Open Letter
Susie Anglada Bartley <susanangladabartley@gmail.com>
Mon, Nov 11, 2019, 4:27 PM
to jbe, Julia, me
Dear Julia Brim-Edwards,
I hope you are well this afternoon. I am writing to share this open letter, co-authored by Sheila Warren and I, about the inequities, historic and ongoing, that we see between East side and West side schools. Our intention is not to attack you, but to both inform you and hold you, the board, and PPS accountable for the inequitable conditions, with the ultimate intention of greater equity. When we met a few weeks back, you mentioned your own concerns about the inequities. Please accept this as a forum for conversation and advocacy on this issue.
In the name of full transparency, we hope that you will write your response in the document so that we may publish the conversation. We know that many of our fellow community members, parents and families, and members of the resistance community deserve to take part in this conversation. Many would also appreciate the chance to hear your response and see ensuing action. If you will agree to have your response published, and have ideas for a source of publication, please let us know. Otherwise, we have a means of publishing it independently and sharing it with our networks.
I opened sharing settings with you so that you may respond inside the text of the document: Original Letter:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qPMbocqehs3H-DExgRkbn3JVvxOqW_gjHDksHDo2krE/edit?usp=sharing
Thank you
Julia Brim-Edwards
Fri, Dec 13, 2019, 12:48 AM
to Susie, jbe, me
Response
Dear Susie and Sheila,
Thank you for the letter and for meeting with me earlier this summer to share your insights and perspectives about our students. As community and education leaders, thank you for maintaining an unfaltering commitment to our students and equity. I agree there is deep, systemic inequities in Portland Public Schools and that those inequities are most prevalent on the Eastside and North Portland. The data is clear, and the inequities in our schools are amplified by race and poverty.
I am definitely not one who argues “change is slow.” Our students need us to act with urgency and that action needs to be informed by the community. And, while, I can’t compel others to act, I am responsible for my own actions as a board member and the community can and should hold me accountable. I can use the position and the authority I have as an individual board member to listen, speak up, partner with community leaders and advocate for equitable public schools on Portland’s Eastside and North Portland.
We can meet – or engage in a dialogue in a format that you choose -- in the coming weeks and invite anyone else who wants to be part of the dialogue to learn and build a more equitable public education system.
Thank you again for your commitment to equity and our students.
Regards, Julia
***