PDX Parent September 2019

Exploring Highland, pg. 35

Going on a Rock Hunt, pg. 36

FREE

Crowds in the Classroom? pg. 20

for the long days and short years

Tips to calm

back-to-school

jitters,

pg. 10

Finding Home

More Portland families than ever are experiencing homelessness.

What’s being done?

PDXPARENT.COM

pdxparent.com

| September 2019

PORTLAND | VANCOUVER | SEPTEMBER 2019

1

FOR KIDS IT’S FREE !

1st SATURDAY of EVERY MONTH 9AM - 10AM Inside the Food Court

Kids will enjoy meeting a new character each month, fun activities, dress up, snacks and more!

2019 SCHEDULE

Events are best suited for kids up to 8 years of age.

September 7th Spider Hero Appearance

October 5th Thomas the Train November 2nd All About Transportation

December 7th Pictures & Cookies with Santa Claus

Exit 17 off I-84 • Troutdale • (503) 669-8060 • ShopColumbiaGorgeOutlets.com

contents JAMIE CARLE

14 FEATURES

DEPARTMENTS

The Long Way Home....................... 14

Editor’s Note..................................................... 6

Family Supper.............................................. 38

More Portland families than ever

Play Room........................................................... 8

The battle of the drive-ins — tasting

are experiencing homelessness,

Allergy-friendly sweet treats, getting

nostalgia at Sugarpine Drive In and SuperDeluxe. By Julia Silverman and

displacement and housing

a handle on back-to-school anxiety,

insecurity. How did our city get

family volunteering at The Clackamas

Denise Castañon.

here, and is enough being done to

Bookshelf.

Time Out............................................................ 40

mitigate the crisis?

Neighborhood We

By Erin J. Bernard.

Small Class, Big Impact................ 20 A look at the effect smaller class sizes can have on students.

By Beth Slovic.

PDX Parent Picks: Birthdays... 32

♥.............................. 35

All-star family music festival, free

We scope out all the family-friendly

museums and Comic Con for all.

goodness happening in Beaverton’s

Parentlandia...................................................42

Highland neighborhood.

A comic for parents. By Tom Toro.

By Denise Castañon.

Field Trip........................................................... 36 Gather your rock hounds and head to two local parks to hunt for jasper,

RESOURCES Back to School............................................23-27

obsidian, quartz and more.

STEM................................................................ 30-31

By Ali Wilkinson.

Birthdays...................................................... 33-34

* cover stories

pdxparent.com

| September 2019

5

e d i t o r ’ s n ot e

for the long days and short years

Wherever Is Your Heart, I Call Home PDX Parent

T

his September, we’re taking a look at the meaning of home from two angles. First, we’re introducing a new column about family-friendly neighborhoods. No matter what quadrant we reside in, most Portlanders have a deep connection to our neighborhoods and are proud to share our insider spots for parks, best drip coffee or kid-friendly restaurants.

And, of course, each little residential pocket within the metro area has its own unique feel that can make us feel most at home.

The leafy, close-in westside neighborhoods that blur the boundaries between urban and suburban. The funkier eastside neighborhoods where toy stores and tattoo parlors peaceably coexist next door to each other. This month we’re looking at Beaverton’s Highland neighborhood — where neighbors gather for soup suppers and diversity is celebrated. Whether you’ve lived in Oregon your whole life or just moved here, this column will help you find a new place to hang out with your kiddos.

And then we take a look at the stark fact many Portland families are struggling to find a safe space to call home. For our cover story, Managing Editor Erin J. Bernard dived deep into our area’s homelessness crisis, talking to parents who have experienced it firsthand, program directors who are flooded with requests for help, and government employees who are working to help families find shelter. Even if you have never personally experienced houselessness, your family has probably felt its impact. And you probably want to help, but may not be sure how to begin. Erin also gives some suggestions for modeling empathy for your kids. And it’s not all bleak — the city and county are devoting millions of dollars to the crisis. Plus, two new family-specific shelters with wraparound services are opening within city limits. And minds are changing, too. More and more people are starting to realize that the crisis is the result of big systemic problems rather than personal weakness, and that many families could be one medical emergency or job loss away from losing their housing.

That said, while Oregon’s past has not always been an inclusive one, we can change it. We can say all are welcome here. We can raise our voices and mark our ballots to make sure families in our area have access to affordable housing. As parents, we are the ones with the influence over the next generation. And we can teach our kids that no family should have to live on the street.

—

P.O. Box 13660 Portland, OR 97213-0660 Phone: 503-460-2774 Publisher Rose Caudillo, 503-460-2774 publisher@pdxparent.com Editor Denise Castañon, 503-922-0893 denise.castanon@pdxparent.com Managing Editor Erin J. Bernard erin.bernard@pdxparent.com Art Director Susan Bard Web Director Michelle Carew, 503-914-6151 michelle.carew@pdxparent.com Calendar / Newsletter Editor Amy Conway calendar@pdxparent.com Customer Accounts Manager Christie Kline, 503-810-9817 christie.kline@pdxparent.com Distribution Coordinator Melissa Light melissa.light@pdxparent.com Eastside Account Executive Lauren Wylie, 503-331-8184 lauren.wylie@pdxparent.com Westside Account Executive Jill Weisensee, 503-914-6151 jill.weisensee@pdxparent.com President Keith Goben, 503-460-2774 keith.goben@pdxparent.com For distribution issues, e-mail us at distribution@pdxparent.com For calendar submissions, e-mail us at calendar@pdxparent.com PDX Parent is published monthly by Metro Parent Publishing, Inc., and is copyright 2019 Metro Parent Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited.

PDX Parent is distributed free of charge throughout the Portland, OR / Vancouver, WA metropolitan area.

PDX Parent reserves the right to refuse advertising for any reason. Distribution of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the products or services advertised herein.

On our cover: Local photographer Jamie Carle

sex or sexual orientation.

Clampitt and her daughter, Kayani, at My Father’s

Although every effort is taken to ensure the

Clampitt stay housed. Carle, a Vancouver mom committed to social justice, was happy to use their lens to shine a light on the problems faced by parents who are homeless. See more of Jamie’s work at jamiecarle.com.

September 2019

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pdxparent.com

basis of race, color, national origin, religion,

captured this sweet moment between Tessa House, a Gresham family shelter that has helped

6

PDX Parent does not discriminate on the

accuracy of published material, Metro Parent Publishing, Inc., and its agents and employees cannot be held responsible for the use or misuse of any information contained herein. The contents of PDX Parent and its website are for informational purposes only and are not intended to be a substitute for professional advice or treatment.

p l ay r o o m

Kids to Know: Kids these days … they

The Do-Gooders

And 14-year-old Jasmine

get a bad rap, but many of

White, a ninth grader at

them are out serving their

The International School of

communities. Case in point:

Beaverton, got inspired by her

two of Oregon’s top youth

Girl Scout troop’s volunteer

volunteers, Milwaukie’s Shayla

session at a veterinary clinic

Montgomery and Beaverton’s

that offered free care to the pets of people affected by

whom were honored at the

homelessness. She started

Prudential Spirit of Community

collecting used T-shirts and

Awards in Washington, D.C.,

tennis balls, which she fashioned

last spring. (In addition to

into pet toys to donate. She

the trip to D.C., both girls

also set up 14 training sessions

PRUDENTIAL

Jasmine White, both of

received $1,000.) Shayla, a senior at Clackamas Middle College, started a social-media campaign, #StandUp, motivated

Actress Viola Davis congratulates Jasmine White and Shayla Montgomery on their Prudential Spirit of Community awards.

to teach how to help others make the toys. Then Jasmine produced kits with enough materials for 260 toys so that

by her own experiences of being bullied. It supports other kids

groups such as scout troops, classrooms and transitional-living

struggling with the same issue. She’s also working to address the

facilities could create the toys together. Pet owners got to keep

problem by speaking to schools and community groups about

their finished product, with the rest going to the Cat Adoption

the lasting effects of bullying. “I believe that as a society as a

Team and Portland Animal Welfare Team, which helps pets of

whole, we need to learn to love ourselves,” says Shayla. “Most

people experiencing homelessness. If you’d like to get a kit for a

people who bully are people who are facing their own hardships

group, you can contact Washington County 4-H at 503-821-1119

or insecurities.”

and ask for a Pet Toy Making Kit. — Denise Castañon

TOP 5 ...

TINY MORESO - RAWDACIOUS

Allergyfriendly After-school

Treat Stops

➊ Shake off the day at Cully’s cozy whole-foods café Tiny Moreso and tuck into a Rawdacious mini-cake — GF, vegan, raw and available in a rainbow of flavors from pumpkin to blueberry coconut. ➋ Over on Alberta Street, Back to Eden’s bakery-café serves

up a mighty assortment of plant-based, vegan and gluten-free goodies (the cupcakes and soft-serve sundaes are standouts) and employees are trained in preventing cross-contamination.

