E3: Engage, Empower, Elevate

As we close a tumultuous first half of the year and move into the new semester, we seek to focus our energy on the heartbeat of our work -- the connections between families, students, and educators. Through intentional, mindful collaboration and authentic engagement, we aspire to always act with integrity and alignment to our shared vision. The stories below reflect our core values and share snapshots of what bring us to work every day, ready to create positive change, moment by moment. Whether nurturing our teachers through opportunities to connect personally across schools, exciting our students with experiences outside the classroom, or inviting our families to share their expertise, we remain committed to challenging practices that limit our ability to relate as human beings, and replacing them with strategies that recognize and build our collective humanity. We remain indebted to our collaborators, who keep us motivated and inspired every day.

~ Angela Nusom,

GEAR UP Project Director

Assistant Director of College & Career Readiness

The GEAR UP TOSA/Instructional Coaches establish and nurture authentic partnerships with self-selected Partner Teachers in the high schools to create opportunities for collaborative learning, professional growth, and the infusion of culturally sustaining pedagogy into the classroom.

We believe that teachers are the lifeblood of every educational institution. Over the last few months they have fought to bring additional resources to their classrooms and schools, better safety conditions in buildings, and salaries that keep pace with inflation. Although challenging from every perspective, during the strike teachers spent their time building relationships and solidarity between each other and across schools in order to improve conditions for everyone. They engaged with students, families, and supportive community members to raise visibility to their needs and those of their schools. They advocated for what they collectively believed was right and in the best interest of students. As teachers, students, and staff returned to schools, we wanted to provide an opportunity to engage, nurture, and celebrate the work of our Partner Teachers, while creating a space for them to share their feelings, experiences, and hopes moving forward.

On a Saturday before winter break, we gathered our Partner Teachers, Near Peer Mentors and program staff at Louiza House in the historic Albina neighborhood for a day of community-building, storytelling, and strategizing how to deeply engage students post-strike, and planning for the winter and spring. Our time together began with a recorded spoken word poem written by 11th grade student Janiya Thompson, who had agreed to share her powerful, creative voice with attending teachers. Her words brought tears to many of our eyes and laid the groundwork for authentic connection. See her powerful poem and photo below. Partner Teachers commented that they appreciated the creation of a restorative space and the opportunity to continue connecting with each other in a low-pressure, highly relational structure. Our team left feeling aligned with our core values, and renewed in our commitment to continue offering spaces for teachers to come together within and across schools. During January, the GEAR UP team will host end of semester luncheons for all collaborators to highlight and celebrate their work together, and beginning in February will offer a monthly virtual or in-person Community of Practice for the collective team.

Teacher Love

I want to be as strong as a teacher

To have the energy to see the same kids over and over

To get ignored, but still teach with my heart

To set my life aside and give my all

To wake up early, and sleep late

Yet still come back every day

To know I am a huge part

In setting up generational life

I wish I was a teacher type of strong

I want to be as brave as a teacher

To get a batch of kids each year

Stand in the front of a class

And constantly be seen

Constantly be heard

To give input at meetings

Set up school events

To put my job on the line to witness

A system improve

Not just for me, but for every kid I teach

For even with livelihood on the line

I’ll show up at the flip of a dime

I wish I was a teacher type of brave

I want to have the fight of a teacher

To not accept student disrespect

To strike early every morning

To protest till the afternoon

To show up half sick

Fully tired

And completely drained

Still having papers to grade

Knowing I will have to repeat the cycle

The next day

To know you and your students deserve better

And constantly work for it

I wish I had a teacher type of fight

Mostly I want the love of a teacher

To have the heart to treat random kids as my own

To work to help students make academic comebacks

To stay afterschool to check in with teens

To bring snacks and treats

Setup cozy nooks and corners

To work hard without so much as recognition

Or a complement

To never know how amazing you are,

Yet still respect every student around you

Oh how I wish I had that teacher type of love

Through rain or shine

Through hell or high water

I have seen teachers show strength

Show bravery

Show fight

But most importantly show love

I could never do what you do

So know all my respect and love goes to you

Never acknowledged and underappreciated as such

Know you Teachers mean so much!

