Welcome to spring and Happy Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AA and NHPI) Heritage Month and National Mental Health Awareness Month.

The past few months, we've been getting ready to finish out the year and preparing for the next school year. We have several exciting announcements and stories below from mentor led workshops to new evaluation initiatives. Take a read below and click on certain links for more information.

Warmly,

Jennie & GEAR UP Team

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The quote for this week to leave folks inspired is from the 2022 Parent Teacher Spring Reflection,

"Because of [mentors], I'm more connected to my students after they graduate. So, I

am seeing their college journey after they've left me, and seeing what things that I did that

helped them...”

For the month of April/May, our TOSAs and evaluation team have been facilitating Classroom Close-Ups—an opportunity for us to collect observational data that celebrates and highlights the developmental practices happening in Partner Teacher classrooms. So far, we have joined 15 classes in Jefferson, Roosevelt, and McDaniel High Schools. One of the outcomes of this work is developing a Classroom Spotlight (see below for Jefferson teacher Rob Ady) for each Partner Teacher that celebrates the strengths we observed during that time; these should be delivered to teachers sometime in early-to-mid May.

If you are a Partner Teacher and would like to participate in a Classroom Close-Up and receive a Spotlight, please contact your TOSA or our Evaluation Logistics Coordinator, Savanna Vest at svest@pps.net.

• To learn more, check out the FAQ.

The recruitment of Near Peer Mentors for the 2023-24 school year have begun. We are looking for graduating seniors who are attending college locally or participating in trades and internship programs. If you know of current college students, please reach back out to them. Our program wants to prioritize graduates from our districts to return! If you know of any students who...

• want to serve their community,
• passionate about education,
• works well with other students,
• a leader who leads in the front and/or back,
• is willing to share their story and
• can be a caring young adult in someone's life...

Then have them apply with the steps below:

1. They need a resume and cover letter.
2. Google PPS Careers.
3. Search up job ID#26096.
4. Create an application.
5. Apply!

• We can help any students apply on the online portal, just email Jennie Cha jcha@pps.net or Simone Frison sifrison@pps.net.

Interviews are happening until May 26th so applicants have until May 19th to apply! You don't want students to miss out on this opportunity to engage in meaningful work to impact our future students. Let's continue to GROW OUR OWN!

Our program is looking to tap into new teachers who are committed to:

• Integrate NEAR PEER MENTORS as Community Insiders

• Partner with FAMILIES as Experts on their Child

• Engage YOUTH VOICE as Guides for Instruction

• Utilize CLASSROOM DATA as a Tool for Learning

If this sounds like you or you know of teachers who would be interested, take a look at the Becoming a Partner Teacher slideshow, complete the Interest Survey and reach out to our TOSAs Steve Smith ssmith2@pps.net, Shannon Rooney srooney@pps.net and Noel Tamez ntamez@pps.net.

If you are a current Partner Teacher this year, you should complete the Interest Form so we can follow up with you.

This spring, our mentor program was able to do a slow launch of placing Near Peer Mentors at the Alliance @ Meek Campus. We hired two amazing mentors; Alex French and Sophie Minnick (who graduated from Alliance) and partnered with two wonderful teachers Ursula Loret de Mola and Kyle Hunter.

We are excited to see this continued partnership throughout the end of this school year and hoping to continue having mentors at additional alternative high schools.

Earlier this week, mentor Alex facilitated a workshop on "Knowing and Sharing Yourself in a Cover Letter" with students in Ms. Loret de Mola's Orientation class at Alliance. Alex provided individualized packet of resources for students to use as they identified their values, brainstormed what to share about themselves in a way that would tell their story in a meaningful way. They also selected 1-2 current job postings and then worked on their cover letters and personal statements.

• Check out her slideshow and workshop agenda if you're interested in hosting it with students!

Mentor McKahan walked through a day in his life as a PSU student with his freshmen Algebra students. As McKahan shared his story, student's ears perked up when they realized that at PSU, buying a parking permit does not actually guarantee you a parking space. He recommends using public transportation, a preferred method for himself as he takes classes twice a week.

McKahan also shared insights on how he studies while on campus (by using quiet floors in the school library) and some expectations that university professors have for students. Despite being freshmen, the students were curious and had a lot of opinions to share.

• Check out his slideshow and workshop agenda!

Mentor Sam facilitated a workshop in their AVID classrooms at Grant HS with their partner teacher Ms. Wolfer where students learned how to write professionally to their teachers via email. Sam recognized this as a useful skill for students to begin practicing how to advocate for themselves, to communicate with teachers on their needs or address concerns.

Throughout the year, we have provided professional development to our near peer mentors to grow their skillset and expand their toolkit. Our final training is on Effective Communication where mentors participated in several activities to explore the ways in which they communicate.

