CHS Parent & Caregiver Equity Group

As we come to the close of the 2021-22 school year we’d like to thank the members of our community who, through two+ years of pandemic interruption, found ways to hold space and give their time, openness, and voices to prioritize equity within the halls of our school.

Throughout the year our monthly meetings included local community members, parents, caregivers, students, teachers, administrators, school & district staff, and CHS cluster middle school families. We were able to find meaningful connections within our community and give platforms to marginalized voices.

We were humbled and awed by representatives from CHS Student Affinity Groups who shared the following impactful presentations:

• The Asian American Pacific Islander Affinity Group’s (AAPI) fundraiser for the Asian Health and Service Center, a local non-profit organization dedicated to reducing health inequity and improving health care quality for all Asian Americans

• The Native Student Union’s (NSU) actions to raise awareness of Oregon tribes and Native students at CHS, their recent acquisition of flags of the Nine Tribes of Oregon and plans to best display them in the building

• C.A.R.E. Leadership’s ongoing work and plans for an annual Advocacy Day

• Cleveland’s Student Representative to the PPS District Student Council on equity concerns throughout PPS, including proposed shifts to PPS Foundation fundraising models to create more equity across schools

• The Jewish Student Union (JSU) reflections & response to recent anti-Semitic vandalism at CHS, resulting in student-led educational sessions and a call for on-going peer education and awareness on disrupting anti-Semitism

• Conversations and growing efforts of a large coalition of CHS student groups exploring a proposed renaming of our school

• We’d also like to thank Karen Liao, Grout Elementary teacher and CHS parent, for sharing a powerful experience exploring AAPI Heritage Month and curriculum resources she helped develop for PPS. Highly accessible, this resource includes music video presentations with historical photos and images from Asian American and Pacific Islander history and heritage in Oregon and the United States. Check it out HERE!

Outside of our monthly community meetings, additional PEG activities included:

• Designated Parent Equity Group representatives attended meetings with the CHS Student Equity Council throughout the school year, connecting with members of JSU, BSU, AAPI, LSU, NSU, SAGA and C.A.R.E. Leadership to support and amplify student concerns with equity, inclusivity, & safety ... and to celebrate the richness of the many identities in our community!

• Amplifying student affinity groups and CHS equity work on social media ... find us on Instagram @chsparentequity

• Response to Anti-Semitic Vandalism at CHS

• Regular newsletters to our subscribers, archived HERE

• Building out our website and developing a BLOG, including posts such as What is Ethnic Studies? and Grabbing Racism by the Lapels: A Parent’s Journey

We are grateful to the CHS Administration team of Jo Ann Wadkins, Sean Murray, Alaina Langdahl, and Danielle Cota for their on-going commitment to multifaceted equity work and generously giving their time to participate in our meetings despite many demands and long hours. We especially want to thank Sean Murray for fostering our connections with student affinity groups.

Special thanks to the founding members of this group graduating with their seniors ... for opening the space, embracing the discomfort, and keeping the light on 💚

Looking Forward!

Be on the lookout for our Priority & Involvement Survey later this summer. Share your interests, concerns, and skill sets to build equity within the CHS community!

Mark your calendars for Mon, September 12th for our first meeting of the 2022-23 school year! We invite you to join us in celebration of the strength and resilience of our racially and ethnically diverse communities, and to see the translation of these values into classroom practice and in the curriculum of CHS.