PORTLAND, Ore. -- A Portland Public Schools middle school teacher who was placed on leave after he led hundreds of students on an off-campus walkout should not be fired, the district's chief human resources officer said on Tuesday.
On Feb. 9, Chris Riser, who teaches at Ockley Green Middle School, led at least 300 students in an unauthorized, two-hour, three-mile roundtrip walk off campus.
The demonstration was a protest against the death of 17-year-old Quanice Hayes, an armed robbery suspect shot and killed by Portland police in February 2017.
Riser was placed on leave on March 23 after an investigation by the district.
"Our review concludes that students were subjected to the risk of potentially severe harm because of unauthorized actions that were not in keeping with our obligation to ensure students' safety at all times," read a letter school administrators sent home to parents in March.
In the letter to parents, Ockley Green Principal Paula McCullough and Senior Director Karl Logan wrote the walkout happened “despite instructions by school administrators to return students to their respective classrooms.”
The letter continued “Portland Public Schools supports our students’ rights to exercise free speech, to become involved in civic events, and to engage in political and social activism. We have, however, zero tolerance for our students being placed in unsafe conditions. This situation created an unacceptable level of risk to our students.”
However, after receiving further input from school and community leaders who supported Riser's actions, PPS chief human resources officer Kylie Rogers said she no longer believes firing Riser is the right decision.
"In ongoing conversations with Ockley Green leadership, and in response to the school community’s feedback to the district, I now have a broad understanding of the historical failure of the district to consistently support the Ockley Green community," Rogers said in a news release on Tuesday. "Since we cannot be certain of the role that our systemic failings played in this incident, I no longer believe that termination is an appropriate recommendation."
She said Riser was made aware of the district's decision Tuesday afternoon.
"As we have always said, our concern about the February 9 walkout was solely over student safety. As a district, we remain deeply committed to racial equity, and we support our students’ and employees’ right to free speech," Rogers said.
Some parents, including Denice McMillin, supported Riser’s decision to lead the walkout.
“He is community-driven, he brings the staff together,” said McMillin. “The children adore him, they listen to him.”
McMillin said her 13-year-old daughter was among the students who walked out with Riser.
McMillin took cell phone video as Riser led the students, ages 11 to 14, on the walk to the Portland Police Bureau's North Precinct. Once there, students participated in a “die-in” in the intersection on Northeast Killingsworth Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
“This resulted in a traffic back-up, and at one point the students had to move out of the way of an ambulance that crossed through the intersection,” the letter to parents read. “After leaving the intersection, students were instructed to block traffic by walking in the street.”
McMillin said news of the “die-in” did not upset her.
“I should be like, ‘My child laid in the middle of MLK and Killingsworth?' But I don't have any concerns about it,” she said.
McMillin helped start a petition to keep Riser from being fired. A protest was held outside the school Monday morning and supporters gathered outside PPS offices on Tuesday.
