Whitman Family Newsletter

We have a long newsletter today with lots of important information about the end of this year and some plans for next year! Please take a minute to look through every section so that you don’t miss any important news!

As always, please reach out to us with any questions!

Ms. Thompson

We learned this week that we have been allocated an additional teacher for the 24-25 school year! This means that we will have two 5th grade classes for 24-25, which will greatly reduce our 5th grade class size. This means that we will be able to use our equity staffing allocation to fund a teacher position to provide additional support for students in grades 3 and 4.

As you may remember, I was out on leave for two weeks in Feb/March of this school year. At that time I was undergoing surgery. My recovery went well, however I need to have a second surgery that could not be delayed until the summer, so I will be on leave again from June 6 - June 14.

I wish I did not have to miss the end of the school year as this is such a fun time for our community! However, I want to make sure that I am taking care of my health so that I will be able to start the school year strong next year.

Admin substitutes Pam Joyner and Lori Clark will be covering for me while I am gone, and all of the Whitman staff are here to support you as well!

Dear Whitman Community,

After over 30 years of teaching, I will be retiring at the end of this school year.

While I am excited to be embarking on this new phase of my life, I am sad to be leaving Whitman Elementary. The students, families, staff, and community have brought so much meaning and joy to my life.

I started my teaching career in 1991 in my hometown of Springfield, Oregon. I taught at the same small school for 16 years. It was a very close-knit school community.

When I moved to Portland in 2008, I did not expect to find a similarly welcoming and caring school community. But I did. Whitman Elementary became my new school home. It has been a wonderful place for me to spend the second half of my career. I will treasure the memories of my time at Whitman Elementary.

You might still see me in the hallways, though! I plan to volunteer and possibly substitute teach. Thank you for being such an important part of my teaching experience!

The LAST day of SUN for Spring Term is today May 23rd - with the exception of choir.

Choir will continue on May 29th, June 3rd and June 5th from 3-4:30pm. The Choir Field Trip is on June 9th. Permission slips are due by June 5th and were passed out to students last week.

Mrs. Nicole is out of the office next week. Please reach out to Miss Dulce at 503-290-8058 or dlopez@impactnw.org if you have any questions.

We are excited to announce that we are going to be part of the PPS Community School cohort for 24-25! This cohort of schools is working with the partner organization Communities in Schools to build a Community School model in our building. In this first year of implementation, we will be doing a community assets and needs assessment and planning based on the assets and needs families, staff, and students identify in our community. The grant that funds Community School implementation will also allow us to keep our Social Worker Nicole Costello, here at Whitman full time for 24-25! She will be taking the lead on this project, so please look for more information from her about participation in the community assets and needs assessment in the fall.

Here is a brief description of what a Community School is, from the Partnership for the Future of Learning website:

Community schools are public schools that partner with families and community organizations to provide well-rounded educational opportunities and supports for students’ school success. Like every good school, community schools must be built on a foundation of powerful teaching that includes challenging academic content and supports students’ mastery of 21st century skills and competencies. What makes community schools unique is the combination of four key pillars (or features) that together create the conditions necessary for students to thrive. The pillars are: 1) integrated student supports; 2) expanded and enriched learning time and opportunities; 3) active family and community engagement; and 4) collaborative leadership and practices…

Because each community school is a reflection of local needs, assets, and priorities, no two look exactly alike. What they do share, however, is a commitment to partnership and to rethinking—and at times rebuilding—relationships based on a strong foundation of trust and respect. School staff, under the leadership of the principal and community school director, work with families and community partners to create and then implement a shared vision of student and school success.

We are excited to announce that Whitman is going to be part of the Neighborhood School Model cohort for Special Education for 24-25! This means that we will be providing Special Education services to all students in our enrollment boundary here on our campus. The model will start with our 24-25 Kindergarten cohort, and roll up one additional grade every year.

As part of this new model, we have been allocated additional Special Education personnel, including two additional paraprofessionals. More information will be coming soon from the PPS Special Education department!

We will be discussing this transition at our next Parent Coffee on Thursday, 5/30 at 8:30am if you’d like to come hear more or ask any questions!

Portland Public Schools needs your help to create a new Schoolyard Vision Plan for your school. This initial survey aims to gain insights into the community's current use of the schoolyard, identify existing issues, and gather your thoughts on potential improvements. Whitman students and staff will also contribute their perspectives through separate surveys. We will report back what we heard from all the surveys during the Community Event. Feedback from the surveys and conversations during the Community Event will be used to develop a Draft Schoolyard Vision Plan that will be returned to students, staff, and the community for comments.

