March 8 forum will promote diversity of school board membership

Oregon school board members will discuss “The Importance of Diverse Leadership in Education” on March 8 at the City Club of Portland.

The Friday Forum focused on the Get on Board campaign comes in time for school board candidates to register for the May election before the March 21 deadline.

North Marion School Board member Bill Graupp will moderate a panel of Oregon School Board Members of Color Caucus officers: Vice-President Donna Tyner (Beaverton School District), Secretary Helen Ying (Multnomah ESD) and Treasurer Anthony Medina (Woodburn School District). Graupp is president of the caucus.

Panel members will share why they ran for school board as well as the challenges and rewards of being a board member. The panel will also discuss the role of diverse leadership in addressing Oregon’s education issues.

Students need to see leaders, teachers and curriculum that reflect and celebrate their lives, according to Graupp. Having school board members who understand students’ experiences and model successful lives is important to students’ development, he said.

Most state agencies, school boards and district staffs have less diverse ethnic and racial makeups than the communities they serve.  Graupp would like to see more community members of color volunteer to be school board members, a step into potentially broader community roles.

Graupp said the caucus offers mentoring and support to help new faces take on school board roles.

OSBA’s Oregon School Board Members of Color Caucus was started in 2016 to promote quality education for Oregon students with an emphasis on the unique needs of students of color. The caucus is working to support school board members of color so that school boards more fully represent their communities.

The noon program at Portland’s Sentinel Hotel will be live on the City Club website and the KGW website as well as being available on XRAY radio stations 91.1 and 107.1 FM.

The nonprofit City Club of Portland offers weekly lunchtime Friday Forums to discuss issues of local, regional and national importance. Nonmembers can buy admission.

- Jake Arnold, OSBA
jarnold@osba.org