Visit your neighborhood school

This is the simplest, yet most powerful action any of us can take--getting involved in our neighborhood schools.

One place to get started is the PPS Schools page, which has links to individual school pages as well as school-created pages, which usually will include PTA or other parent contact information.

Most schools are very happy to have you volunteer, just visit the school office and inquire.

There are a lot of great groups doing work in the schools, such as:

http://www.getsmartoregon.org/

Attend a School Board meeting

While it can often feel like one is talking to a brick wall, showing up at School Board meetings, and testifying when you can, is extremely important.

School Board meeting info on the PPS website can be accessed here.

Even more important is to attend, whenever possible, the meetings of the various committees of the School Board. While held at inconvenient times (usually early morning or lunchtime on weekdays), this is where the real work gets done and decisions made, which are then voted on at the full Board meeting. Members of the public cannot usually participate in the discussion or testify at these meetings, but the public may attend and observe. Board committee info can be found < a href=http://159.191.14.140/.docs/pg/5868>here.

Attend an NSA meeting or action

Come to our monthly meeting on the third Tuesday.

Get on our email list, or check this site, for announcements of other NSA events or NSA actions at Board meetings.

Questions? Email info@neighborhoodschoolsalliance.org

Contact elected officials

Here are the emails for City and County officials. They need to hear how important neighborhood schools are for this city.

City Council:

Tom Potter – mayorpotter@ci.portland.or.us

Erik Sten – erik@ci.portland.or.us

Randy Leonard – randy@ci.portland.or.us

Dan Saltzman – dsaltzman@ci.portland.or.us

Sam Adams – commissionersam@ci.portland.or.us

County Commissioners:

Diane Linn – mult.chair@co.multnomah.or.us

Maria Rojo de Steffey - district1@co.multnomah.or.us

Serena Cruz - serena@co.multnomah.or.us

Lisa Naito - district3@co.multnomah.or.us

Lonnie Roberts - lonnie.j.roberts@co.multnomah.or.us

Post a blog

All registered users of this site are invited to post blog entries on schools-related topics.

How to blog
If you're already logged in, click on "Create content" and then "Personal blog entry" to start your blog. Simply type in a title, type or paste in the body of your text, and hit submit.

If you aren't logged in, please use the log-in block on the left-hand side of the page. If you aren't registered yet, follow the instructions to create a new user account.

The best blog entries are your own words: your thoughts, opinions, analysis, ranting or rhetoric on school-related topics. (While impassioned prose is more than welcome, please do not post your subject/message in all caps or with long strings of exclamation marks--no need to yell, we can hear you just fine!)

We ask that posters adhere to the following guidelines:

• Nothing racist, sexist, or homophobic

• Keep in mind our focus is on improving education for all children in Portland

• Please limit your blog posts to no more than one per day. Share the space with others so everyone has a chance to be heard.

• Please try to avoid blog entries that are nothing more than a pasted-in copy of entire articles or content from other sources. Not only are pasted-in articles less interesting than hearing your personal take on an issue, it violates copyright law and netiquette to copy articles in their entirety. It's fine to copy in a paragraph or two to give the flavor, but then tell us YOUR take on the issue. Also be sure to cite the source and if online, include a link to the full story.

Note: All blog entries and comments reflect the views of the person posting and do not necessarily reflect the views of Neighborhood Schools Alliance.

Questions? Email info@neighborhoodschoolsalliance.org

Write a letter to the editor

Why Your Letters Matter
Newspaper editorial staff read every letter and track how many they get on different sides of issues. Even if your letter doesn't get published, your opinion is counted and helps shape what gets onto the letters page. Your letter will provide support to back up the one that does get published. Even more important, the volume of letters expressing a viewpoint helps shape the editors’ view of public opinion and thus their treatment of issues.

How to Increase Your Chances of Being Published
While it’s true you don’t have to be published to make an impact, it is wonderful when it happens. Here are some tips for getting published:
1. Brevity: keep it short (for the Oregonian, 150 words).
2. Use vivid language; speak from the heart. Stay calm and polite.
3. Don’t worry about crafting a perfect statement; often the shortest and simplest letters are most effective.
4. Important : Be sure to include your name, address, and phone number.

Write or call School Board members or the Superintendent

Email:
schoolboard@pps.k12.or.us (it will get distributed to all board members)
superintendent@pps.k12.or.us

More Board contact info here

Please be courteous in all communications.