➌ Sweeten up the prospect of mall errands with a stop at Jamba Juice

— you heard that right! Kids snack safely at this smoothie mega-chain, thanks to an established allergen protocol and nut-free blenders on request.

➍ Rushing to the next thing? Bribe your kids into submission with a slice of Swiss roll or a peanut-butter power bar to ➎ And, yeah, we can’t stop talking about the Pearl’s Little Bean, whose chickpea-

go from the Lloyd District’s Gluten Free Gem.

sourced ice cream and cones make for virtuous after-school snacking, sans dairy, gluten, soy or nuts. (The chickpea milk is also on point.) — Erin J. Bernard

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September 2019

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pdxparent.com

Good Deeds:

Book Club

Who:

Brianne Mees, co-

at Tender Loving Empire since we had

founder and co-CEO

our first daughter 7 years ago, but we

of Tender Loving Empire, an emporium

recently realized that our childrens’-

of Portland creativity with five store

product line had taken on a voice and a

locations and a

point of view of its

record label, and

own,” says Mees.

mom of 7-year-old

“To do the products

July and 2-year-old

justice, they needed

Piper Mees.

their own identity.

At TLE, we’re always

What:

looking for ways to support our community and use

THE CLACKAMAS BOOKSHELF

Mees recently

Read a book once to a kid, and you’ve

our creativity and

launched the kids’

children’s line ties

which features

nonprofits.”

on T-shirts and solely responsible

a window on a different world, a place

for pushing through

10 percent of all

glitter ink. She

based nonprofit, aims to collect and

insisted that she

clean donated children’s books and

and her friends

then redistribute them to kids in need.

would only like them

The books are made available to kids

if they were sparkly.”

profits through December will go to Make-A-Wish Foundation. Then

all over Clackamas County — in North

they will pick another nonprofit to donate to. Find BRIANNE MEES

Clackamas, Molalla, Oregon City and

even adult books, which are sold to

Brave New People

our two shirts with

Clackamas Bookshelf, a Gladstone-

mission. You can donate books —

to child-centered

whimsical sayings onesies. “July was

help with The Clackamas Bookshelf’s

directly to donating

playful designs and

child? You’ve given them an escape,

elsewhere. There are lots of ways to

We loved the way a

New People,

shared a story. But give a book to a

to return to again and again. The

resources for good.

clothing line Brave

Why:

Brave New People at all Tender

“We had been making

Loving Empire locations and online at

children’s apparel

tenderlovingempire.com/collections /

and accessory items ourselves to sell

bravenewpeople. — D.C.

help fund the nonprofit. You can host a book drive. You can buy books for grown-ups at their once-a-month sales, held on the second Saturday of the month from 10 am-2 pm at their headquarters, 17777 Webster Rd.,

In the know:

behind Kraxberger Middle School.

Or you can volunteer to attend a “cleaning” party. This is a perfect first volunteering experience for kids as young as 4, who love books and will be thrilled to recognize some favorites as they help wipe down board books, tape up torn covers on picture books and sort the donations. Get in touch at katy@theclackamasbookshelf. org to learn more about volunteering.

— Julia Silverman

BAILEY O’BAR

Swipe Up

While PDX mamas have been using the Peanut app to make geographically desirable, like-minded mom friends for some time, the app has just officially launched in Portland.

That means Peanut will offer additional services for moms in PDX and more chances for them to meet their new besties. Find out more at peanut-app.io. — D.C.

pdxparent.com

| September 2019

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p l ay r o o m

Ask Dr. Doug

Q A

: School is starting soon, and my younger daughter seems really

anxious about going back. She’s going into third grade. What should I be looking out for? Any other tips for back to school?

: Fall is here, and that means crisp mornings, rain and back to school.

ERICA ANN PHOTOGRAPHY

While the first day of school usually fills parents with a sense of pride (and relief!), for some kids the transition can be tough.

Getaway:

Silver Falls Battling back-to-school blahs? Get on forest time at Silver Falls Lodge & Conference Center, tucked inside sprawling Silver Falls State Park, 24 miles east of Salem. Sleeping options include camping, basic/luxe cabins or suite-style lodges, whose individual guest rooms open onto cozy communal spaces. (Pro tip: request a meal plan package; a full culinary staff on site equals options galore, from packed lunches to buffets — no subpar mess-hall fare here.)

Even if your crew’s not up for hard-core hiking, it’s easy to fill a fall weekend at this 9,000-acre park, whose temperate rainforest stays green well into October. Free bike rentals are available for overnight guests, and the lodge offers guided horseback riding, no experience necessary.

Clamber into crow’s nests, explore anthill tunnels and pound a vibration drum at the park’s Nature Play Area, a kid-calibrated interpretive

A degree of nervousness is completely normal. If your daughter’s worry seems to bother her or you, I’d reach out to your pediatrician. Remember: Anxiety is one of the most common behavioral health issues kids face, and it often pops up around 6 to 12 years old.

If there is a new school involved, making a dry run to the classroom is often helpful. Call the school and discuss any concerns if you’re worried there might be an issue in the first few weeks — many elementary schools have counselors who are incredibly helpful for our little ones.

Usually bedtimes are lax in the summer, so try to get sleep back on track. Many kids are very sensitive to sleep deprivation — and rather than yawn and ask for more coffee, they usually get irritable and moody. Start by getting to bed 15 minutes earlier each night until you hit your target bedtime. Most third graders should be getting 10 to 11 hours of sleep at night in order to not feel tired during the day.

Stock up on tissues and Tylenol, because school also means germs. Teach the elbow cough early and often. School schedules are usually tight, so sometimes a hand-sanitizing wipe in the lunchbox is the best we can do before eating. Back to school is also a great time to make sure kids are up to date on their immunizations. Vaccines are safe and they work.

And don’t forget getting to school safely. I see far too many kids riding in the front seat or without a booster. Remember that children under 13 should ride in the back seat, and should use a belt-positioning booster seat until the seat belt fits properly. That’s usually when kids are 4 feet 9 inches tall and around 8 to 12 years old.

One last tip: Now is a wonderful time to start a nightly gratitude practice with your daughter. One of my favorites is “rose, thorn, bud,” in which each night at bedtime, we reflect on what made us feel good or thankful that day (rose), what we wish went better (thorn), and what we’re looking forward to tomorrow (bud). Try not to fix anything — just reflect, empathize and snuggle. If your daughter has a rough first few days, use this time to point out what she just did — that she is Got a question for brave, and that she can do hard things.

Dr. Doug? Send it to This is the way we build resilient and AsktheDr@pdxparent.com. connected kids.

?

parking at the South Falls Trailhead and walking the mile-long, stroller-friendly loop, which meanders right under the shimmering South Falls.

On your way out, peep the South Falls Café’s menu of locally sourced food and drink. And save some energy for after sunset, when campfires and marvelous starscapes blink on. — E.J.B.

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Dr. Doug Lincoln practices general pediatrics at Metropolitan Pediatrics in Happy Valley. He is board certified in both pediatrics and preventive medicine, with special interests in helping parents meet their breastfeeding goals, caring for neurodiverse children with behavioral health needs, and advocating for children via teaching and policy. As a dad of two boys, he understands the joy and hard work that comes with parenting. Find out more about Dr. Doug and Metropolitan Pediatrics at metropediatrics.com.

DR. DOUG

adventure. Or sample the Trail of 10 Falls by

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September 2019

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the LONG

way

Rebounding from homelessness isn’t easy — and that goes double when you’ve got kids to think about. We break down the numbers of Portland’s homelessness crisis, explore how it’s connected to the housing crisis, and talk to the Portland families living through it.

STORY BY ERIN J. BERNARD PHOTOS BY JAMIE CARLE

t

essa Clampitt’s dream home is two stories, modern, and painted pink, with land enough for a few horses.

Zechariah McLaurin and Dezirae Serrano would like to rent-toown a nice house in a nice neighborhood in the Portland metro. It doesn’t matter where, as long as it’s got good schools and room for their three kids to roam.

Comfort, privacy, safe spaces for the littles — these are the building blocks of a happy childhood. But these two families, along with countless others in our city, know what it’s like to get by without them.

They slept in cars, couch-surfed and crashed with family before finding shelter, but the stories of Portland families like theirs aren’t stories of resilience — or lack thereof.

Instead, say the directors, coordinators and officials stationed at the front lines of this crisis, they are stories of structural inequality, systemic racism and a grossly overburdened support system. They’re also stories of campaigns to shore up funding, establish permanent supportive housing and align efforts across our city’s bulging homeless services spectrum.

Most of all, they’re stories about home, and how easy it has become in Portland to find yourself without one.

