Last spring, Lisa and Karinsa’s 5/6 classes created a zine depicting the history of the civil rights movement in Portland. The classes worked closely with Know Your City, an organization that engages the public in art and social justice through creative placemaking projects.
The students created a fabulous zine which culminated in a project release party at the Oregon Historical Society. It was an amazing unit for the kids and a wonderful example of the benefits of place-based education.
Unfortunately, Know Your City recently share some difficult news.
After celebrating six years of providing vital community programming, their Board of Directors held an emergency board meeting in November after discovering financial mismanagement that took place during former organizational leadership.
Faced with closure, Know Your City has made the decision to transition from having paid staff to becoming a volunteer led organization. Since November, the membership on their Board of Directors has grown from two to eight, they’ve doubled the size of their volunteer base, and have spearheaded lots and lots of fundraising. But they rely on our financial support to survive, and thrive, financially through 2016.
Friends of Southwest Charter School 