Category Archives: CNA

By Marsha Sandman | CNA Media Team

Seven-year-old Ariana (Ari) now attends first grade inside Faubion Elementary School. Until April 2, all of her first grade studies were at home.

School closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic had come on suddenly in March 2020 and sent Portland Public Schools students home from their classrooms. No one was prepared for such an event, so it was quite a challenge for the teachers and the school district to get everyone and everything up and running.

Ari’s online learning was a combination of video conferencing and computer lessons created by the school district. Kids learn at different levels, and addressing these needs virtually was quite the challenge.

Classes included reading, math, art, dance, science, health and problem solving.

Ari’s family helped to supplement her education with additional challenges – not an easy task for some families. The children in her class appeared eager to engage with each other and their teacher in their relatively short video windows four days each week.

Ari said she liked learning at home because she could be with her family, but she missed seeing her classmates and her teacher face to face.

She had a bit of a sleepless night before her first day inside the classroom. All those months of masks, extra hygiene, space and caution had contributed to some panic.

Ari reported she was excited and happy, but a bit nervous. When she encountered her 10 classmates, met her teacher face to face and learned the rules, she relaxed into the routine.

Pick-up and drop-off procedures, hygiene and bathroom breaks have been explained to parents, who are not permitted in the building and who meet their students at specified locations.

Stringent rules are established for absentee students and illnesses. If students have COVID-like symptoms, they are sent to the Symptom Room, screened by the health assistant and likely sent home. They remain home until the county determines it is safe to return. Class is only 135 minutes, four days a week with no recess and no lunch in the classroom.

Getting up at 7 a.m. is no fun. Only a few classes are in session from 8 to 10:15 a.m. A second group of students arrives at 12:15 p.m.

But arriving home by 10:30 a.m. with a sack lunch is not a bad deal for an active little girl.

Ari said she’s very happy to walk home from school, play and picnic outside with her new schoolmates.

After living east, south, north and west, Marsha Sandman is home at last. And she wants to hear your story. Contact her at MarshaJSandman@ gmail.com.

By Karen Lotts | CNA Media Team

A group of Vernon Elementary School students are officially published illustrators thanks to a collaboration between their fourth grade classes and authors/Ethiopian literacy advocates Jane and Caroline Kurtz.

The students’ drawings appear in the children’s book “Home,” written by the Portland-based Kurtz sisters. It tells a story of immigration framed in a tale about white storks that migrate annually from Europe to Ethiopia.

The text is written in both English and Amharic, one of the three main languages spoken in Ethiopia.

According to the sisters, who grew up in Ethiopia, children’s literature is just taking root in that country. There are still limited options for beginner books that both appeal to children and are written in Ethiopian languages.

To help meet this need, Jane co-founded the nonprofit Ethiopia Reads 20 years ago and in 2016 began writing stories for Ethiopian children learning to read. Jane and Caroline now volunteer as creative directors for Ready Set Go Books, a project of the Seattle-based nonprofit Open Hearts Big Dreams.

They have collaborated previously with community volunteer illustrators through churches or community college art programs. The project with Vernon came to life last spring when teacher Marie McMahon asked the sisters if they’d be interested in her students contributing to their next book.

“When my students heard that they could be a part of making a difference in other children’s lives by increasing access to literacy, they were immediately on board,” Marie said.

During a presentation at Vernon, Jane and Caroline spoke to the students about growing up and going to school in Ethiopia and the importance of these books to the young readers there.

In the pursuit of authenticity, the students then researched Ethiopian landscapes and white storks before meeting with volunteer illustrator Jordy Farrell, from Ready Set Go Books, who offered illustration tips.

Using additional background art from a previous collaboration with students in Beaverton and combining it with the illustrations from Vernon students, a colorful book was ready to be published online and printed in Ethiopia.

The Vernon community has reacted warmly to the philanthropic project, and gathered recently at Cafe Eleven for the debut of the book and copies signed by the student illustrators.

“As a published author, I face incredible odds…a hard craft journey…and the payoff is in seeing readers connect with my books,” Jane said. “I think something similar happened with these students.”

The books are available through Amazon.com. Involvement opportunities can be found via EthiopiaReads.org and OpenHeartsBigDreams.org.

Karen Lotts is a local freelance writer who helps local small businesses and nonprofits connect with their audiences through copywriting. She can be reached at KarenLotts.com.