Many paths, one problem Addiction, domestic violence, disability, debt, systemic racism (such as Portland’s disgraceful history of redlining), unstable housing and

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employment, medical, mental health or life emergencies — each family experiencing homelessness has a “slightly different” story, explains Jaime Johnson, director of social services at Human Solutions (HS).

A long battle with meth and alcohol addiction led to cyclical homelessness for Tessa Clampitt, her husband (they’re now separated), and their 4-year-old daughter, Kayani.

Kayani shuffled among family in Arizona and Vancouver, Washington, as her mother cycled in and out of addiction, but Clampitt campaigned hard to keep her daughter, even when she didn’t have a roof overhead. And that life wore on both of them.

“I’ve done a lot of sleeping in my car, a lot of couch-surfing,” says Clampitt. “It’s a traumatic experience, especially for a child who doesn’t know why we’re in this situation.”

The threat of losing Kayani permanently motivated Clampitt to get serious about sobriety, and last December, after a stint in jail and treatment, Clampitt took her daughter and entered shelter at Gresham-based shelter ministry My Father’s House (MFH).

NOT JUST A PDX PROBLEM:

Oregon homelessness by the numbers

ME

n

lmost 22,000 — or 3.75 percent A – of Oregon students experienced homelessness in 2017-18.

n

regon is home to 1.3 percent of O the U.S. population, but accounts for 2.6 percent of the U.S. homeless population.

n

1 .9 percent of Oregonians are African-American, but 6 percent of Oregon’s African-American population is homeless.

n

1 50,000 Oregon households have experienced short-term homelessness.

n

5 0 percent of Oregon renters spend more than 30 percent of their income on rent.

SOURCES: OREGON COMMUNITY FOUNDATION, ODE, AMERICAN COMMUNITY SURVEY

Addiction also derailed the plans Dezirae Serrano had for herself, along with her partner, Zechariah McLaurin, and their three children, Kamaya, 8, Nakias, 4, and Nezariah, 2.

Serrano was living in Eugene with her oldest daughter when she met McLaurin online in 2015. McLaurin moved down from Portland to be with her, and Serrano soon became pregnant, but all was not well, and Serrano checked herself into a family-oriented Eugene treatment center. McLaurin couldn’t come with them, but Serrano was resolute: “I knew that in order to be there for them in the long run, I had to focus on what my needs were at that moment.”

Determined to stay close, McLaurin held onto a good job as a professional window cleaner, but not his housing. He spent days cleaning other people’s car windows in the hot sun and nights sleeping in his own car, occasionally crashing with Serrano’s aunt or mother.

In 2017, the family moved in with McLaurin’s sister in Portland, but the situation soured, and they landed in a motel room. They, too, found shelter at My Father’s House.

Addiction remains a common family-homelessness trigger, observes Heather Wiese, MFH program manager, but there are no one-size-fits-all explanations: “You have to know their story to unpack some of why they’ve gotten to homelessness and to help give them a path out of it.”

Fuzzy numbers So, how many families experience homelessness in Portland?

That’s a surprisingly tricky question to answer.

Governmental agencies collect numbers, but those often skew low compared with the tallies from nonprofits that work day in and day out with families seeking shelter. For example, some 654 families with 368 children under 18 experienced homelessness in 2017, according to the Point in Time Study, a biennial headcount of people living on the streets in Portland conducted by the city/countypartnered Joint Office of Homeless Services. (2019 numbers aren’t yet available.)

But that doesn’t count the many families doubled up with friends and family or tent or car camping — all common scenarios for homeless families.

Portland Public Schools alone served 1,217 homeless students from kindergarten to 12th grade during the 2018-19 school year, according to Marti Heard, lead liaison for PPS’s McKinney-Vento Program, which delivers federally mandated protections to students experiencing homelessness. Add in pre-K, Head Start, non-school-age siblings and youth up to age 21 working toward a GED or diploma, and the number of homeless children in the PPS district alone rises to 1,676.

Additionally, many couch-surfing families would qualify as “homeless” under McKinney-Vento, but don’t self-identify as such, and so aren’t counted unless the school refers them, points out Heard. Add in families forced east and south beyond district boundaries by gentrification and families teetering constantly on the brink of homelessness, she adds, and it bumps higher still.

Portland’s several dozen shelters and homeless-services agencies keep their own counts. Portland Homeless Family Solutions (PHFS) Executive Director Brandi Tuck estimates that approximately 12,000 Portland parents and their children experience homelessness each year, with PHFS alone helping 1,100 families annually.

pdxparent.com

| September 2019

15

Buy Street Roots. This small-

How Can Families Help?

Check out Hands On

Greater Portland, which

Be a YIMBY. Say “Yes in my

but-mighty newspaper, for sale on a street corner near you,

offers a robust calendar

construction of duplexes and

reports on issues related

of kid-friendly volunteer

ADUs. And if an encampment

to houselessness and

opportunities around the

crops up near you, resist the

provides jobs to Portlanders

city, at handsonportland.

temptation to glower and

struggling with housing

com. Serving a meal won’t

complain. Instead, read up on

insecurity. And purchasing a

solve this crisis, but it’ll

legislative advocacy efforts,

break down barriers and

then call your legislators and

copy offers you an opportunity to model compassionate

promote meaningful

tell them you support housing

engagement with your kids.

interactions.

reform.

MFH received 3,252 phone inquiries from families in 2018, and East Multnomah County homeless services agency Human Solutions anticipates delivering homeless services, housing assistance and job training to 2,500 adults and children in approximately 825 families this year.

And then there’s everybody waiting for help to begin: At press time, there were 600 families on the Homeless Family System of Care Waitlist in Multnomah County, according to JOHS.

A support-services maze Portland families experiencing homelessness can access a continuum of services and resources funded by a mix of federal, state, city, county and private donor funds — a process that often begins by dialing “2-1-1” — the county’s service portal for emergency and transitional housing, plus permanent-housing support services.

But the system is byzantine, and the waits can be long, as much of our city’s homeless infrastructure was created to accommodate single adults. (At last count, there were around 16 publicly funded non-seasonal overnight shelters operating in Multnomah County, two of which exclusively serve families, with another half-dozen winter and severe-weather shelters operating intermittently.)

The Joint Office of Homeless Services (JOHS) oversees a web of service modalities and partners with community agencies and organizations to deliver services to individuals and families experiencing housing insecurity. A family poised to lose housing might be connected to tenant-based rental assistance, while alreadyhouseless families can register for the family-shelter waitlist. The process, says JOHS Deputy Director Patricia Rojas, emphasizes “understanding unique needs of the unit of family and supporting particularly children, helping folks to navigate the trauma of homelessness.”

Portland Homeless Family Solutions is one such partner organization. The Lents-based agency runs several short- and long-term shelters along with a primary program focused on rapidly housing families and keeping them housed, with emphasis increasingly shifting to homelessness prevention.

Portland agency Human Solutions (HS), another city-county partner, also emphasizes proactive strategies and programs for preventing homelessness, operating both emergency shelters and long-term affordable housing, currently for 720 families.

Ministry and community shelters like MFH, which shelters 28 families in its primary six-month program, fill in some publicservice gaps.

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backyard!” by supporting the

MFH’s goal: to help participants secure housing and employment while beefing up practical and life skills like money management and relationship-building. Some families graduate to Stepping Stones, which offers a year of onsite transitional housing to 13 families.

Structure, savings, a healthy rental reference — all of these things eliminate the housing barriers that lead to cyclical homelessness, says Wiese: “We feel like giving them tools is so vital for them to successfully not come back, and if they really apply those skills, this is a turning point.”

MFH has definitely proven a turning point for McLaurin and Serrano, who recently graduated from Stepping Stones. They’ve stabilized, paid down debt, and reconnected with their spirituality.

The kids have flourished, but so have their parents. “We’ve gotten closer to God and knowing each other better and ourselves better — who we are now as adults,” says Serrano.

The expectations here are high and addiction is hard to overcome, acknowledges Clampitt, but she’s grateful for the support — and for essentials she no longer takes for granted, like toilet paper. She’s 10 months clean, and pondering how childhood exposure to abuse and addiction primed her for this life path. She wants a different outcome for Kayani, who struggles with trauma-related issues and is rediscovering how to be a kid.

Set up for failure?

Three things we know for sure about homelessness, notes Tuck, are that it’s familial and cyclical, with homeless populations consistently skewing young. Half the children PHFS assists are under age 5, and about 25 percent of the total client population are toddlers.

We also know that families of color are disproportionately affected. African-Americans account for about 3 percent of the city’s population, but they make up 12 percent of the homeless population, according to the Oregon Community Foundation. And Tuck estimates a staggering 60 percent of the families PHFS assists are families of color. And, as the McLaurin-Serranos discovered, even full-time employment isn’t a fail-safe. Many families experiencing homelessness have working parents, but wages just aren’t keeping step with rising housing costs, notes Tuck: “A lot of the market rate housing that’s coming on right now is luxury-rate units. A family with three kids can’t afford these studio apartments coming online for $1,700-plus a month. No way they can afford that townhouse for $2,500. So the families experience homelessness because they can’t find housing they can afford.”

