Community Engagement

Advocacy

• Act with courage and compassion for self and others
• Express ideas in multiple ways

Agency

• Cultivate curiosity and creativity
• Construct a strong foundation of knowledge and skills

Empathy

• Value diversity and uphold the dignity of all people
• Listen actively and recognize perspectives beyond one’s own

Leadership

• Take responsibility for one’s actions
• Collaborate to broaden and deepen understanding

Problem-Solving

• Design and apply solutions
• Build resilience and respond constructively to challenges

Mission Statement

• Through the Office of Community Engagement students explore how knowledge and understanding connect with public purpose. Students are empowered to create a more just and equitable world as leaders and partners for change in our communities — both those that exist within the walls of our school and those outside. Students will commit to social impact as a reflection of love in action with and for our neighbors. Through this work, students will actively live out our school’s mission as we individually and collectively realize our Power for Good.

Vision Statements

• Exploring the many challenges facing the world today with a particular focus on economic justice, social justice, eco justice, and intergenerational justice.
• Understanding our relationship to those around us, moving outward from classmates to schoolmates to Portlanders and beyond. We will explicitly examine ways to live out our Community Engagement vision within our school community as well as outside.
• Recognizing the humanity and equality of those we encounter, beginning all activities with a focus on the love of one another. 
• Cultivating community relationships that address issues in ways that are mutually beneficial to both the community and to OES and its students. 
• Teaching to understand, and if possible, disrupt, systemic injustices around race, poverty, and inequity.
• Focusing on impact in our community
   

Each year the Office of Community Engagement invites the entire school community to participate in several year-round actions to build food security in our broader community and help care for our hungry neighbors through food. We do this work ongoing to build a habit of commitment, and to remind us all that each one step of action, alongside others’ steps, can add up to a meaningful impact.

Our Food Security Actions have several components:

• Non-perishable food drives through Doorstep Donations, a national program designed to empower students to connect their schools with local food bank programs
• Making and selling Empty Bowls, a worldwide movement by artists and craftspeople to care for and feed the hungry
• Hosting the annual SW Hope 5K and Fun Run 
• Fariss Community Garden produce donations 

All components have the same goal: to build student skills in Advocacy and Empathy that help them realize their power for good. All proceeds go to Neighborhood House, one of our long-time community partners. 
 

In the PK-12 environment, there is an opportunity to watch students grow over time, and where students return to skills, conversations, or invitations again and again, each time at a new depth. 

As we lead our students to learn toward commitment in all three divisions, we are able to focus our efforts in developmentally appropriate ways. If you have questions about Community Engagement within a specific division, please contact:

• Kristen Haferbecker, LS and All-School Community Engagement Coordinator 
• Mel Robinson, MS Community Engagement Coordinator
• Maria McIvor, US Community Engagement Coordinator