As noted in the report I posted on my current issues blog on Friday, I didn't really have time this past week to attend the League of Women Voters of Portland's forum on the pros and cons of K-8 schools. I could have read the minutes of the meeting later, catching the gist in five minutes instead of taking the best part of three hours to travel downtown, participate, and return home. But I believe showing up is important, for many reasons. Being a professional observer and listener in my job on OHSU's inpatient psychiatric unit, when I attend an event I catch facial expressions and hear intonations that aren't evident in a taped or written record. Being there allows participants to ask questions and engage in discussions with other thoughtful people - some of whom heard the same information and came to a different conclusion. And attracting a crowd can validate the significance or urgency of an issue, so sometimes even a silent audience is needed to push a solution forward.

I've rarely seen City staff or elected officials participating in school district community meetings, over the seventeen years that I've been doing so. Only when there's a funding crisis, not routinely. Likewise, it's unusual to see School Board members or district administrators at City Council, and when they do testify, it's often painfully clear the School districts haven't been kept informed of or involved in City of Portland processes. In September, it was news to Portland Public Schools Board members that the City Council planned to adopt VisionPDX with no reference to public education. Because they hadn't been consulted or asked, the PPS Board didn't have time to take a formal position on the Vision, and without my advocacy behind the scenes and testifying to the Council, the Vision would have been accepted without correcting this glaring error.

When I'm elected, I'll stay in contact with the School Boards and the neighborhood schools they serve. I'll keep showing up. The City, School districts, Education Service Districts, and County need to communicate better, collaborate more, coordinate resources and strategies. I've seen the gaps over 17 years as a public school parent, and I'm motivated to bridge them.

Candidates for City Council always talk about supporting public schools, perhaps because the polls show Portlanders care about education. Then often they seem to forget about school issues until the next election. I want the open seat on Portland's City Council to be filled by someone who has first-hand experience of the dynamics and practicalities of our city's five school districts, and our higher education institutions. I want the open seat filled by someone with a long history of showing up, and making a difference, for Portland's public schools. That's another reason I'm running.