A little over 30 years ago, a Madison High School student named Joseph Janson had a simple wish. He wanted to go to a dance. But nothing was simple for Joseph, who was born with Duchenne's Muscular Dystrophy and was confined to a wheelchair. 

He confided his wish to Tony Nitz, who at that time was an educational assistant at Madison (now Leodis V. McDaniel High School). Tony had been working one-on-one with Joseph for months and he immediately went about making the young man’s dream come true.

“The truth is, I would have done anything for Joseph,” Nitz said. “He was a unique person, and we had a very special bond.”

Madi Bourdon’s first book practically wrote itself. 

According to the Glencoe Elementary School counselor and Gender Sexuality Alliance (GSA) coordinator, it only took them an hour and a half to finish A Kid’s Book About Chosen Family, which came out this March with A Kid’s Co. publishing.

For the past three years, Alondra Nieves Barajas has been both student and teacher.

Most days, the senior from Roosevelt High School attends class, does her homework, and spends time with her friends just like any other 18-year-old. But on Wednesday nights, you can find her at the front desk, teaching adults – often much older than herself – the ins and outs of the United States naturalization test.

When Aaron Presberg first got the email from the White House, he thought it was some sort of prank. 

Then he shared the message with a few colleagues who assured him that it was no joke, and the exciting reality that he had been invited to Washington, D.C. to present at the White House’s first-ever Summit for Sustainable and Healthy K–12 School Buildings and Grounds started to sink in.

Hello Arleta Families,

Our staff is so filled up from all the sweetness and care last week! Here are some notes of appreciation for our community.

A simultaneous request! Everything you can do to get your child to school right before 8 (so they’re in class ready to start the school day by the 8:00 bell) and to help your child stay focused on school and learning is greatly appreciated! Across the grades, children get a little unsettled this time of year with looming changes to their schedules and circumstances, whether they’re changes that are looked forward to, changes there is some anxiety around, and/or everywhere in-between.

I hope as many families as possible are able to miss or make it quickly through the viruses going around. We’re all washing hands a lot but we’ve had lots of staff and student illness the past few weeks. Stay healthy!

For any absences that you can possibly avoid or postpone (appointments, vacation days etc.) -- I’ve heard a few teacher teams talking about the impact of student absences and tardies recently. When one or more students miss the concepts taught, the partner work begun or concluded, the work time on assignments, or even just when students come in late, finding a way to keep things going for students who were present and simultaneously catching students up is quite challenging. Everything you can do to have students here every day on time is so appreciated.

A reminder our Site Council self-nomination for parents and caregivers is open though Tuesday, May 28. Here is the link, and here is the link to the Dolphin Digest with more on Site Councils.

Have a great weekend!

Lisa

Hello Arleta Families,

We had an adorable First Grade Parade today! Thank you to our entire community including our First Graders, their creative, organized, committed teachers, the Kellogg Band and of course, the Rosarians! It was so much fun seeing our whole community out together celebrating children and families… the theme of the floats!

Seeking new or continued Arleta Site Council membership! Arleta Site Council election processes occur every two years. Please Indicate your interest here-- Parent/Caregiver Self Nomination Form

What is a Site Council?

School Site councils are made up of teachers, parents, non-certified staff, administrators and community members. There are no prerequisites! We’re looking for parents and community members who want to be part of improving the Arleta community for the benefit of our children, with an emphasis on student learning. Members actively participate by offering thoughts and opinions, volunteering on action items or even facilitating or co-facilitating.

Who are the members of a Site Council and when does it meet?

Our goal is a site council representative and inclusive of the diversity within our school community. Meetings are once/month: this year we met online from 5:30-6:30 the 1st Wednesday. We'll set meeting times and days with our new and/or whichever returning members who will make up our next Site Council membership.

What will our Arleta Site Council do?

Utilizing a process called “Improvement Science '' we identify a high leverage problem, develop an action plan, measure the impact of our action, then either expand the action, or revise it based on whether it leads to improvement. We identified Arleta’s school-wide goal of literacy opportunity gap, specifically interrupting barriers to strong reading achievement outcomes for our Historically Underserved students. We decided to support a love of reading and the joy of stories and reading to support increased literacy. We enacted our community-wide “Special Stories” project which you hopefully have been able to enjoy at school; if not, come take a look! Our next step is measuring and deciding whether to extend or enhance the project, or to adjust it.

