Sept. 2024: The youth development program, housed at MacLaren Youth Correctional Facility in Woodburn, teaches its participants specific skills and broader life lessons, all while finding homes for dogs in need. Read the story here. Listen on NPR here.
Author Archives: Natalie Pate
A Tale of Three Cities: The chance at local option levies can affect school districts across Oregon in drastically different ways
May 2024 Election: Portland Public Schools wants to renew a local tax that already helps pay for hundreds of teachers. Bend-La Pine wants to start a new levy to offset budget cuts. But in Salem-Keizer, option levies aren’t really an option at all. Read and listen here.
May 2024 Election: Voters to decide the future of Gervais School District
The Gervais school board has said they are prepared to close the entire district if a proposed $28 million bond to fix school buildings fails. Spoiler alert: voters passed the bond. Read and listen to the backstory here.
Lawsuit involving Portland students highlights statewide questions around child sex abuse
Oregon wants to change the way it handles child abuse investigations and how it responds to child perpetrators. But first, it has to figure out how. Read the full story and listen to a related interview here.
Students walk out, demand action on Gaza from Portland Public Schools
March 2024: Students want the district to release a statement calling for a ceasefire, divest from financial ties benefitting Israel and implement Palestine genocide education. Read the full story here.
Class size, workload among sticking points as Salem-Keizer district, union submit ‘best and final’ offers
Feb. 2024: If negotiations reach the point of a strike, it likely won’t happen until early April. Read the full story here.
How to solve Oregon’s child care crunch
Feb. 2024: Child care is expensive and often hard to find. Providers are struggling with staffing shortages and limited space. But many are pushing for solutions that could help. Read the full in-depth enterprise here. OPB Evergreen podcast episode interviewing Natalie about this will be available in April 2024.
Albina Vision Trust proposes buying Portland school district building, moving PPS headquarters downtown
Jan. 2024: The nonprofit argues it would be a mutually beneficial partnership and that it would bolster the historically Black neighborhood of Albina. Read the full story here.
What did Portland teachers get from their strike?
Nov. 2023: Teachers will be paid more over the next three years but not as much as they originally wanted. The contract also includes more overload pay for larger classes. Read the full FAQ here.
Here’s what’s happening with other unionized Portland schools workers during teachers strike
Nov. 2023: Custodians and nutrition employees in Portland Public Schools are still cleaning buildings and feeding kids during the strike, while their own contract negotiations linger. Read the full story here.
Natalie Pate 