Even a non-luxury two-bedroom apartment in the Portland metro now rents for about $1,334 monthly. A minimum-wage earner grosses $1,720 monthly. From there, notes HS shelter manager Tamara Holloway, it’s simple math: “You’re already set up for failure. That’s why people start having to borrow and take out loans, and that debt provides a barrier to families.”

Getting re-housed takes incredible footwork, and that goes double for parents of young children, who must confront the practical challenge of meeting kids’ basic daily needs without a roof overhead. “When people are homeless, they’re thinking about feeding their kids and bathing them,” says Serrano.

Getting kids to school from wherever you’re crashing is another problem entirely. Under the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, students experiencing homelessness are entitled to remain at and be transported back to the school they were attending while housed. They’re also entitled to enroll at their neighborhood school without proof of a permanent address and are connected with wraparound support and supplies, from food, clothing and academic support to shelter — plus housing-program referrals. Of course, notes Heard, it’s hard to focus on math homework when you’ve got an hourlong commute each way, or you’re squished into a motel room or a noisy, open-plan shelter, or you haven’t had a bath since last week: “They’re not focused, we see dips in their academic performance.

Assessment levels are lower for these students, graduation rates are lower, mental health and counseling referrals are very high.”

‘We have to align and coordinate’ As the contours of this crisis shift and homelessness comes to be viewed as a structural failing and not a personal one, approaches are shifting, too, and with them, dollars.

Portland’s 2019-20 biennial budget earmarks $32 million to continue funding JOHS efforts, with another $500,000 marked for addiction-treatment services. JOHS is emphasizing a housing-first model focused on single-occupancy shelter layouts, notes Rojas, which means closing some long-lived shelters and opening two new family shelters.

At press time, PHFS was preparing to open the Lents Family Campus, which will house 26 families in private family bedrooms and offer wraparound supports, training and help getting rehoused.

In the nearby Foster-Powell neighborhood, the doors are already open at Lilac Meadows, a family shelter operated by HS, housed within a motel retrofitted to accommodate 40 families and also offering robust wraparound support.

And MFH will soon break ground on an on-site job training center with a functioning coffee shop and thrift store, where residents can develop marketable career skills.

A $652.8-million affordable housing bond passed by Portlandarea voters last year is already bearing fruit, with some 700 affordable-housing units built or in construction and another 600 planned.

But you can’t truly address homelessness without addressing the affordable-housing crisis it fantails out from, says Heard: “People who don’t have school-age children aren’t as fully aware of what’s happening in the city as far as mass displacement of lower- and middle-income families. It’s shocking, and it’s overwhelmingly impacting families of color. We’re losing the diversity of our city.”

“Going forward, we need enough resources to ensure families get the help they need when they need it,” says Tuck. “We can do this by gathering data, true community collaboration and coordination, and adequate staff training. We’ve got to be able to target our dollars and scale interventions and do it in a coordinated way so we’re not just wasting money.”

We must also link up the city’s many siloed housing, health and education programs, adds Rojas: “That becomes the bigger list if there isn’t much infrastructure in the community at large. The systems aren’t necessarily communicating really well. We have to align and coordinate.”

Meanwhile, families are finding their own paths forward.

When she graduates from MFH, Tessa Clampitt hopes to become a recovery mentor and relocate to Arizona with Kayani to care for her ill mother.

“I hope [Kayani] can see what I’m doing now and model that instead of modeling my old behaviors,” she says. “I hope she can see that I did these things: I earned my diploma; I was homeless, but now I’m not; I was able to leave situations that were bad.”

At press time, McLaurin and Serrano had re-entered the housing market with high hopes and a nest egg in hand, thanks to MFH’s savings program. McLaurin’s car-detailing career is flourishing, and Serrano has started a career as a certified nurse’s assistant.

The economics of raising kids here still give them pause — can you ever really get ahead when rent and day care cost an entire paycheck? — but it’s time to get out there and see, says McLaurin: “We’re ready — not just financially — to be independent. And as far as the way we look at life now compared to before, we’re more appreciative.”

Serrano used to judge homeless people. Now she knows how easy it is to land there yourself, and that’s a hard truth she wishes more Portlanders would acknowledge: “It could be anybody. One wrong decision, one bad relationship, a breakup, a divorce — anything can lead to this.”

Erin J. Bernard, a proud Northeast Portland YIMBY, is PDX Parent’s new managing editor.

Jamie Carle is a photographer living in Vancouver, Washington.

They have been a photographer for five years and live with their 5-year-old son, Jaxin.

pdxparent.com

| September 2019

17

Kelsie Nobriga | Photo by Christopher Peddecord

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pdxparent.com

SMALL

CLASS,

IMPACT A

LISA KENSEL

s the mother of three boys in third, sixth and 10th grades, Lisa Kensel has a lot of school experiences to compare.

Each of her boys has attended Creston K-8 School in Southeast Portland’s Creston-Kenilworth neighborhood. They’ve even had the same kindergarten and first-grade teachers, she said.

But two words underscore a crucial difference between the experiences of her oldest boys and her youngest: class size.

Owing to population shifts in Southeast Portland, Kensel’s third-grade son has had far smaller classes than his older brothers for kindergarten and the first and second grades. While the older boys had classes of 25 to 28 kids per year, the youngest boy started school with just over 20 kids. There were 19 children in his firstgrade class, said Kensel.

And in second grade, a last-minute dip in enrollment at Creston resulted in two classes of 14 students each.

And while that’s unusual in the Portland Public Schools district, where the average class size for second graders last year was 24, Kensel was ecstatic. She attributes her son’s success as a strong reader to the individualized attention his second-grade teacher was able to give him.

“I’ve seen the impact that smaller classes have had,” she said. “My youngest is where is he because of a small class size.”

Recent campaigns by the statewide teachers union, the Oregon Education Association, show that principals, counselors, teachers,

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A state education funding windfall could mean smaller class sizes at PPS schools.

But are reduced studentteacher ratios really a cureall? Parents, administrators, educators and legislators weigh in.

BY BETH SLOVIC

parents and students almost universally want class sizes that are smaller than the statewide average of 25. (That number is for all subjects and grade levels, according to the Oregon Department of Education.)

Kensel, the Creston mom, knows this firsthand. As president-elect of the statewide Oregon PTA, she hears from parents all the time about what they want to see at their children’s schools. And Kensel knows she’s not alone in wanting to give teachers the opportunity to focus on children’s different needs — even her colleague at the Oregon PTA, current President Kristi Dille, made the decision this year to send her daughter to private school, after the girl pleaded with her parents not to send her to Rex Putnam High School in Milwaukie, owing to the large class sizes.

“Statewide, class sizes are a concern for most every parent,” Kensel said. “We all want our kids to have a robust, individualized education.”

The politics of class size Perhaps surprisingly, the harmony over class size even extends to our most disharmonious state institution: the Oregon Legislature.

In May, Oregon lawmakers enacted what they called the Student Success Act, a sweeping new tax on businesses’ gross receipts that they expect will raise $1 billion a year for Oregon schools.

One of the driving forces behind the effort to raise business taxes was the desire to give districts the opportunity to reduce class sizes, said Rep. Barbara Smith Warner (D-Northeast Portland), who successfully shepherded the bill to Gov. Kate Brown’s desk.

The Student Success Act, which goes into effect in 2020, doesn’t mandate how districts must use the new revenue because the needs of rural Oregon schools are different from those in cities, said Smith Warner, but she said she expects some districts will want to tackle the problem of ballooning class sizes. “I expect class sizes to go down in a number of places,” she said.

The new tax grew out of a bipartisan barnstorming, what lawmakers called the Joint Committee on Student Success, co-chaired

by Smith Warner. The committee, made up of state representatives and senators from the Democratic and Republican parties, toured

Kindergarten by the Numbers A sample of median K class sizes across Portland in the 2018-2019 school year.

n

Sitton: 19 n

James John: 24

JEFFERSON CLUSTER

ROOSEVELT CLUSTER n

n

Astor: 19.5

Peninsula: 26 n

n

Woodlawn: 23

Beach: 26

n

Rigler: 18

n Scott: 22 Boise-Eliot/ GRANT CLUSTER Humboldt: n Irvington: 19 15 MADISON CLUSTER n Beverly Cleary: 23 n Chapman: 17 n Laurelhurst: 25 n Vestal: n

n

Forest Park: 20

27.5

LINCOLN CLUSTER n

Ainsworth: 25.5

n n

Abernethy: 21

Glencoe: 22

FRANKLIN CLUSTER n

n

Creston: 19

Bridlemile: 25

WILSON CLUSTER n

n

Rieke: 18

Markham: 24

CLEVELAND CLUSTER n

n

Marysville: 18.5

Llewellyn: 24

SUSAN BARD

multiple school districts, talking to community members, teachers and students in 2018. Smith Warner said the need to reduce class sizes came up often in those tours, including in one district that had a calculus class with 45 students and only 40 desks.