The Community Event date will be scheduled and announced soon. Stay tuned...

Thank you in advance for your dedicated time.

Portland Public Schools has begun the annual Successful Schools Survey that allows us to gather data to make informed decisions about school climate and culture.

Four segments of the PPS community will take part in the anonymous survey:

1. Students in grades 3 through 12 will cover teacher-student relationships, sense of belonging, school safety and climate, engagement, cultural awareness, and diversity and inclusion.
2. All PPS families will cover school fit, school climate, barriers to engagement, and school safety.
3. All PPS staff will cover school climate, relationships, educating students, growth mindset, staff-family relationships, and school safety.
4. All PPS building leaders will cover school climate, staff-family relationships, district leadership relationships, overall district engagement, professional learning, feedback and coaching, and staff engagement.

The Successful Schools Survey will take individuals approximately 15-30 minutes to complete and will be accessible in English, Spanish, Russian, Somali, Vietnamese and Chinese.

https://surveys.panoramaed.com/portlandor/familyspring24/surveys

FACE is a great opportunity for family members, parents, and caregivers to participate in conversations about PPS' educational program. FACE members learn about and provide input related to PPS’ Instructional Priorities and initiatives and serve as liaisons and bring information and topics back to their Site Council and school community.

FACE will meet regularly throughout the school year in the evening, with virtual and in person opportunities. Each PPS school has the opportunity to select one family member to represent their community through this form.

We recommend that this person represents your School Site Council, but they can also be a family member from the broader school community. Participation is a one year commitment and we will revisit composition and structure of the group each year.

Please see the Charter link for more information. If you have any questions, please reach out to OTL@pps.net.

Friday, May 24th from 1:30 - 3:00pm. Join us for an end-of-year Talent & Arts event! The Art show will begin at 1:30pm, Talent show starts at 1:55pm.

Saturday, June 1st at 10am. Parade starts at 10:30am! Live musical performances, queer resources, food, freebies and family fun!

*Whitman will also be hosting our own Pride event on Monday June 3rd, from 1:00-3:00pm in our school garden. If your family or your student is part of the LGBTQIA+ community and would like to attend please RSVP with the Front Office!*

Thursday, June 6th from 11:45am-12:45pm on the Whitman field! Bring your own picnic blanket!

Bring your own lunch or purchase lunch from our cafeteria!

If you'd like to order lunch from the cafeteria, please RSVP by Friday, 5/31. The cost is $5.50, payable by cash or check.

5th Grade Promotion is Friday, June 14th at 1:30pm.

If you have a 5th Grade student please join us in celebrating their achievement! Snacks and beverages to follow in the school garden.

Summer EBT is a new grocery benefits program that starts this summer. It helps families buy food for their school-aged children during summer when school is out.

Your school-aged child is eligible for Summer EBT if:

• Your household already receives SNAP, TANF or the Oregon Health Plan (Medicaid), OR
  
• Your child attends a school with the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) or School Breakfast Program (SBP), and your household income meets the requirements for free or reduced-price school meals, OR
• Your child attends a school with the NSLP or SBP and your child is:
• Enrolled in migrant programs
• Experiencing houselessness
• Participating in the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations
• ​Attending Head Start​
  

If your household receives SNAP, TANF or the Oregon Health Plan (Medicaid) this school year (2023-2024), your child will be signed up for the Summer EBT program automatically.

If you believe y​our child is eligible for Summer EBT but was not signed up automatically, you can still apply. The simple application will be available starting this summer. The application will need your household income and your child’s name, school, date of birth and address.​ ​

Whitman

ATTENDANCE TEXT LINE: (971) 225-7402‬

Heather Thompson, Principal: hethompson@pps.net

Taylor Langeliers, Principal's Secretary: tlangeliers@pps.net

Reggie Nock, School Secretary: rnock@pps.net

Nicole Costello, Social Worker: ncostello@pps.net

Jenny Locarno, Counselor: jlocarno@pps.net

Head Start

Tania Garcia, Community Agent: tgarcia@pps.net

Laura Rosales, Teacher: lrosales@pps.net

Chelsea Clyde, Teacher: cclyde@pps.net

SUN

Nicole Williams, SUN Manager: nwilliams@impactnw.org

Dulce Lopez, Family Resource Navigator: dlopez@impactnw.org (se habla español)