will Smith
Political commentator @Angela Rye sits down to talk Black Lives Matter and the state of policing in the United States. Watch the extended cut of the conversation on her channel: https://youtu.be/slghRUErWaI

► SUBSCRIBE: https://goo.gl/BUjQW8
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◈ Created by Westbrook Media
https://www.westbrookinc.com
Executive Producers: Will Smith, Miguel Melendez
Producers: Turner Barrowman, Jas Davis, Lukas Kaiser, Aidan Tanner, Key Williams
Editor: Alfred Aquino II
Titles Designed by Jon Brandon Cruz
Camera Operators: Jas Davis, Jordan Fisher, Max Goodrich
Production Coordinator: Ellie McCagg

Special thanks to Angela Rye, Steven Anderson, Naja Mix, Aryn Bussey, Impact Strategies, Meredith O’Sullivan Wasson

#BlackLivesMatter #WillSmith #AngelaRye

National Geographic

Nicole Harney (left) and her son, Justin, stand in front of a mural of Malcolm X and Harriet Tubman at a protest in New York City. She broke down while watching the video of George Floyd crying for his mother as he died. “We’ve had enough,” Harney said. “I could not stay on Twitter or any other platform. I had to come march outside.”Nicole Harney (left) and her son, Justin, stand in front of a mural of Malcolm X and Harriet Tubman at a protest in New York City. She broke down while watching the video of George Floyd crying for his mother as he died. “We’ve had enough,” Harney said. “I could not stay on Twitter or any other platform. I had to come march outside.”Nicole Harney (left) and her son, Justin, stand in front of a mural of Malcolm X and Harriet Tubman at a protest in New York City. She broke down while watching the video of George Floyd crying for his mother as he died. “We’ve had enough,” Harney said. “I could not stay on Twitter or any other platform. I had to come march outside.”Nicole Harney (left) and her son, Justin, stand in front of a mural of Malcolm X and Harriet Tubman at a protest in New York City. She broke down while watching the video of George Floyd crying for his mother as he died. “We’ve had enough,” Harney said. “I could not stay on Twitter or any other platform. I had to come march outside.”

Systemic racism and coronavirus are killing people of color. Protesting isn't enough. After the protests end and the pandemic passes, will anything change for America's communities of color?

The nightly seven o’clock clap for essential workers in New York City feels hypocritical to me. I understand it’s an offering of solidarity and empathy, but a gesture is not enough. In this city, about 75 percent of front-line workers—grocery clerks, bus and train operators, janitors, food delivery people, child care staff—are minorities. They still can’t get approved for a loan to buy property in the neighborhoods they serve or want to live in. They can’t find nutritious food on their blocks. They can’t access quality healthcare. The world they live in is unimaginable to many of those clapping from their homes every night.

The parts of New York hardest hit by the pandemic are overwhelmingly lower-income communities of color. Blacks and Latinos are dying from COVID-19 at twice the rate of white people, according to early data. The front-line workers I’ve been photographing are the same people who face the systemic racism and violence that has fueled a week of protests across America.

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The Letter

What is COVID Doing to Us. How is it Changing Our Lives?

A subway rider wears a mask and a bandana to protect himself against COVID-19 in New York on April 7, 2020 [AP/Bebeto Matthews] History has shown us that the consequences of contagion are not equally felt by all communities.

afro-man-using-face-mask-for-covid19-cha

Oregon COVID Updates

Distance Learning COVID Pushout Impacts on Parents/Students

COVID Online Distance Learning Pushout

Grid

Statement From Susan Anglada Bartley PPU Partner and a Voracious but Loving Community Activist as well as an award winning Teacher.

Statement From Richard Gilliam PPU Board Member. He is an Esteemed Community Organizer

Make Some Noise Statement by Deb Mayer / Our Amazing Partner and President of Parents Across America Oregon

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The Thought Provoking Quote posted by CaShawn Edwards on FB. Author Unknown? CaShawn is our Dear PPU Vice President and An Amazing Parent

Statement From

Pedro Anglada

Cordero.

An award winning

dedicated Social

Worker

Public schools.

He is also featured in the Online Learning "Pushout". Grid as well.

New National Online Learning Study Predicts Widening Achievement Gap

Achievement Gap

PPU Opinion Statement

COVID

Switching

Data/Stat

Win Win

Terrorizing Students

Parkland Shooting

CC Recommendations

Defund the Police

Are We Protesting For the Right Reasons and Are We Getting Along?

Killin The Silence

Coronavirus and Schools

The coronavirus pandemic has upended America's K-12 education system, as most schools in every state close their doors for extended periods to combat the spread of the virus.

Tereza T. Bottman

PPU Teacher Advisory Board Statement.

She is A beloved ESL/ELL Teacher on Special Assignment

We are Portland Parent Union.

It is important for us to research, compile and record information showing evidence of negative events +++ that are further corroding our black families'/poor families' lifestyles from those who are not for us and are continually altering the ability for families to thrive.