Class size, she said, is shorthand for a lack of resources among schools. “It’s definitely big,” she said. “It’s the thing that people instinctively understand.”

After the bill passed, fellow Democrats elected Smith Warner their new House majority leader, owing in part to her legislative funding victory. The bill overcame significant Republican opposition over its taxing methods, including a four-day walkout by Republican legislators during the 2019 session, but not over what it aimed to do. (Republicans said they feared the tax on businesses would trickle down to consumers.)

But visible pressure from teachers, thousands of whom rallied in Portland on May 8 for more statewide resources, helped clinch the deal.

“It’s more crucial than ever that students get the individual attention they need,” said Elizabeth Thiel, vice president of the Portland Association of Teachers union that operates under the OEA umbrella.

“This is one of the most important issues to us.”

n

Duniway: 26

Classrooms over the Portland Association of Teachers’ “teaching thresholds.”

Further pressure in Portland Also last year, Portland Public Schools adopted new language in its labor contract with teachers that establishes what it calls “teaching thresholds,” to control class sizes. The thresholds aren’t technically caps on class sizes, but if PPS administrators want to go over agreed-upon limits in a classroom (the threshold is 24 students for kindergarten, 26 students for first through third grade, and 28 students for fourth and fifth grade), the district must hire a classroom aide or pay the teacher an overload fee of 3 percent of the teacher’s annual salary.

In the 2019-20 school year, PPS expects to pay about a third of its classroom teachers overload payments totaling about $2 million, according to the district. In part, that’s because PPS doesn’t use the teaching thresholds at all when it decides how and where to allocate teachers; it uses a staffing formula that allows far bigger classes in all but the poorest schools (up to 29 children in kindergarten, 31 students in first grade, 32 students in second grade, 33 students in third grade, and 35 students in fourth and fifth grade, according to the 2019-20 staffing model.)

Erin McKee, a second-grade teacher at Faubion, a Northeast Portland PK-8 school, said she’d much rather have a smaller class than get bonus pay, as she did last year. “It made me uncomfortable

thinking about kids as an extra paycheck,” she said, noting she had 28 students last year, two over the threshold the union helped set.

“It was compensating me, but students are the ones who should be receiving extra support and services.”

Faubion underwent a major rebuild recently. When it reopened in 2017, 28 coat hooks lined the wall to McKee’s classroom, but she had 32 students. She had only 30 squares on her carpet. She’s been told to expect 30 kids this fall. “It’s sad, but I’m actually getting used to having that many,” said McKee, who assigns jobs to students to help manage the volume of classroom tasks. “I know it can be done. It’s really heartbreaking though, because I miss the one-on-one time.”

Thiel thinks the 2018 contract language is a step in the right direction. “Class sizes is a huge concern for teachers,” she said, noting that students appear to be arriving at school with ever-increasing needs, from hunger to unmet mental health concerns. “That’s true no matter who your students are.”

Still, no one should mistake PPS’s new thresholds for optimal class sizes, Thiel warns. And the district averages can mask some very large outliers. Similar to Faubion, Maplewood Elementary School last year had 32 students in its second-grade classes but a schoolwide average of 25 students per class. “We’re not to the point where we’re satisfied that we’re there,” Thiel said. pdxparent.com

| September 2019

21

I

t’s not a coincidence that the most popular private options

it’s easy to see why: “Parents like it. Teachers like it. It’s what

in the Portland area tend to offer smaller class sizes.

everyone would want for their children.”

Parents pay a pretty penny for that privilege.

At Catlin Gabel, the private independent school on

Portland’s western edge, tuition for kindergarten is $27,190

Private-school Options

a year. Kindergarten classes will have

might maintain a reasonable average while having some very small classes and other really big classes.

At All Saints School, a K-8 Catholic school in Northeast

19 students, said Ken

Portland, Principal Jon Myers said they typically won’t go

DuBois, director of public

above 25 students per class. The kindergarten classes this

relations at the school.

year will each have 20 students, one teacher and a full-time

Elementary school tuition for 2019-20 is $29,880, and classes grow at the lower school, but only to 21 students per

aide, he said.

Financial constraints on public schools don’t always

class, DuBois said. (Class sizes shrink at middle school, when

allow that consistency. But there’s no question they would

they’re down to 15.)

seek what private schools offer if they could, said Ready.

Douglas Ready, associate professor of education and public policy at Teachers College, Columbia University, said

Does it matter?

OTTO SCHELL

There may be no magic number when it comes to class size. A child’s readiness for school and her teacher’s effectiveness are big variables that muddle the equation.

Of course class size matters, said Douglas Ready, associate professor of education and public policy at Teachers College, Columbia University. “For most children, the ideal class size would be one,” he said, at least when it comes to what’s best cognitively for a child.

But public education isn’t solely about academics; it’s also about teaching children social skills. And schools operate within financial constraints, even in the most generous states. From that point of view, Ready said, an ideal class size would hover between 13 and 17, based on the evidence of a large-scale experiment with class sizes in Tennessee that launched in 1985.

But school leaders need to consider various factors when pushing for smaller class sizes, especially if efforts are widespread.

For one thing, smaller statewide class sizes require a larger pool of highly qualified teachers, a 2008 report

by Ready makes clear. Experiments in California and Florida, in the late 1990s and early 2000s respectively, both ran up against this problem.

“States or districts that enjoy a surplus of highly qualified teachers are unlikely to suffer a similar deterioration in teacher quality and may be able to craft policies that increase (rather than decrease) educational equity,” Ready writes.

Oregon has plenty of teachers, a state analysis of license holders suggests. But not everyone with a license actually teaches, and when it comes to hiring for certain subjects — dual-language immersion 22

Other elite schools have slightly larger class sizes. But they remain consistent, whereas public school districts

September 2019

|

pdxparent.com

“If resources weren’t a problem, what would parents get?

They’d get that.”

programs or math, for example — districts can run out of top candidates. Poor teaching “would weaken the effect” of smaller class sizes, Ready said.

Mandating smaller class sizes across a district or a state could hamstring equity efforts as well. That’s because all children regardless of need would have to be in classes under the established cap. Districts and states would then have less flexibility to give more resources to schools with historically underserved students. For example, if the cap is 20 and a privileged school had 21 students, you’d need two classes with 10 or 11 students. Or let’s say a historically underserved school had 40 students. You wouldn’t have four classes of 10 students; you’d have two 20-student classes.

“Reforms that benefit all students equally — although certainly welcome — are less likely to reduce racial and social class disparities in student outcomes,” Ready writes. “Moreover, the universal implementation of a particular policy may increase inequality by producing greater gains among initially high-achieving students — a situation in which the ‘rich get richer.’”

Universal programs such as a statewide cap might seem politically palatable to a state with different constituents. But there’s a downside: “Helping everyone equally doesn’t narrow the gap,” Ready said.

The future Back at Creston, Kensel’s experience with very small classes was short-lived. After allocating resources for two second-grade teachers to teach two classes of 14 students last year, the school combined the children for third grade, Kensel said. At the end of July, the class-size forecast stood at 24.

Kensel said bigger class sizes make her nervous. Third grade, she said, seems to be a pivotal year academically, in part because that’s when schools administer statewide testing to children. Students’ focus broadens, she said.

“It’s not about lunch and recess anymore,” she added. “Third grade is the year they dig in.”

Beth Slovic is a freelance journalist in Portland and a journalism instructor at Clark College in Vancouver, Wash.

BACK TO SCHOOL

Find the right school for your family with

PDX Parent’s Education Guide!

Coming in our

October 2019 issue.

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BACK TO SCHOOL

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» SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION «

Full STEM Ahead What is STEM? And why does it matter to your child?

BY KATIE CARRICK

D

oes it feel like every time you turn around, someone’s talking about STEM? No, it’s not déjà vu — STEM is everywhere! We’ll explain what STEM learning is, why it’s important and how you can help your child develop a healthy love of learning.

OMSI

What STEM stands for Let’s start with the basics. STEM is an acronym for science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Moreover, STEM education typically involves learning, exploration and experimentation around a central concept or problem.

Instead of teaching each subject in a vacuum, STEM incorporates ideas from a variety of disciplines with the end goal being a “real-world” type of application.

STEM education utilizes hands-on activities and promotes problem-solving, not merely memorizing facts. “It’s more about an approach to learning,” said OMSI representative John Farmer. “It teaches the child not what to think, but how to think.”

consistently seen an increase in the number of STEM jobs over the last few decades. They predict that careers in STEM will continue to experience above-average growth.

