Students walk out of class for climate strike, rural teachers pitch in for homeless kids: The week in education

Just over two months after thousands of students and sympathetic demonstrators descended on downtown Portland as part of a global climate strike, Pacific Islander and indigenous students served as the frontlines for another school walkout, this one equipped with a list of demands for City Hall and Mayor Ted Wheeler.

The demonstration, like September’s, was one of several throughout Oregon and the U.S. timed to coincide with the United Nations’ annual climate change conference.

It was the third such protest of the calendar year.

But the action wasn’t confined to Portland. Down in Corvallis, a group of about 50 Oregon State University students marched to demand the school make progress on its 2009 pledge to become carbon-neutral by 2025, The Corvallis Gazette reported.

And here’s OPB’s dispatch from the Portland demonstration.

Here are the biggest education stories from Portland and beyond this week:

Other education stories from the Portland area:

The day before the U.S. Supreme Court began hearing arguments that will decide the fate of the Obama Administration’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy, Portland Community College students who benefited from the directive gathered at the Rock Creek campus to tell their stories. The college is host to a Dreamer Center, named after the nickname often given to would-be beneficiaries of the oft-debated DREAM Act, which would provide a path to citizenship for children whose families cross the border illegally. The Portland Tribune’s Max Egener has the story.

Mt. Hood Community College officials have finally provided details on a series of cuts that would put seen departments on the chopping block. College President Lisa Skari said axing 11 instructors and cutting enrollment by around 182 students would save the school about $800,000. The Gresham Outlook’s Teresa Carson has the details.

Education stories from around Oregon:

Oregon schools have seen an uptick in the number of homeless students in the last year, but the trend line skews downward in Union County. Still, officials there say even one homeless student is “too many” and educators in one district have gone so far as buying furniture, food and gift cards for a group of kids living together. The La Grande Observer’s Dick Mason reports.

Grants Pass voters may have rejected a multimillion-dollar bond measure that would ease overcrowding in middle schools — both are about 10% over capacity — but district leaders say those students still need to go somewhere. That’s why they’re mulling over options to add classroom space despite a shellacking at the polls. One proposal has the district purchasing mobile classrooms, which cost about $90,000 a pop last time officials bought the modules. The Daily Courier’s Casey Crowley has the details.

More education headlines from The Oregonian/OregonLive:

A Portland boy fell in his wheelchair at school. Nobody told his mom for days, $2.8M suit says

Driver who crashed school bus was not drunk, will not face charges, Washington County DA says

Former Banks High School softball star, assistant coach arrested on sex abuse charges

From other Portland-area media:

Outraged Beaverton parents question district’s ‘final’ decision to close middle grade program (OPB)

New school means new boundaries in Sherwood (The Sherwood Gazette, subscription)

And across the state:

McKay High School construction teacher empowers students, teaches professional skills (The Salem Statesman-Journal, subscription)

Scappoose, St. Helens graduation rates top states (The Columbia County Spotlight, subscription)

Dallas may delay superintendent search (The Polk County Itemizer-Observer)

Roseburg school board identifies key targets for next survey on bond measure (The News-Review, subscription)

Oregon ranks highest in nation for homework over Thanksgiving (The Coos Bay World, subscription)

Central Oregon Community College students want school to help classmates who live in cars (The Bend Bulletin, subscription)