In partnership with Preschool for All, the Early Learning Program is a pilot site for Multnomah County's universal preschool initiative. It is offered at no cost to families. To be eligible for 2024-25, children must be age 3 by September 1, 2024, and have a parent or legal guardian living in Multnomah County. Applications will be available on our website in Spring 2024. If we receive more applications than openings in our program, we will run a lottery. Enrollment in the Early Learning Program (ages 3 - 4) does not automatically lead to enrollment in the Learning Academy (grades K - 5). Please send questions to EarlyLearning@KairosPDX.org.
Are you an educator who’s eager to bring zest and grit to your work alongside children? Do you believe that children have agency in their own learning, which happens through constructing ideas, working with the languages of materials, and building understandings with others? If you’d like to invite children to bring their whole and worthy selves to school, where we practice living and learning together each day, we want to hear from you! Please send a cover letter, resume and three professional references to Careers@KairosPDX.org.
We offer trainings and custom consultations to support and challenge your faculty around centering equity and belonging, designing learning environments and using materials as thinking tools, nurturing children’s social-emotional intelligences, and practicing the Habits for Success in children and adults. We’d love to have a conversation with you about your hopes as we imagine the future of our community’s teaching and learning ecosystem. Please reach out to us at TrainingAcademy@KairosPDX.org.
KairosPDX exists to eliminate the prolific racial achievement and opportunity gaps by cultivating confident, creative, compassionate leaders. Established in 2013, the KairosPDX Learning Academy has grown to serve 232 Kindergarten to fifth grade leaders attending to their social, emotional, academic and cultural development. We engage and empower children through a liberating education by which each individual is free to show up with their whole, complex and worthy self. We are creating a new narrative around children and families of color placing strength and excellence at the fore. Establishing the Early Learning Program is vital to realizing our mission and vision. We know that rich and meaningful early childhood experiences contribute to an essential foundation for lifelong learning and civic engagement.
To learn more about KairosPDX and apply for enrollment, please attend on of our upcoming In-Person Information Sessions.
Zest
Enthusiasm for learning, and trying out ideas.
Grit
Willingness to try again despite disappointment.
Discipline
Ability to follow through and fully engage.
Self Control
Social emotional regulation.
Optimism
Ability to reflect on and expect good things.
Gratitude
Appreciation for what they have/do.
Empathy
Ability to connect and relate to others.
Curiosity
Interest in the world and the possibilities around them.
Our stance on teaching and learning relies on a strong image of children, a pedagogy of listening and relationships, and an intentional learning environment.
Strong Image of Children
Children as Creators:
Children are competent, resourceful and creative with imagination and
curiosity about the world around them. They come to school full of experience and wisdom in their
natural approaches to make meaning of their lives.
Children as Collaborators:
No child lives or learns in isolation. A child is always in search of
relationships. Children learn and become themselves through interaction and relationships with
other people, ideas, objects and symbols.
Children as Communicators:
Children make their thinking visible to us in many ways, including
words, drawing, numbers, dance, painting, building, sculpture, shadow play, collage, drama, music
and more. Children use many kinds of materials to discover and express what they understand,
wonder, feel and imagine.
Pedagogy of Listening + Relationships
Culture of Respect:
Children and Adults as Researchers and Co-Creators:
Documentation as Assessment:
Intentional Learning Environment
Environment as Teacher:
Organization as Foundational: