PORTLAND, Ore. — At some of the larger districts in Oregon, there have been concerns teachers about the high level of need students have this year. Behaviors range from inability to concentrate in class to violent outbursts.
At Arleta School, which serves students in grades K-5 in Southeast Portland, staff and parents are putting in extra effort to make school a positive experience where students feel supported.
Every morning at Arleta, a handful of educators get ready to put on a show before school. There’s a guitarist, drummer, keyboard player and a singer. Students are given the opportunity to get some energy out before starting the school day on a positive note.
Angie Morris’ role in the Arleta Teacher Band is singer. When she’s not greeting students with microphone in hand, she’s a paraeducator at the school.
“I believe our school like our staff here, has been really good at working on the climate and trying to get like a universal language and how we communicate certain expectations to the kids,” said Morris.
Like many educators, Morris has seen some difficult behavior this year from both kids in special education and general education.
“Like throwing chairs is a big behavior, or jumping on tables, or getting very upset and screaming really loud. Little behaviors would be like just not being able to sit in their seat,” Morris said.
While she said school staff could use more support staff in the building, educators at the school have done their best to support students the best they could. Staff say things like the morning band or the first grade parade help students feel seen.
KGW was there as young students marched through the school, urged on by their teachers, parents and other students during the annual first grade parade, which hadn’t happened in the same capacity since 2020.
Parents have also played a big role in helping the school climate
“It was really about centering inclusivity and creating an environment that was just safe and welcoming for them,” said Sheryl Moren, one of the many parents involved in the Parent Teacher Association at the school. Moren has two daughters who attend Arleta, in second and fourth grades.
Moren said parents volunteer every single day to help out where there is a shortage of staff. Parents have also spearheaded a number of initiatives this year, including bulletin boards at school that focus on diversity and inclusion.
“We're really trying to create a space that's really welcoming, safe, and that really honors everyone's identities,” Moren said.
Along the same lines, she said the PTA funded an expansive diversity, equity and inclusion collection of books in the library. Parents have volunteered to label them for librarians to distribute throughout the school. Additionally, Moren said the PTA won a diversity, equity and inclusion grant aimed at creating action plans to make the school more inclusive and hone in on what different groups of people feel the school needs.
“We got the feedback by interviewing families and parts of the community that are historically marginalized and don’t usually involve themselves in a PTA, so that their voices can be lifted,” said Moren.
Among the many things the PTA has done this year, it created a library of fidget toys to help students with anxiety and concentration and also provided a hygiene station with free supplies for students and families.
Interim principal Philip Rafferty agrees that all of it, from what the staff does every day to parents’ efforts, makes a difference.
“It is a collection of small things that make those big changes and where kids really feel supported and feel seen and feel taken care of,” said Rafferty.
He said everything that parents and staff are doing at the school helps to give kids a sense of community and school identity.
“They come here and they see these touchstones that are theirs right. The band plays every morning, there are grownups showing up for them doing things to show them that they matter, that they're important, that this is a celebratory place and an exciting place,” Rafferty said.
Morris said it’s important to get kids caught up on academics after so much distance learning, but efforts like the Arleta Teacher Band and parent-led initiatives are just as important right now.
“I want this place to be something that all the students are proud of and someplace where they feel really safe and welcome, genuinely,” Moren said.
This is Moren’s first time being involved in her school’s PTA. She said she the pandemic spurred her to get involved due to the vulnerabilities those in the BIPOC community face. She said she understands not all parents can be physically at school but she said she hopes parents find the time to get involved with their kids inside the home.