Support Public Education

Call me Bond … volunteer! ;-)

September 27, 2012

As you may know, activities in support of the Portland School District Bond are well underway. The Sunnyside PTSA has voted to support the bond and as such has committed to recruit volunteers to help with several phone banks between now and election day.

Like to talk on the phone? Not into canvassing door-to-door? We need YOU! 

Phone bank volunteering is a great way to make a difference!

The bond is providing the space, the phone script, and the targeted list of folks to call. They will train you…and it’s very simple training. The type of phone banking we will be doing is easy, as it is to a list of Democrats, and you will  just talk with them briefly about the Bond to gauge their level of agreement.  If they are unsure, then we give them a few “bullet points”.  If they are totally supportive, we ask if we can place a yard sign at their property, and get their address.

The Sunnyside Phone Bank Night we currently need volunteers for (from 5-8 pm) is:

  • Wednesday, October 17

You can also sign up for another night to volunteer on your own. I ask that you just let me know so that I can keep track of how many volunteers from Sunnyside we have provided!

Stay tuned as there will likely be one more “official” SES night that I recruit callers for before election day! Thanks for all your help & support!

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Support Public Education

Weekend Advocacy Volunteer Opportunities

September 14, 2012

It may be the weekend, but there’s still work to be done. If you are interested in supporting the PPS School Bond, you can join Our Portland, Our Schools for their first door-

knocking walk of this election season!  Should you choose to get involved, you will walk with other volunteers and let folks know about the school bond measure and why it matters for us, our kids, and our city.

There are 2 volunteer shifts this Saturday, September 15: 

  • 10 am – 1 pm or
  • 1 pm – 3 pm

Southeast Portlanders: your meet-up spot is SE 26th and Franklin. Carole Onasch will have everything you need!

Northeast Portlanders: scoot over to NE 36th and Thompson at 10am or 1pm and Richard Gilliam will be there to help!

North Portlanders: meet at Columbia Park, corner of N. Russet and Chautauqua at 10am or 1pm. Hit up Miguel Lopez for details.

Southwest Portlanders: head to Lincoln High Schools track at 10am or 1pm, and look to Ben Eckstein for more info.

Additionally, the National Education Association (NEA) says: WE NEED YOUR HELP TODAY TO STOP EDUCATION CUTS!
Congress is likely only in session for one more week, but they will return after the election to debate these critical issues.  Now is the time to make our voices heard.  We need to tell Congress that education and other critical programs cannot continue to bear the brunt of deficit reduction.   We need to demand a balanced approach – one that protects the middle class and asks the top two percent of earners in this nation to pay their fair share.   The choice is stark: Congress can protect students and their education, or it can continue to coddle the wealthiest two percent and corporations that ship jobs overseas.

Take Action Today:

More soon!

 

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Support Public Education

3 days into school, 3 opportunities to help!

September 7, 2012

Only three days into the 2012-2013 school year and already there is tons to report as far as ways to get involved in supporting school funding. I already talked about the Portland Schools bond measure we’ll be voting on come November and provided a link to the Our Portland, Our Schools website for more information. With schools back in session, the campaign is wasting no time getting moving, announcing just this week their campaign co-chairs: Governor Barbara Roberts, Congressman Earl Blumenauer and Student Representative to the School Board, Alexia Garcia.  Today they announced their first fundraiser and YOU are invited! If you would like to support the bond by doing a little bowling, this could be just for you:

number 1

On Saturday, September 22nd from 4p.m. – 7p.m. at Hollywood Bowl at 4030 Northeast Halsey Street the campaign is hosting a community-wide bowling tournament hosted by Congressman Blumenauer. Tickets are $35! For information about purchasing tickets, call 503-619-9080. You can also RSVP on Facebook for event updates, and to invite your friends!
For more information on the bond measure and the campaign’s efforts, check out their website at: http://www.OurPortlandOurSchools.com.

On a national level, The National Education Association (NEA) is asking folks to get involved by:
  1. Tell Congress to take a balanced approach to deficit reduction and reject more cuts to education.
  2. See state-by-state data and charts on what the sequestration cuts would mean for students, schools, and education jobs where you live.
  3. Read a summary of the devastating projected impact of the looming cuts on key education programs.
And last but not least, is the potential to get involved with Our Oregon (spearheading the give back the corporate kicker campaign) at their upcoming rally:
Rally to Restore School Funding!

On Friday, September 21, hundreds of parents, teachers, and students will stand up to say that our K-12 schools can’t afford more budget cuts. Join them to make your voice heard!

Rally to Restore School Funding
Friday, September 21
Grant Park, Portland (at NE 33rd and Brazee)
Music at 3:30pm, Rally at 4pm

Click here to sign up!

Or sign up through Facebook here.

That’s what I’ve got for this week but keep checking back because no doubt there will be more opportunities to fight for stable and adequate school funding for our public schools!

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Public Education Funding Advocacy Blog (the name may change)!

September 5, 2012
Today was the first day of school here in Portland. I can feel the excitement even from a middle school boy who is trying hard to be cool and uninterested.
Going back to school with all our great teachers and our great school is a reminder of how lucky we are but also a reminder that there is work to be done to stabilize adequate school funding for our school, all PPS schools and all public schools in Oregon. Our kids deserve it and our state needs to step up to the plate. As everyone settles in to the new school routine, those of us who care about our schools know there is much work to be done and plenty of volunteer advocacy opportunities will be coming throughout this year for local initiatives as well as statewide.

On this first day of school at Portland Public Schools, you may have seen volunteers in front of your school from Our Portland, Our Schools. You may have even received a lawn sign!

It may be only day one for the kids and us parents, but there is already a chance to help our schools. On Election Day, Portlanders will vote on a bond measure that asks us to reinvest $482 million in our public schools. This School Bond is our chance to turn this city’s aging school buildings into the safe, healthy, and inspiring environments that Portland deserves.

For more details on what the bond would do, go to: http://www.ourportlandourschools.com/about-the-bond/.

Just a few ways you can choose to get involved in the bond campaign include:

As a parent at Sunnyside, I know you already do a great deal for our kids! Thanks for all you do! As a long-time parent at SES (parent of 4th & 7th graders), I have joined the PTSA board this year and my job is to provide you with information on how you can help to solidify school funding through various channels, groups and initiatives if that is something you feel passionate about. I will do my best to sift through what’s out there in terms of potential advocacy opportunities and provide you with the information right here on this blog. Visit often or follow. I will also post some of the opportunities in the SES Weekly Messenger.

I look forward to an awesome Year of the Forest at Sunnyside in 2012-2013 with you and your wonderful children!

Sue Lyon-Myrick

 

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