News
Last Wednesday, February 12, was the culmination of a series of meetings between the SKCE Parent Leadership Group and school board members, which began last August. School board member Sheronne Blasi, our Liaison, and Superintendent Perry were invited to discuss the concerns the parents had brought to the school board last June, and how they might be addressed through the SIA recommendations. The superintendent answered a number of questions and explained the next steps in the SIA process.
The SKCE 2019 Fall Fundraiser is in Full Swing – Make Your Tax Deductible Donation Today!
Learn more about our recent activities and plans for this school year by reading our SKCE Fall Fundraiser page. Latino students do better in school when their parents are involved. Parents in SKCE Programs learn how to be effectively involved and help their children graduate. Parents learn how the school system works, how to work with teachers and other staff, and how important attendance and homework are.
Evaluations have shown that students whose parents have been involved in SKCE programs increase attendance, improve their grades and test scores, and graduate.
Our programs serve parents with children from Preschool to Graduation, and we serve about 700 parents and children each year.
We need to raise $12,000 by the end of December. You can help change the lives of hundreds of students this school year.
To learn more about how our programs help parents as the first teachers, mentors and coaches for their children, check out our Parent Organizing Project and Early Learning pages. To learn more about how our programs help parents become leaders at home, at school and in the community, check out our Leadership and Civic Engagement page.
Kaiser Permanente Partners with SKCE and Salem Keizer Public Schools to Tackle Chronic Absenteeism
“In 2018, Kaiser Permanente awarded more than $1 million in grants to five nonprofits and two school service districts in the Northwest. One of those partnerships involves the Salem/Keizer Coalition for Equality. The nonprofit utilizes funding support to provide workshops for Marion County Latino parents to encourage involvement in their child’s education while highlighting the importance of regular attendance.”
“The collective efforts supported by Kaiser Permanente to address absenteeism are making an impact. This year, 75% of Salem-Keizer Public Schools grew their attendance rates when comparing the 2017-18 to the 2018-19 school years. At the same time, more than 400 additional students are now considered to be regular attenders.”
Read the full article:
Another way to keep children from being absent: back-to-school medical checkups help keep Mid-Willamette Valley kids in school Why a wellness check is important to your child’s academic future
https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/sponsor-story/kaiser-permanente/2019/08/01/back-school-medical-checkups-help-keep-mid-willamette-valley-kids-school/1815404001/
Back to school: Look what’s happening around the Salem Keizer School District!
a. Five Benchmarks Parents Should know
https://www.salemreporter.com/
b. Increase Mental Health Services, Dismantle Prejudice
https://www.statesmanjournal.
c. McKay’s August Graduates
https://www.salemreporter.com/
e. https://www.salemreporter.
After SKCE Parent Leader Testimonies about Child Safety Concerns, School Board Adopts New Version of Safe and Welcoming Schools Resolution
The first Safe and Welcoming Schools Resolution 3 year ago was created directly because of work
on the Latino students’ and families’ behalf by SKCE.
Each year since, SKCE has worked with the Salem Keizer School Board and Superintendent Christy Perry to update the resolution.
The goal each year is to edit and reaffirm the Safe and Welcoming Schools Resolution so that it addresses issues current for the coming school year.
At June’s School Board meeting, SKCE Parent Leaders testified about concerns they have regarding their children’s safety. The two most pressing concerns were bullying due to racism and potential actions by immigration officials.
Parents talked to the school board again in August.
The passing of the 2019 adjusted and reaffirmed Safe and Welcoming Schools Resolution was announced at the August meeting.
This CCTV recording is of the August School Board work session and public meeting.
The School Board work session ends and the School Board public meeting with testimonies
begins at about 1 hour and 40 minutes.
On the Salem Keizer Public Schools website the announcement of the Safe and Welcoming Schools Resolution press release can be read. Spanish translation is also available – choose the word English in the upper right corner, and then from the dropdown menu, choose Spanish. The text of the resolution itself in English or Spanish can also be viewed.
Rose Lewis, co-founder of SKCE
Civil rights activist, founder of Salem Speaks Up, and co-founder and supporter of the Salem Keizer Coalition for Equality passed away on May 28th. We will miss her dearly.
January 17, 1934 – May 28, 2019
Details of a celebration of life for Rose and following potluck are listed below. Please RSVP if you plan to attend.
Rose’s last interview with Annalivia – in March 2019
Rose talked about racism – “It doesn’t happen all the time, but it can happen any time. And it’s devastating.”
