Happy Holidays from the Education Policy Hotlist
Special Edition for December 2020
There is one thing we all have in common going into this holiday season: we are ready to move beyond the difficulties we experienced in 2020. While the New Year provides us with a collective shift into renewed planning, goals, and personal growth, a friend reminded me today that when the clock strikes midnight in a couple of weeks the difficulties will not disappear. Our communities will still be experiencing the health, economic, and social impacts of the pandemic well into 2021 and beyond.
Across the country I’ve witnessed growing excitement and hopefulness with the COVID-19 vaccines being distributed. I am welcoming this optimism, but balancing that mindset with resoluteness. With that in mind I am urging you to do two things today:
SHARE YOUR ADDRESS FOR A NEW YEARS’ MESSAGE
In the spirit of seeking resolve I would love to send you all a warm message to begin the new year (including some classic holiday family photos that really speak to the spirit of 2020, like the one below). Please share your mailing information by completing this form.
MAKE A CONTRIBUTION TO LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS
With social distancing many of us are missing our traditional holiday gatherings where we celebrate our community’s strengths, growth, and successes. In lieu of these get togethers it is a perfect time for us to contribute to our local organizations who are central to mitigating the impact of the pandemic on social services. If you’d like to support our Portland community take a look at the WillametteWeek Give Guide that outlines businesses by service area and those who are owned by Black and Indigenous community members. Here are some who I work with directly:
Portland Backpack | BIPOC Lead Organization
Open School | BIPOC Lead Organization
KairosPDX | BIPOC Lead Organization
Friends of the Children | BIPOC Lead Organization
P:EAR | Serving Homeless Youth
If you have other suggestions for businesses in your local areas feel free to email me at christinemtpitts@gmail.com and I would love to give back to your community, too.
WISHING YOU A HEALTHY AND RESTFUL HOLIDAY SEASON!
Dr. Christine M. T. Pitts serves as Manager of Research and Evaluation at Portland Public Schools. As an Oregonian, raised by a multicultural family of educators, she brings a decade of progressive strategic leadership experience, a transformative vision, and analytic skill to crafting state education policy. An educator and researcher by training, she has conducted legislation, governance, and policy analyses on a wide array of education issues using social network analysis and mixed methods research. In addition, Dr. Pitts is a facilitative leader who deeply understands and co-constructs local and national partnerships and convening across stakeholder groups. Dr. Pitts currently coordinates between state and national policy leaders to investigate and advocate for policies that prioritize equity in education. Christine lives with her husband and four children in Portland, Oregon. Follow her on Twitter @cmtpitts.