Local Leaders Raise Their Hands to Invest Time with Principals
Schools and District Offices from Five School Districts in Multnomah County Welcome Leaders through the All Hands Raised 12th Annual Principal for Almost a Day Program
Portland, Ore. (October 24, 2012) – Tomorrow, October 25th, leaders representing public, private and nonprofit sectors will travel throughout Portland and Multnomah County to shadow a public school principal in one of five districts (Centennial, David Douglas, Parkrose, Portland Public and Reynolds). In its 12th year, the All Hands Raised annual Principal for Almost a Day event presented by Comcast, or “PFAD,” focuses on creating public-private partnerships to help raise awareness and resources in support of local schools. The Gresham-Barlow school district is also hosting its annual Principal for a Day tomorrow.
One of the many matches made by All Hands Raised is at PPS’ Cesar Chavez K-8 School, where Principal Lavert Robertson will host Kerry Tymchuk, executive director of the Oregon Historical Society. “As the son of a career school teacher–who was Oregon’s Teacher of the Year in 1979–I am excited to participate in the Principal for Almost A Day program and experience what today’s school leaders face, said Tymchuk. “We have school children visiting our museum almost every day, and I look forward to spending the morning at Cèsar Chávez –and I plan on bringing a special artifact or two with me.”
Robertson, who was the vice principal at Franklin High School prior to joining Cèsar Chávez said, “I know from my time at Franklin how critical PFAD is to our schools and to building greater awareness and understanding of how we can work together to meet the needs of our students. I am looking forward to having someone like Kerry visit our school, as he is committed to the education of our youth through his role as the leader of OHS and has a unique understanding of how to shape community conversations through his vast experience as a senior advisor to national, state and local elected officials.
From the “morning bell” until lunchtime recess, PFAD participants are welcomed as honorary principals spending time gaining a first-hand experience by interacting with students, faculty, teachers and parents. PFAD is one of the ways All Hands Raised works to develop a deeper understanding of how to support our students and our schools as it works to improved educational outcomes for all children and youth in Multnomah County.
Following is a sample of some of the matches. If you are interested in covering one of these visits, please contact Jeanie-Marie Price at 503-234-5404 or 971-207-9269.
David Douglas Superintendent: Andy McCulloch, CEO, Kaiser Permanente
David Douglas High School: Charlie Hales, Candidate for City of Portland Mayor
Davis Elementary School: Jefferson Smith, Candidate for City of Portland Mayor
Lincoln High School: Kevin Carroll, Kevin Carroll Katalyst and President Wim Wiewel, Portland State University
Open Meadow: Ben Cannon, Education Policy Advisor, Office of Governor John Kitzhaber
PPS Superintendent: Lisa Sedlar, New Seasons Market
Since 2008, Comcast has supported PFAD as its presenting sponsor, the Portland Business Journal provides media sponsorship of PFAD and the Portland Trail Blazers sponsors the lunch and debrief.
The mission of All Hands Raised is to champion education, equity and excellence from cradle to career inside and outside of the classroom by mobilizing leadership, ideas, resources, and community action to ensure kids throughout Portland and Multnomah County achieve their full potential. We manage the Partnership to adapt the national cradle to career framework locally. This is a community-wide effort to methodically, significantly, and permanently improve educational outcomes for children and youth, birth through college and/or career. And, we remain true to our roots, stewarding PPS parent-led fundraising and managing the PPS Equity Fund.
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