Currently, a majority of those positions are in computer sciences and engineering, but don’t sell life sciences and statistics short.

Software companies, agricultural logistics, artificial intelligence, health care, community infrastructure — they all need qualified STEM professionals.

Jeri Janowsky, Ph.D., the executive director at Saturday Academy, explains that exposure to future career paths is part of their STEM education experience. At Saturday Academy, experts lead classes on an ever-expanding array of STEM topics, with a focus on deep learning. Kids can ask all kinds of complex questions, going as deep as their curiosity takes them. Since the experts are STEM professionals, students also gain insight into real-world STEM careers.

Failing is part of the process Although the public hears about amazing scientific breakthroughs and groundbreaking innovations, the researchers behind those projects most assuredly did not get it right the first time. Or the second. Or possibly even the hundredth.

Part of the process of understanding how something does work is first trying a lot of variations that don’t work. “The concept of failure has been totally misrepresented,” says Farmer. “Failure, in the right context, can be a very valuable tool.” When an experiment doesn’t work, that’s a learning opportunity. Kids are encouraged to reassess, change their approach, and try again.

STEM-based summer camps and school-break classes are popular options around PDX. They cover topics from LEGO robotics to chemistry, the outdoors and nature to digital animation. Hands-on programs offer children of all ages an engaging approach to STEM concepts. Kids are too busy having fun to realize they’re learning valuable skills to set them up for future success.

The future workforce As the job market in the United States shifts, STEM is becoming increasingly prominent. The Bureau of Labor Statistics has

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Getting involved in STEM A natural question parents ask is, “How do I get my kid interested in STEM?” “Children are natural little experimentalists,” says Janowsky, noting that kids are always in the process of exploring the world around them. “There’s a method of letting kids follow what they’re already interested in.” By allowing your child to choose what they want to learn about, they are more likely to enjoy the experience and develop an overall love of learning.

Getting children into a STEM class can have positive effects beyond newly acquired, highly desired skills. Janowsky points out, “suddenly they’re SATURDAY ACADEMY in a cadre of kids who all want to be smart and learn.” By immersing students in an entirely STEMpositive environment, the kids reinforce each others’ interests and desires to seek more knowledge.

Do you have a budding STEMer at home? Want to put that obsession with Fortnite to good use? Cue PDX STEM programs for the win! Topics run the gamut of STEM subjects, including forensic science, artificial intelligence, sports science and more. With so many exciting options, the hardest part is deciding which class to take first.

STEM FOCUS Oregon Episcopal School 6300 SW Nicol Rd.

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oes.edu | 503-768-3115 Portland Jewish Academy 6651 SW Capitol Highway Portland, OR 97219 Ages: Infant - 8th Grade

pjaproud.org | 503-244-0126 A Renaissance School of Arts and Science

0234 SW Bancroft St. Portland, OR 97239 Ages: K-8

renpdx.org | 971-221-2311 Saturday Academy

5000 N Willamette Blvd.

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saturdayacademy.org 503-200-5858

Valley Catholic Middle School 4420 SW St. Mary’s Dr. Beaverton, OR 97078 Ages: 6th - 8th grades

valleycatholic.org/schools /middle-school/ 503-718-6500

pdxparent.com

| September 2019

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PD X

S CK

RENT P PA I

Birthdays 2019

Time to celebrate another trip around the sun for your kiddos? Look no further than our readers’ favorites for birthday-party destinations, entertainment and those all-important sweet treats. For the full list of winners in our annual readers’ poll, visit pdxparent.com/picks-winners.

BIRTHDAY PARTY SPOT Top 5 Oaks Amusement Park Portland Children’s Museum Pietro’s Pizza & Pirate Adventure

Winner

PORTLAND CHILDREN’S MUSEUM

Sky High Sports

OMSI —

Oregon Museum of

Science & Industry, 1945 SE Water Ave., omsi.edu You can’t go wrong with a classic! There’s something for everyone at OMSI, whether your party crew wants to catch a 3-D movie, tour a submarine or get hands-on with some science experiments. Keep an eye out for traveling special

KID - FRIENDLY ENTERTAINERS Top 5 Micah and Me Children’s Music Show Olive & Dingo Productions Mr. Ben Music

exhibits — a tour of those can

Rock N’ Roll Fairy

make any party extra-awesome.

Tallulah’s Daddy

Winner

Red Yarn, redyarnproductions.com All hail the king of Portland’s kindie scene! A generation of Portland kids has grown up with the gentle Americana folk music of Red Yarn, aka Andy Furgeson, and his lovable puppet crew.

Listen closer, though — his songs have a social conscience as well as a rockin’ beat. Snag him to play your birthday party, and you’ll be the coolest parents on the block, full stop.

SWEET TREATS Top 5 Ruby Jewel Cloud City Ice Cream Blue Star Donuts Voodoo Doughnut Fifty Licks Ice Cream Winner

Pip’s Original Doughnuts & Chai,

Sure, you could get a cake to celebrate your kid’s birthday — if you want to go old-school. But our readers endorse going full-on Portland by serving up Pip’s

DAN HAWK

4759 NE Fremont St., Suite C, facebook.com/PipsOriginal

Original Doughnuts for all, smaller and fluffier than the prototypical Dunkins. You can pop one of their classic cinnamon-sugar doughnuts into your mouth in one bite, but don’t sleep on their seasonal flavors. (Meyer lemon-pear butter? Um, yes please!) And even if you do decide to go the traditional cake route, if you take your kiddo in during their birthday week, you can get a dozen doughnuts, on the house.

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B I R T H D AY S Academy Theater

Pietro’s Pizza

Make your next party an extra-

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in our upstairs party room

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much more. It’s perfect for your next birthday party or family gathering, with arcades and prizes at every location, plus Pirate

and popcorn are included. Visit AcademyTheaterpdx.com for more

Adventure laser tag and mini-golf in Beaverton and Salem!

information. See you at the movies!

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7818 SE Stark St., Portland » 503-252-1705

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Bethany Athletic Club

Trackers Earth

Our full-size basketball court

Join Trackers Earth for your

is yours to enjoy, so challenge

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a friend to a game or jump

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around in the bounce house!

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4617 SE Milwaukie Ave., Portland » 503-345-3312 register-portland@trackersearth.com trackerspdx.com/birthday-party

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OMEGA Gymnastics Engaging and active birthday parties for ages 4 and up.

These 90-minute parties include designated party staff, 60 minutes of supervised gym time and 30 minutes in the party room, plus the birthday child receives an OMEGA T-shirt. Extra time packages available on the last party slot of the day.

9700 SW Harvest Ct., Ste. 180, Beaverton » 503-466-4872 info@omega-gymnastics.com omega-gymnastics.com/birthday-parties.html

Penny’s Puppet Productions Penny’s Puppet Productions is a professional one-woman puppet PENNY’S PUPPET PRODUCTIONS

company dedicated to making the world a better place, one puppet show at a time! Offering joyful programs that ignite the imagination and fill the room with excitement and laughter, Penny’s live performances use puppets, story and song to inspire and entertain children of all ages.

503-282-9207 Penny@pennypuppets.com » pennypuppets.com

pdxparent.com

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33

B I R T H D AY S

an accessible and inclusive directory

pdxparent.com/ umbrella a digital directory for the thousands of families throughout the area that require specialized services for their children

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♥

t

BY DENISE CASTAÑON

here’s much to celebrate in Beaverton’s Highland neighborhood. Residents enjoy ample parks and nature areas, as well as close proximity to restaurants, shops and the Nike campus. From the Beaverton Transit Center, the Red and Blue MAX lines offer a 30-minute trip to downtown Portland. And the City of Beaverton has taken on the goals of cultural inclusion, public safety and long-term livability. Their progress has been noted by the National Civic HWY 26 League and Livability.com, which ranked Beaverton the No. 3 Best Place to Raise a Family.

neiGhborhood we

Hospitable Hi hland

MURRAY BLVD

HWY 8

SCHOOLS:

ALLEN BLVD

Highland is part of the Beaverton CARLI SCHULTZ

School District.

Private-school options include nearby German International School,

“We live in Hyland Hills [a

Catlin Gabel,

subdivision in Highland] and

Jesuit High School

have such a wonderful block

and Oregon

of humans. Block parties,

Episcopal School.

neighbor gatherings ... we have soup nights where CITY OF BEAVERTON

everyone brings a favorite.

We gather at the bistro table in the front yard of Mr. Nader, our 80-year-old Iranian neighbor, on summer evenings, bringing the

PARKS: Highland families have a multitude of close-by choices HOUSING COSTS:

$369,200 —

median price of

party to him.”

when it comes to green spaces, from Hyland Forest Park to the paved Fanno Creek Greenway Trail to the skatepark at Evelyn M. Schiffler Memorial Park.