Warmly,

Lisa

Hello Arleta Families,

A reminder there IS school this Monday, due to our new calendar changes.

This week, an outdoor learning highlight for you from Ms. Hedlund, and Arleta Summer Programming information.

Our kindergarten team at Arleta is dedicated to making learning truly fun! This short video shows one way we do that, by authentically engaging our youngest learners' minds and bodies. Take a look: Outdoor Play at Arleta.

Summer Acceleration Academy, which is a summer learning program offered by PPS staff and SUN or other partner organizations, has decided to use Arleta as a summer site this summer. Arleta students who qualify, as well as students from Woodstock, Marysville and Lent who qualify, are receiving invitations via email this past week (Historically Underserved students have priority registration this week) and next week. Students who qualify are K-2 students who are below grade level in word recognition and phonics according to their MAP (Measure of Academic Progress) winter Fluency Assessment and 3-5 students between the 1st and 40th percentile on comprehension score according to their winter MAP Growth assessment. Enrollment will be opened up to SAA runs July 1st - August 1st.

The reason Arleta was chosen is that the other three school locations are closed for construction and/or repair this summer. Unfortunately, because of the lack of space, SUN will not be able to offer summer programming. Ms. Raina and I tried to find a way for both programs to be offered concurrently because we know how much our families and students love SUN Summer Camps. We are really sorry. We do hope families of students who qualify for SAA will take advantage of it, because Ms. Raina and Ms. Shea will be supporting that program, and it is a great opportunity for mastery of unfinished learning.

Other options: here is a link for all other summer programming being offered through Portland Parks and Rec from 6/26 – 8/17. Registration opens 5/13 and will more than likely fill up. Please save 5/13/2024 in your calendar!

Lisa

Dear Arleta Community,

We had such a wonderful All School Assembly today! The purposes were to celebrate our neurodivergent community at Arleta, and simultaneously to create a neurodivergent affirming community at Arleta. It was emceed by two 4th grade leaders, Hazel and Vivi, and included the voices and perspectives of our staff, interviewed by students Reid and Ethan, and included unique, meaningful and helpful contributions and insights from many of our students. Getting to listen to and experience our own student’s gifts and perspectives as they shared and led our growth as a community was so special and touching. And, the leadership and contributions of our joint parent and staff planning team and our staff contributors was also incredibly meaningful and powerful. The assembly was videotaped (thank you!) and will be posted on our Uniquely PTA website sometime in the coming weeks!

Yesterday our School Climate Team reviewed staff, student and community feedback and has chosen Caring School Community as our Social Emotional Learning resource for next year and going forward. The reason we chose CSC is because our intention is to build a sense of belonging in our Arleta Community. By prioritizing a curriculum with a clear, cohesive scope and sequence we aim to cultivate a supportive atmosphere that grows from grade to grade. This approach supports students as they grow to feel valued, understood, and empowered to thrive academically, socially, and emotionally. The structure of Caring School Community supports our need for a Tier 1 (whole school) system that nurtures essential life skills such as conflict resolution, communication, building relationships across grade levels (cross-age buddies), emotional regulation, teamwork and collaboration. Embracing the Caring School Community curriculum reflects our commitment to cultivating well-rounded individuals who feel they are an essential part of our community and are equipped with the empathy and understanding necessary to contribute positively to our community.

Specific components of Caring School Community that made us choose it:

• Connection to Zones of Regulation, a tool we already use
• Connection to our Peace Path
• Activities for cross-age buddies
• Spotlight student
• Whole school cohesiveness and shared experience of Friday choice time
• Cooperative learning structures

Have a wonderful Spring Break, then see you all at 7:50-ish on Monday, April 1st.

**On that note, a reminder that the school day begins in classrooms at 8 a.m., so students should be arriving prior to that, at 7:40 for breakfast or at 7:52 for the first bell. Students should be in class ready to go at 8 a.m. which is when the tardy bell rings.

Lisa