The first activity prompted mentors to complete a personality test on Which Fruit Are You? and reflected on the qualities they exhibit when engaging with others and how to better communicate with those they differ from. Then mentors looked deeper into the four communication styles: passive, passive aggressive, aggressive and assertive. Their reflection included ways they can be more assertive, where do they find themselves communicating more passively and when do they find themselves communicating aggressively. Our hope is that mentors can carry their learning into their professional and personal lives as communication is essential in all aspects of our lives.

Partner Teachers - thank you for participating in our program's first Classroom Close-Up to share and celebrate your classrooms! If you are interested in learning more, check out the spotlight for one of the classrooms above or click here for FAQ.

• Rob Ady
• Darshanpreet Gill
• Abby Pasion
• James Duckwell

Evaluation Team (Jessaca, Savanna, Wendy and Jah) - our evaluation team has been super active in ongoing projects left and right and we can't appreciate them enough as our program continues to refine, document and celebrate the wonderful things happening in classrooms.

Principal Adam Skyles @ McDaniel - thank you for your active support and allyship in the implementation of GEAR UP practices at McDaniel!

New Community Researcher James "Jah" Wooten! Jah joined us last year as a mentor at Jefferson where he graduated from. This year, he's continuing on in an elevated role as a Community Researcher. We're so grateful that he's serving his community in a new capacity!

Monday, April 24-May 26 - Near Peer Mentors Interviews

Friday, April 28 - Sam's Birthday 🎂

Friday, April 28 - Sam Workshop: Professionally Communicating Workshop @ Grant

Monday, May 1 - Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AA and NHPI) Heritage Month

Monday, May 1-31 - Student Survey Administration

Wednesday, May 3 - Litzy's Financial Education: Credit Cards Workshop @ Lincoln - 1st period

Friday, May 5 - Diane's Birthday 🎂

Wednesday, May 10 - Jonathan & Jovanni's Oregon College with Engineering Programs Workshop @ Roosevelt - 4th period

Thursday, May 11 - Britney's Birthday 🎂

Friday, May 12 - Unity Fest @ Roosevelt High School (evenings)

Wednesday, May 17 - Rakiyah's Birthday

Thursday, May 18 - OSU Field Trip w/ Roosevelt Psychology Students (Abby Pasion's Class)

Wednesday, May 24 - Near Peer Mentor Training Reflection @ McMenamins Kennedy School (9-3pm)

Friday, May 26 - OMSI Field Trip w/ Jefferson Biology/Chemistry Students (Rob Ady's Class)

Monday, May 29 - Memorial Day (NO WORK/SCHOOL)

Thursday, June 1 - McKahan's Birthday 🎂 & First Day of LBGTQ+ Pride Month

Friday, June 2 - Dat's Birthday 🎂

Tuesday, June 6 - Community Meaning Making Spring Event 6-8pm

Wednesday, June 14 - Last day of school 2022-23

Monday & Tuesday, June 19-20 - Near Peer Mentor New Hire Orientation @ PEC

Monday-Friday, June 26-30 - Community of Practice Fellowship @ Taborspace (TBD)

All Mentors

NPM Public Folder 2022-23

NPM Policy & Procedure Manual

***General Resources***

• Classroom Close UP FAQ
• Becoming a Partner Teacher & Interest Survey
• What Fruit Are You? Personality Test
• Near Peer Mentor Recruitment Slides
• Near Peer Mentor Flyer
• GEAR UP Near Peer Mentor Program Evaluation 2021-22 Report
• Avoiding Racial Equity Detours
• The Literature: Expectation of Self
• Essential Understanding of Native Americans in Oregon

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Picture Credits:

1. Near Peer Mentor group with IYS Facilitator Lena Fox (JP)
2. Classroom Spotlight poster (JW)
3. Near Peer Mentor recruitment flyer (JC)
4. Near Peer Mentor activities graphics (JC)
5. Join the Movement Graphic - NPM photos (JC)
6. Alliance HS @ Meek Campus (Alliance webpage)
7. Mentor Alex (AF)
8. Mentor McKahan while facilitating his workshop (JC)
9. Mentor Sam (JC)
10. Effective Communication poster (JC)
11. Photo of mentors standing in a circle with facilitator Lena (JC)
12. Mentor Jovanni standing in circle (JC)
13. Mentor Jonathan T and mentor Song during activity (JC)
14. GEAR UP Staff photo @ Jim and Patty's (N/A)

Jennie Cha (she/her)

Program Supervisor | PPS | HS Academics

Monday Office Hours 1-2pm: meeting link

Thursday Office Hours 11-12pm: meeting link

AmeriCorps Members

• Simone Frison | sifrison@pps.net
• Maria Felix-Pedro | mafelixpedro@pps.net

Email: jcha@pps.net
Website: https://www.pps.net/Page/14862
Location: 501 North Dixon Street, Portland, OR, USA
Phone: 971-678-9577
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100009266612916
Twitter: @gearuppps