Taye Spears (she/her)
Reach out to me if:
- You have questions about our district's Equity Plan.
Fun Fact: One of my biggest comforts is a bowl of cream of wheat at the end of the day.
Andreina Velasco (she/her/ella)
Reach out to me if:
- You're interested in learning more about the Grow Your Own Program.
- You want more information about our District Staff of Color Affinity Group.
Fun Fact: I help park cars by the Moda Center, so hit me up if you're going to a concert or Blazers Game :)
Gabie Mbenza-Ngoma (she/her)
Reach out to me if:
- You're looking for equity support.
- You want more information about our District LGBTQ+ Affinity Group
Fun Fact: Knitting and musical theatre are my two biggest hobbies! If you're into either of these things, I would love to talk with you about it :)
Event - Portland Latin American Film Festival
What: "The Portland Latin American Film Festival (PDXLAFF) serves the community as a non-profit cultural promoter under the guidance of the Hollywood Theatre. We are dedicated to showcasing perspectives of Latin American culture through an exploration of Latin film and increasing the visibility of Latin American cinema locally. PDXLAFF presents films with universal appeal that can be enjoyed by native Spanish, Portuguese, and English speakers, and other lovers of the Latin culture."
Where: Hollywood Theatre
When: September 25th - November 24th
The GYO program was in full swing this summer, building pathways for our brilliant David Douglas students to become our future educators! In partnership with Multnomah Educators Rising, the GYO program hired an unprecedented 18 interns to work in our district elementary, middle, and high school summer programs. The GYO Summer Internship aims to SUPPORT and INSPIRE David Douglas high school graduates and rising seniors to join the educator workforce through a combination of coursework, on the job experience, mentorship and community support.
All GYO Summer Interns were David Douglas students who identified as BIPOC; the majority of them were also multilingual. Each intern worked alongside a cooperating teacher, who guided them to provide academic support and lead enrichment activities for summer school students. Interns appreciated the mentorship they received from experienced educators and were able to add their cooperating teachers as references to their resumes. In exciting news, 4 summer interns have accepted full-time positions as instructional assistants in David Douglas schools and are starting their associates program at PCC, with the long-term goal of transferring to teacher preparation programs. Meet our amazing 2024 GYO Summer Interns here.
If you are or you know a David Douglas student, family, or community member who is interested in pursuing a career in education, please contact Andreina Velasco (andreina_velasco@ddsd40.org), Grow Your Own Pathway Navigator.
Open Houses/ Back to School Nights
What a wonderful start to the year it has been. We have had the opportunity of being at every open house that has happened this year so far. Thank you all for the dedication and excitement that you have brought to the beginning of the year.
At open houses, our team has been tabling for both Grow Your Own and the Equity Department. The Equity Specialists have been asking families and students to indicate what values they hope that their schools will have. Each person was given three stickers and they had a choice of the following values: Friendliness, Joy, Safety, Academic Challenge, Creativity, Resourceful, Relationship Building, Supportive Community, and Clear Communication. Moving forward, this data can be used by equity teams to see what students and families value about school and what action steps they can take to ensure these values are being upheld.
