Congratulations Hayley and Casey

I met Paul and Tricia 18 years ago at a parent meeting at our neighborhood elementary school.  Tricia was pregnant with her 5th son (Casey).  I had two boys ages 3 and 6 and an infant daughter (Hayley). 

All of our kids were close in age and our families grew close over the years.  We had the best neighborhood Christmas parties that included stops at 5 or 6 homes.  Tricia and I were stay-at-home moms that never stayed home.   We spent a lot of time volunteering at Clark Elementary. 

My ex-husband and Paul coached  several sports together.  Tricia and I even coached T-ball together.  I’ll never forget the dad that interviewed us about our T-ball coaching skills.  It was the shortest interview I’ve ever had.

Hayley and Casey went to the same preschool, shared babysitters and became best friends.  I wish I had Casey’s preschool picture where Hayley brushed his curly hair just before picture.  They were inseparable until a teacher got wise and separated them  

One year Paul decided against coaching the kid’s school basketball team.  The new coach decided that he was going to have a boys only team and refused to let Hayley sign-up.  Hayley had always played on the boy’s team and Clark didn’t have a girl’s team.  The boys refused to play for the coach unless he let Hayley play.  The coach resigned because he was unable to get a team together.  Then, the same boys recruited Paul to be the coach.  Hayley played on Paul’s team.

The elementary years were the good years at PPS.  Middle school hit us like a slap in the face.  Binnsmead Middle School had a terrible principal.  We had about two years of hell before running him out.  

My family moved to Clackamas to escape the drama known as PPS.  Even though my kids were no longer in PPS, I continued to pressure PPS at the district level.   

My kids and I moved back to the old neighborhood when I divorced.  That was the same year that my oldest was starting high school.  He attended Marshall his freshman year then decided to transfer out.  By the time my middle child started high school, Marshall had split into small schools.  I didn’t give my younger kids the choice to attend Marshall.  I transferred them out because I didn’t think Marshall had enough to offer them.   

Paul and Tricia are strong supporters of neighborhood schools and all 5 of their boys went to Marshall. 

PPS Has divided communities through board decisions and policies.  The sense of strong community experienced in grades K-8 is destroyed when the program at the neighborhood high school is weak. 

Homeowners in the Lents area have been paying extra urban renewal taxes along with their property taxes for over 10 years.  As the city and homeowners have invested in the community, PPS has systematically dis-invested in our community.  The board and superintendent stripped Marshall down to a shell then blamed parents  for not sending their kids there. 

If board member Trudy Sargent looks out an east window of the house on that mountain she thinks she lives on, she would see an area that’s making a big comeback. She wouldn’t be able to miss all of the new housing that’s been built. 

If she drove down her mountain, traveled 8 minutes then got out of her car to visit the Marshall neighborhood, she would find a diverse community where neighbors care about each other. 

People like Paul and Tricia who have taken in several Marshall kids over the years because the kids needed someone to take care of them.  Neighbors who anonymously leave food on the doorsteps of families too poor to buy their own.  Students who boycotted working in their school cafeteria because PPS wouldn’t provide a lunch to kids without lunch money.  School volunteers who anonymously gave baseball cleats to a school counselor when they learned kids were missing practice because siblings had to share shoes.

I wouldn’t live in Trudy’s neighborhood if it’s so different from my own.

The high school redesign process has brought out the best and the worst in people.  I’m thankful for the opportunities it’s brought to reconnect with old friends and to meet new friends. 

Congratulations to Hayley and Casey who are graduating this week. 

And congratulations to Paul and Tricia who survived PPS with their sense of humor intact. 

To anyone who’s been bored to death by my ramblings in this post…my apologies.  I’m experiencing a mom moment.