The Summer Language and Culture Institute is in Session!
Salem Keizer teachers and staff are once again giving up some of their summer break to attend the Summer Language and Culture Institute at SKCE. This set of Spanish language lessons, workshops, classes and field trips is provided as an aid to teachers and staff in connecting with and understanding Latino students and their families. The Institute is provided over two weeks. It includes morning Spanish classes so teachers can begin to communicate with students in basic Spanish. The afternoon sessions are either at SKCE or by taking field trip. The field trips introduce teachers to Latino neighborhoods and businesses, and to immigrant classes and organizations. The on-site SKCE workshops are a combination of meeting Latino students who discuss problems they face, classes covering equity vs equality, Popular Education, and meeting Latino business people.
In the first week, Annalivia Palazzo-Angulo talks with the Institute attendees while everyone keeps cool in the shade at Northgate Park.
Phil Decker speaks with attendees at SKCE.
Some teachers get the feel of long, flowing skirts for a Mexican folk dance.
A visit to PCUN in Woodburn to talk with Ramon Ramirez, past President of PCUN
Student Attendance in Salem Keizer schools Improves and SKCE was a Part of This Improvement
Here’s the notice from Salem Keizer Public Schools
Press Release
For Immediate Release
June 21, 2019
More Than 400 Additional Students Attended School Regularly in 2018-19
Seventy-five percent of SKPS schools increased their attendance rates from the previous year
SALEM, Ore. – In Salem-Keizer Public Schools (SKPS), 49 of the district’s 65 schools grew their attendance rates since the 2017-18 school year, and more than 400 additional students are considered to be regular attenders.
At the beginning of the 2018-19 school year, SKPS launched “Every Day 24J” to raise awareness with students and families, schools, community organizations and local officials regarding chronic absenteeism. Since the start of the campaign, schools and community organizations have been collaborating to identify barriers to attendance for students across the district. The work has centered around connecting students and families to community resources, providing incentives for positive attendance trends and most importantly, building relationships with each and every student.
“We know that students succeed when they know that there is someone who believes in them,” said Superintendent Christy Perry. “Regular attendance is a key indicator of student success and habits start with our very youngest learners in pre-kindergarten. Building connections with students from day one and encouraging them to be there every day is the first step toward helping our students reach the graduation stage.”
Chronic absenteeism is defined by the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) as missing 10 percent or more of the school year. In SKPS that equates to as little as two days a month–18 days a year.
Across the district schools are working to improve their attendance rates through identifying resources for their students, community engagement and more. At Highland Elementary School, students improved their attendance rate since the 2017-18 school year by nearly nine percentage points.
“We worked to find the root cause of our attendance challenges,” said Principal Christi Cheever. “As we continued to make personal calls each day, we identified barriers for our students such as transportation and lack of housing or clothes that made it difficult for our students to be at school. We worked with the district and our community partners to wraparound and support our students’ needs, and ultimately help boost attendance.”
Through a grant with Kaiser Permanente, the Salem/Keizer Coalition for Equality is also working to develop attendance supports for families in the North Salem High feeder system. At North, students improved their attendance rate this year by 6.3 percentage points.
“The sense of urgency regarding attendance has never been stronger,” said Assistant Principal Carlos Ruiz. “Our strengths are making relationships, which are foundational in education. It doesn’t matter what your title is; we all have the capacity and power to connect with kids.”
During the summer, the district will continue to collaborate with community organizations to develop additional supports and resources for families, students and educators to continue to improve attendance.
“The improvements to our attendance rates across the district are so encouraging,” said Perry. “However, we still have a lot of work to do, and this is work that we will continue to do until we help each and every student be there every day in District 24J.”
Civil Rights Activist and SKCE Co-Founder
(photo from the Statesman Journal)
Rose Lewis gave her life to her community. She had a passion to fight racism and she never stopped. She was involved in every action and event relating to eliminating racism and was a devoted supporter of the Salem Keizer Coalition for Equality. Rose was also a peacemaker. She did everything with grace and love. She had the ear of everyone who knew her. She was a convener of our social institutions and the community, and she took advantage of every opportunity to help organize and participate with the Salem Police, City and School District. Thank you Rose, with love, all of us at the Salem Keizer Coalition for Equality, especially Annalivia, Eduardo and Javier, who were long time friends of Rose.
The following extract is from the full interview that Rose and her friend, Loraine Stuart, another co-founder of SKCE, did for the Coalition in March. Both Rose and Loraine have been strong supporters of SKCE since the very beginning.