This is PPU recording our "Statements", opinions, news, and observations, on and against these negative groups, controls, opinions, and events! Proof must be written down.

#wemustrevealissues

togetbetter

#blacklivesmatter

#counselorsnotcops

#ican'tbreath

#distancelearning

pushout

#defundpolicedept.

#trustcirclesarekey

#100%covid19testing

beforeopenschools

#gratefulforourpartners

Grid on Online Learning

Go To Mapping of Police Brutality and Murder

of black Men and Women

Ben Garvin Artist

Summing It Up

The Black Community Cannot Wait Any longer. For years, Black activists and organizations like the Movement for Black Lives have been calling for the reckoning we now see in the streets, and we have a responsibility as a nation to meet their call.

Ibram X. Kendi

"Being an Anti-racists requires persistent self-criticism and regular self-examination."

104994820_10218053154943594_647893099107

Intro.

Disclaimer

Summary

Capturing Our Four Major Issues.

Police Murder
COVID
Education Achievement Gap.
Police in Schools

Database of Oregon Police Misconduct up & running. The state legislature required the public, online database be set-up. It's one of several police account ability bills passed during the special sessions.

Summing It Up with Will Smith and Angela Rye PPU approved

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Portland City Council has approved a budget for the upcoming fiscal year that will cut an additional $15 million from the police bureau’s budget, but falls short of the $50 million cut that community advocates had been pushing for. Thank you Susan and Pedro, ( PPU partners and Social Justice advocates) for speaking.

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SUMMING IT UP

we found this video the best at summing it up by two of our favorite people.

Peace and Love is Here!

Portland Parent Union

”

How racist policing took over American cities, explained by a historian

“The problem is the way policing was built,” historian Khalil Muhammad says.

“THE SAME BASIC IDEA THAT IN WHITE SPACES, BLACK PEOPLE ARE PRESUMPTIVELY SUSPECT, IS STILL PLAYING OUT IN AMERICA TODAY"

For Your information

Picture represents https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/24/opinion/sex-differences-covid.html

The Portland Association of Teachers is signaling that unless school

leaders and politicians can come up with a plan to stop the virus, educators do not feel it’s safe to return to the classroom this fall.

INSPIRATION

Fueled by protests, school districts across the country cut ties with police

https://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2020/06/07/minneapolis-city-council-intent-to-disband-police-department-nr-vpx.cnn

Minneapolis City Council advances plan to dismantle embattled police force.

Portland Parent Union's Statement Against Police, School Pushout, Police Violence and Murder, Partners Statements + Recommendations and Demands

a Question

06-covid-inequality-nyc-i-cant-breathe-a

Map: Coronavirus and School Closures

Oregon legislators appeared to reach consensus Thursday on a package of police accountability bills aimed at changing the culture of law enforcement in the state, though some provisions only survived with major tweaks.

POLITICS

Activists: Police reform bills passed in Oregon's special session are just the start

Six bills tied to police reform were passed during last week's special session. Activists and some lawmakers say it's just the beginning of long-awaited change

Community Activists Statements

Police Accuntablity

Police Transformation Demands Defund the Police

Current Action

Columbine

Counselors N Cops Timeline, Data, Real Stories, Negative Driven Decisions, Evidence of Zero Tolerence which started the School to Prison Pipeline/Pushout/ChildCrimalization

(Added On October 17, 2020) PPU Statement on Re-Opening Schools

PPU Against Brutality

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PPU Disclaimer

​

PPU Members and PPU Partners about Virtual Pushout, COVID/Social Distancing, Mapping, Summary, Videos, Hisory, Murder of a Black Man, Defund the Police, Police in Schools as well as Story Telling and Opinion Pieces. + Data and Stats.

The U.S. Department of Education recently required every public school to report the number of social workers, nurses, and psychologists employed for the first time in history. Data about school counselors had been required previously.

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Statement From Richard Gilliam PPU Board Member. He is an Esteemed Community Organizer

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Make Some Noise Statement by Deb Mayer / Our Amazing Partner and President of Parents Across America Oregon

The Thought Provoking Quote posted by CaShawn Edwards on FB. Author Unknown? CaShawn is our Dear PPU Vice President and An Amazing Parent

The coronavirus pandemic has upended America's K-12 education system, as most schools in every state close their doors for extended periods to combat the spread of the virus.

​

#wemustrevealissues

togetbetter

​

​

Go To Mapping of Police Brutality and Murder

of black Men and Women

​

Ben Garvin Artist

​

The Black Community Cannot Wait Any longer. For years, Black activists and organizations like the Movement for Black Lives have been calling for the reckoning we now see in the streets, and we have a responsibility as a nation to meet their call.

Database of Oregon Police Misconduct up & running. The state legislature required the public, online database be set-up. It's one of several police account ability bills passed during the special sessions.

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​

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Minneapolis City Council advances plan to dismantle embattled police force.

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Oregon legislators appeared to reach consensus Thursday on a package of police accountability bills aimed at changing the culture of law enforcement in the state, though some provisions only survived with major tweaks.

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