Teacher Love

Our ambitious Near Peer Mentors at Jefferson High School (Simone Jackson, Suha Alam, and Sade Robinson), who moonlight as Interns in their Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) program, take educator capacity building seriously. Recognizing the emotional impact of union negotiations on all levels of the school district and highlighting the need for restorative and healing practices, they offered to share a set of tools and facilitate a community care activity with the High School Academics central office team. These three aspiring social workers first outlined the environmental conditions that can break trust, challenge collaborative relationships, and disrupt cohesion within education, and then asked district leaders to reflect upon their own experiences over the last few months, while also considering the daily lives of teachers and students in the classroom. During this time, participants quietly weighed their own levels of burnout, stress, and available coping strategies. In small groups they discussed how to take care of themselves and each other, while exploring ways to bring these community care practices into their teams. A quiet, relational energy filled the room as different programs within the department connected personally, re-centered around their collective values, and engaged in a creative activity. Each team developed a vision board that reflected their shared connections, hopes, and goals for the year. You can see some of the teams below with their program vision board.

As we look toward the new semester, TOSAs are gearing up to support Partner Teachers explore student voice data and collaborate with Near Peer Mentors to effectively integrate the ideas and perspectives into instruction and the classroom environment. Re-launching in February, teachers will begin utilizing the Learning Environment Dashboard, an interactive tool of compiled data from the survey; the Learning Environment Profile, a snapshot of compiled student, teacher, and mentor perspective and observations of the classroom; Classroom Close-Ups, an observation and celebration of developmental practices in the classroom; and Developmental Pulse-Checks, a brief, facilitated focus group with 3-5 students on topics related to discoveries in the survey data. Each of these data practices is engaging, interactive, and designed to ignite conversation and collaboration between teachers, mentors, and teachers for the improvement of the classroom environment.

As TOSAs launch into monthly 1:1 coaching sessions with Partner Teachers they are eager to activate Parent Teacher Home Visits (PTHV) and are challenging every teacher to conduct at least one each month. Developing meaningful, collaborative relationships with our families is the cornerstone of our program and we have a variety of supports available for teachers who are ready to venture into the community and meet their families. At the close of each visit, the teacher and family have the opportunity to share their reflections on the experience. Our goal for the end of the 2023-24 school year is to compile these data into a comprehensive, initial analysis on the impacts of this practice for both, adding another layer of family data to deepen our understanding.

Each year, Near Peer Mentors contribute to our learning about how to cultivate classrooms that engage and empower students, build critical thinking skills, and enrich academic learning. In the fall and spring they complete a survey with questions about their experience as mentors and the application of Developmental Practices in classrooms. With their feedback we adjust programming, training, and most importantly, elicit dialogue between students, teachers, and mentors about how they can collectively strengthen the learning environment in classrooms. Below you will see a few qualitative excerpts from their reflections, and our other interactive data tools (like the Learning Environment Profile) also reflect their voices combined with their students and Partner Teachers.

Note: The College Journey Framework mentioned in the second survey question is a conceptual tool devised by students and interns at Roosevelt High School back in 2013. This youth-developed framework is the foundation of our work with students in classrooms, as it focuses on the multi-dimensional aspects of students lives in relationship to their educational and career futures.

As a new Partner Teacher in the program this year, working with Near Peer Mentor Suha Alam, Nathan Commodore embodies the practices we seek to see in all classrooms. He has a routine where he greets students at the door as they arrive, every day for every class. You can tell he has a close rapport with his students because of the way they respond, usually smiling and eager to share updates about their lives. If a student is having a bad day, he lets them know he cares by checking in with them and figuring out a plan of support together. He is the type of teacher students and staff seek out when they want to be in community with others, making his classroom a busy space where the conversations are rich and people feel free to be themselves!