— Carli Schultz, Highland resident and mom to an 11-year-old son.

homes sold in Beaverton

$1,885 —

median rent in

On Southwest Allen Boulevard, kid-welcoming Sushi Ikenohana serves up outstanding rolls and tempura. A few minutes away in Central Beaverton, Du Kuh Bee dishes up heavenly hand-pulled noodles. Pro tip: Ask for “no heat” if your kiddo is spice-averse.

Beaverton.

$421,100 —

GO: Beaverton is more diverse than Portland, with a

median home

higher population of Latino and Asian families. And the

value for

city celebrates its diversity with the annual Welcoming

Highland.

CITY OF BEAVERTON

SOURCE: ZILLOW

Week of events September 13-22, including the Beaverton International Celebration on Saturday, September 14.

Welcoming Week aims to connect refugees, immigrants and those born in the United States.

pdxparent.com

| September 2019

35

field trip

For more ideas for fun outings, visit: pdxparent.com/ field-trip

Rock This Way Your little rock lovers will marvel at the shiny quartz, agate and obsidian you can collect at two local parks.

STORY AND PHOTOS BY ALI WILKINSON

w

e get used to a lot of awesome things in Portland: plentiful parks, unique breweries, tasty food for every intolerance. But here’s one thing you just might take for granite (ba-dum-dum) — the amazing geological landscape surrounding us. In other words, there are cool rocks in abundance — and I mean like petrified wood and fossils cool — and maybe even in your own backyard.

My three kids and I went a little farther than our own backyard for our rock hunting, or its technical term, “rockhounding” — or what my youngest, Teddy (age 5), refused to call anything other than “rock pounding.” But not much farther. Just 20 minutes from downtown Portland, West Linn’s Mary S. Young Park is an excellent destination for rock lovers, nature lovers and even bald-eagle lovers — we saw two eagles flying and calling to each other while we were there.

Although you can spend the greater part of the day exploring the woods and checking out the multiple beaver dams, we were on a mission. To make the most of your rockhounding, park in the larger of the two parking lots at the end of the drive (not the first one you see when entering), then take the paved path all the way down a steep hill. When the path comes to a T, turn right. Within a few hundred yards, you’ll reach the river.

At first glance, the rocks and pebbles underfoot don’t seem unusual.

But take a closer look, and you’ll find a rock-hound’s paradise. In the hour or two we were there, we found chunks of petrified wood, quartz, agate and jasper (a lovely brick-red rock). Another bonus with this spot is that the rocks have largely been rubbed smooth, making them great worry stones to keep in your pocket. The best find of the day was a piece of petrified wood that totally looked like wood, bark and all, about the size of the palm of Teddy’s hand.

Next up, and just a few minutes away, we headed to Lake Oswego’s George Rogers Park. This is one of our family’s favorite spots for river swimming, but it is also a worthy destination on its own for the huge black chunks of obsidian lining the beachfront. The glasslike obsidian

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not only looks cool, but it’s even more cool once you tell your kids that what they’re holding is actually a big chunk of lava. (And, if you like rock jokes — because who doesn’t — you can break out the classic, “This rock was magma before it was cool.”) In addition to the black, we found a few — much smaller — pieces of purple, green and even blue obsidian.

We ended up with a decent stash of treasures from our day’s hunt.

I loved spending the day outside exploring together, and the excitement of a really special find. It was also fun to learn together about what the different rocks were and how they were made — and also, apparently, that obsidian can give prophesying powers. The internet said so, so it must be true. I’d say I’m less excited about a few bags of rocks lying around the house, which, I prophesy, will end up scattered around the house and stepped on by tender feet. (Hey, the obsidian’s working already!) I’m hoping these will gradually make their way outside to brighten our fairy garden. But for now, the kids are content extending the fun by trading their (semi-)precious bounty.

BEFORE YOU GO: Mary S. Young Park 19900 Willamette Dr. West Linn

George Rogers Park 611 S State St. Lake Oswego

Ali Wilkinson is a Portland-based lawyer and writer. When not accidentally stepping on rocks, she enjoys spending time exploring Portland with her family.

fa m i ly s u p p e r

Drive-ins Load your family in the car for a memory-making meal at these two drive-thru restaurants.

BY JULIA SILVERMAN AND DENISE CASTAÑON JULIA SILVERMAN

bite … and another — so much

Sugarpine Drive In

for virtuousness. To pacify her, I got her a kid-sized

I

grew up on the East Coast, where soft serve in the summertime is pretty much a religion. I always get the same order: vanilla, in a cup, with rainbow sprinkles and a maraschino cherry on top. Done right, it’s my last-meal-on-earth pick.

Portland has ice cream for miles, but the city’s soft-serve game is hit or miss. For example, I’m suspicious of the flavor profiles at Wiz Bang Bar (matcha blood orange?). But when Sugarpine Drive In opened in Troutdale on the Historic Columbia River Highway, and images of its pristine soft-serve ice creams started flooding Instagram, I knew I’d have to check it out.

The small operation, which abuts Troutdale’s Glen Otto Park and the Sandy River, has a drive-thru window, but it’s more pleasant to order at the walk-up window and grab a spot on the shady outdoor patio.

Before the ice cream, we ordered some solid food — nettle pesto pasta with sun-dried tomatoes, olives and ricotta salata ($5) for my daughter, a pulled-pork sando ($11, though there is a downsized version for $7 available on the kids’ menu) for my son, and for me, in an attempt to be virtuous before indulgence, a kale salad with mustardy dressing and hazelnuts ($6) and a roasted cauliflower sandwich ($12). (Pro tip: Order your ice cream when you order the rest of your lunch — that way, you won’t have to wait at the window again. They’ll keep your ticket handy, and there’s an ice-cream-only window to visit to let them know you’re ready for dessert.)

Pesto pasta is a staple for Elly, but she didn’t care for Sugarpine’s version, pronouncing it too bitter. I sampled it … then had another

grilled cheese on wafflepressed Texas toast ($6, and you can add a cup of tomato soup for $4), which she enjoyed. Ben’s pulled pork was a hit, too, and he ate up every last drop of the sweet, housemade barbecue sauce, though I got to eat his spring

JULIA SILVERMAN

slaw. As for my plate, the roasted cauliflower was savory and delicious, and I’ve already tried to recreate that kale salad at home.

So, how was the soft serve? First off, a word to the wise: Order the kids’ size ($2 for a cup or sugar cone) unless you are ready to be confronted by a giant mound of ice cream.

Verdict: A touch less creamy and smooth than the soft serve of my childhood, but definitely the best I’ve found in Oregon. My kids were thrilled that they could order it with hard-shell chocolate and birthday cake crumbles (horrifying me, as only sprinkles will do), and scarfed theirs down; Ben even sweet-talked me into the waffle cone upsell, for $1.

1208 East Historic Columbia River Hwy., Troutdale Thursday to Monday, 11 am-7 pm (Pro tip: Happy hour prices are in effect all day on Mondays.) Closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays. sugarpinedrivein.com.

Julia Silverman is the former editor of PDX Parent. She is eternally loyal to soft-serve vanilla in a cup with rainbow sprinkles. And a cherry on top.

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For more kid-friendly restaurant reviews, visit: pdxparent.com /family-supper

for Days SuperDeluxe

W

hile Julia’s childhood summertime food crush is creamy soft serve, the nostaglia trigger of my SoCal childhood is In-N-Out burger. It’s more than a burger. It’s blue skies, the smell of ocean air and the grit of sand between my toes. (Before you give me the side-eye about Calfornians ruining everything, know that I’ve been here 14 years.)

And it turns out the closest thing I’ve come to In-N-Out in Portland opened up in my neighborhood last year: SuperDeluxe.

In its early days, the drive-thru at the busy intersection of Southeast Powell Boulevard and 50th Avenue held up traffic along Powell with hungry hordes waiting to try the latest burger from restaurant mogul Micah Camden. (Parking can still be tricky.

Pro tip: Park on Southeast Haig Street.) If that DENISE CASTAÑON name sounds familiar, it’s probably because Camden also opened Little Big Burger and Blue Star Donuts — and the tasty and sustainable Little Bean non-dairy ice cream shop mentioned on page 8. In fact, a second SuperDeluxe has opened in the Pearl right by Little Bean.

The shop was a Taco Time in another life, and the layout of booths in the dining room retains an old-school fast-food-joint feel despite the hipper paint job. Good to know: They’ve got high chairs in the dining room. There’s also a patio with umbrellas.