In his Ethnic Studies class, Commodore encourages students to self-reflect, ask the hard questions, and share any connections they’ve made between what they’re learning and life outside of school. Because he has taken the time to do the relationship work with students, the level of engagement and participation is high. Students will often share personal experiences and provide feedback to one another in a caring and respectful manner. Commodore and the Near Peer Mentors also actively participate in class activities/discussions, leading to more opportunities for building trust and affirming to students that what they're doing is important and valued.

The GEAR UP team wishes him well on his new professional adventure, and will forever consider him part of our team in spirit!

Photo above of Nathan Commodore and his Near Peer Mentor Suha Alam twinning for the day.

Near Peer Mentors (NPM) work closely with Partner Teachers to infuse classrooms with opportunities to think about college and career readiness through a holistic lens -- attending to the need for exposure to options and information, while also inviting students to explore and discuss the social, emotional, familial, and political aspects of their journey through education and into their future life. During their hours in the classroom, NPM's provide a range of supports to build capacity of students and teachers, including:

• Classroom Enrichment

• Financial Literacy & Future Planning

• Exploratory Learning Opportunities

• Personalized College Visits

• Classroom Planning with Partner Teacher

• February 8th - Professional Communication to Teachers Workshop for Students (Manar, Ida B. Wells HS)
• February 9th - Guest Speaker: Jerry Hunter, Hands of Wonder (HOW) garden program & employment coordinator (Sade, Jefferson HS)

Over several years of PTHV practice we have asked educators to reflect on their experience after each visit, and at the end of last year we interviewed a group of teachers who actively visit their families. These insights offer valuable information about the potential of PTHV to build stronger relationships, transform the classroom environment, and increase collaboration between home and school. We are excited to take this work a step further by asking families to reflect upon their experiences as well. In February, we will launch a brief post-visit digital survey for all families who receive a visit. This will help us develop a deeper understanding of the impact on both teachers and families. We know by experience and research that when students see their caregivers have a strong relationship and open communication with their teacher, it paves the way for them to feel more connected as well. Uplifting the voices of our community is another central focus of our work in PTHV. If you are a parent or educator in the district and you want to be involved in PTHV or learn more please reach out to Mary Nesmith at mnesmith@pps.net.

On any given day, one might find our Parent Organizers Jameelah Rasheed (also an RHS parent) and Jamie Sanic-Paz leading a leadership session with a group of families, moving from neighborhood to neighborhood connecting with families in their home communities, or visiting schools to partner with our TOSAs to support teacher relationships with parents. As their work with families advances into winter and spring, we look forward to hearing more from our families, seeing more of them in our schools, and elevating their voices as we seek to continuously improve our work with their children. Next upon the docket is a workshop to sharpen parent skills and knowledge about the college process, with a focus on financial aid and planning. As our seniors wind down the school year, supporting families with the transition is a key aspect of our work. See the linked flyer for details on the next workshop.

• January 2024 | Release Learning Environment Dashboard (compiled Fall Student Voice Survey)
• February 2024 | Release Learning Environment Profile (compiled student, NPM, teacher data)
• February-May 2024 | Ongoing dates varied and scheduled by TOSAs and teachers
• Conduct Classroom Close-Ups
• Launch Developmental Practices Pulse-Checks
• Facilitate Student Voice Data Lesson Plans in Classrooms
• April 2024 | Spring Surveys
• Near Peer Mentor & Partner Teacher Surveys (April 8-30)
• Student Voice Survey (April 15-May 3)
• May 2024 | Paired Partner Teacher & Near Peer Mentor Interviews Conducted
• June | Data Release
• Learning Environment Dashboard (compiled Spring Student Voice Survey)
• Learning Environment Profile (compiled spring student, NPM, teacher data)

As a GEAR UP community, we recognize that our work evolves with the wisdom, skills, passions, and brain trust of every person who has ever been on our team. We celebrate their advancement into different roles in the district, and consider them always part of our team as they weave our shared beliefs, practices and learning into new spaces. Although we cannot feature every person who was once a staff member, we are highlighting those who continue the work in PPS.

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Email: ppsgearup@pps.net