But back to the burger. The Single and Double Deluxe ($4.75, $5.75) sport a thin patty like the In-N-Out burger, but already come loaded with the goods — lettuce, tomato, raw onion, American cheese, pickles, sauce with a hint of Dijon mustard, and oh-so-tasty caramelized onions. So there’s no need for a secret menu. Of course, my 7-year-old daughter and 4-year-old son will eat no toppings whatsoever. It’s just bun, meat and cheese for them. But boy do they love SuperDeluxe burgers. I think part of the reason is that the thin patty comes welldone and is easy for them to eat. And that patty is local, high-quality, pasture-raised beef from SP Provisions, which makes me feel way better about feeding them fast food. (I do wish SuperDeluxe would offer a plain “kids’ burger” that’s knocked down in price just a smidge.)

The crunchy fries come out piping hot. The lunch-and-dinner menu also includes real-meat chicken nuggets ($4.25 for five pieces, $5.50

for eight), a fried chicken sandwich ($5.75), and an Impossible Burger option for vegetarians ($5.75). And one of our surprise favorites on the menu is the Real Fruit Fizzy Water, basically soda water with a few pumps of sweetened, macerated fruit. You can upgrade your meal, adding a drink and fries for 3 bucks — and the add-on drink can be a Fizzy Water. I would have been all over the Fizzy Water when I was pregnant and avoiding caffeine, and I love this option for my kids. Flavors change seasonally, but Adela and Cruz especially like blackberry and strawberry.

So, for me the SuperDeluxe location on Powell doesn’t quite evoke the nostalgia that the palm-tree-studded California outposts of In-NOut do. But I think, burger-to-burger, I may prefer the SuperDeluxe.

And who knows? When my kids are grown up, maybe the things that make childhood memories flood back to them will be the sounds of a busy intersection and a Single Deluxe burger.

5000 SE Powell Blvd. Friday to Saturday, 7 am-midnight; Sunday to Thursday, 7 am-11 pm. Dining room closes at 10 pm. Drive-thru open until close. eatsuperdeluxe.com.

You better believe editor Denise Castañon will be hightailing it to Keizer for a Double-Double with grilled onions, well-done fries and a Neopolitan shake when In-N-Out opens there. But she and her husband and their two kids are pretty happy to have SuperDeluxe right in their Southeast neighborhood. pdxparent.com

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The Rose Festival Dragon Boat Races of last spring are a distant memory, but our city’s fleet of whimsically painted dragon boats will make its annual return to the waterfront during the Portland Dragon Boat Festival. Admire the lithe, intricately painted vessels up close, then wander through a park packed with food and merchandise vendors as you soak up the waterfront’s scenic latesummer vibe. Saturday and Sunday, September 7-8, 9 am-4 pm. Tom McCall

Go. Play. Explore. food of the gods The ancestors of modern-day Latin Americans notched up remarkable achievements — incredibly accurate astronomy charts and calendars, and elaborately engineered pyramids. But let’s not forget about the foods they revered that are now universally popular — like corn and hello, chocolate! Celebrate those foods at the Portland Mercado’s Taste of Latinoamérica event. The food carts will be selling delicacies from Mexico, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Colombia and other Latin American countries.

Musicians and dancers will grace the stage, and they’ll have activities for the kiddos, too. Saturday, September 7, noon-7 pm. Free admission.

cosplay kingdom Think Rose City Comic Con is just for nerds? Nope, the convention of all things pop culture, from movies to TV shows to comic books, is truly fun for everyone. You might be giddy to shake hands with your favorite actors from The Office while the kids will dig watching animal shows, meeting their favorite superheroes and playing retro video games at the Neontendo car. Pro tip: Encourage your kids to dress up as their favorite characters — they’ll be thrilled when other cosplay fans call them by their character’s name. Friday to Sunday, September 13-15, check rosecitycomiccon.com for times, tickets and more.

DENISE CASTAÑON

ADELA PARKER

Waterfront Park. Free.

September 2019

DENISE CASTAÑON

time out

dragon taming

behind the music Just in time for Hispanic Heritage Month, get the story behind many traditional Latino songs at Nuestro Canto’s Sharing Our Traditions event at Multnomah County Library — and you’ll be a part of keeping the songs alive for a new generation. Saturday, September 14, 11 am-noon.

St. Johns Library. First come, first served. Free.

inspiration and imagination Engineers, artists, scientists and crafters showcase and share their skills at the Portland Mini Maker Faire.

Learn how to create the sand castles of your dreams, build a cosplay prop, blast off Alka-Seltzer rockets and much more. Saturday and Sunday, September 7-8, 9:30 am-5:30 pm. OMSI. Visit portland.makerfaire.com for tickets.

Finally! Portland’s premier foodie extravaganza is debuting a kid-friendly event this year: Feast Portland presents Melty Fest Presented by Tillamook, which promises all comers a decadent lineup of classic kidcuisine staples, from ice cream sandwiches and milkshakes to gooey grilled cheese sandwiches. (Adult drinks are also on hand.) Practice your culinary shtick on a make-yourown-cooking-show set, get into a food fight, and immerse yourself in something called a “cheese ball pit” — if you dare. Don’t forget the Lactaid!

Saturday, September 14, 4 pm-7 pm. The Redd on Salmon Street. $65 per adult, $35 per kid. Kids under 3 free. Feastportland.com.

Looking for accessible events for kids of all abilities? Check out 40

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an accessible and inclusive digital directory

TILLAMOOK

get melty with it!

at pdxparent.com/inclusive-pdx-events-calendar.

bridges to community

a pirate’s life season of shows with How I Became a Pirate.

A motley crew of pirates descends on a quiet family vacation spot in search of an expert digger — and slapstick hilarity ensues. Saturdays and Sundays, September 21 to October 13.

Shows at 11 am and 2 pm. Best for ages 4 and up.

Check nwct.org to purchase tickets and for info on ASL-interpreted and audio-described shows.

( @pdx_parent

where the sidewalk gets painted

! /pdxparentonline

The sidewalks of downtown Forest Grove get a major facelift during the Sidewalk Chalk Art Festival, when artists of all stripes beautify the pavement. Anyone can participate, no matter your artistic skill. And even if you don’t scribble designs on a square of thoroughfare, you can stroll by and check out all the artists’ visions. Saturday, September 21, 8 am-4 pm. You can register the day of the event starting at 8 am at 2022 Main St., Forest Grove. $12 to decorate a square for non-Valley Art Association members and includes a tray of chalk.

clink your glass

% /pdx_parent/

EVERGREEN AVIATION AND SPACE MUSEUM

Northwest Children’s Theater opens a new

$ /pdx_parent/

Get set for a swashbuckling good time as

zero dollars Free. It’s every parent’s favorite word. And Museum Day Live means you and the kids get free admission to a number of local museums. Pick from the Portland Art Museum, Oregon Historical Society, Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum in McMinnville and more. Saturday, September 21. Visit smithsonianmag.com/museumday for a full list of participating museums.

DAVID KINDER

NINO FERNANDEZ

Spinning DJs! Boogie-ing bodies! You’ve never seen the Portland Children’s Museum quite like this. Forge a few new friendships (or just shake those wiggles out) at the inaugural Building Bridges Family Music Festival, when an award-winning lineup of musicians including Red Yarn, DJ Anjali & the Incredible Kid, Aaron Nigel Smith and The Alphabet Rockers storms the museum’s indoor and outdoor stages to sing songs of communitybuilding and peace all weekend long.

Saturday and Sunday, September 21-22, 9 am-5 pm. Portland Children’s Museum. $14 per person, per day. Portlandcm.org.

SIDEWALK CHALK ART FESTIVAL

Get social with us!

You might not think Mount Angel’s annual Oktoberfest bash is familyfriendly, but during daytime hours it pleases young and old alike. Taste a wide variety of foods, cut a rug to live bands and, yes, grown-ups can partake of some German-style beers. There’s also a free “Kindergarten” area with bounce houses, rides and wiener-dog races. It might be a little too crowded for the littlest kids to enjoy, but older kids will have a blast.

Thursday to Sunday, September 12-15. Visit oktoberfest.org for tickets. Under 21 years old free. In Portland, Oaks Park hosts an Oktoberfest with German cuisine and brews from local vendors.

In the Kinderplatz area, kiddos can find a paper-crown-making craft, a rocking music show and soccer demos. Friday to Sunday, September 21-23.

Visit oaksoktoberfest.com for times, prices and more.

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pa r e n t l a n d i a

“Five really snuck up on me.�

Tom Toro is a freelance cartoonist and writer whose work appears in The New Yorker, Paris Review, American Bystander and elsewhere.

His collection of Trump cartoons TINY HANDS was published in 2017 by Dock Street Press. His fiction writing has been shortlisted for the Disquiet International Literary Prize. Tom is currently developing an animated TV show, and finishing a graphic memoir about becoming an artist during turbulent times. He lives in Portland with his wife, preschooler and cat. To see more of his work, visit tomtoro.com.

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