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What we do

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Early Learning Network   Family Connections Program  Learning Academy

Early Learning Network

“Many of the things we need can wait.  The child cannot wait.  Right now is the time his bones are being formed, his blood is being made, and his senses are being developed.  To him we cannot answer ‘Tomorrow.’  His name is ‘Today.’  “  ~ Gabriela Mistral

The KairosPDX Early Learning network is focused on  providing direct and  indirect, culturally competent consulting and services to current in-home providers and families/friends and neighbors who serve under-represented youth including low-income youth and youth of color.

We aim to leverage our individual and collective relationships to strengthen the current network of in-home providers by providing the following:

  • Community– Bi-monthly meetings will be led by an experienced early-childhood facilitator who will help nurture a community of practice, coordinate and synthesize needs and will assist in the articulation of policy change that can help the providers and caretakers be most effective at their craft.
  • Training – Through partnerships with CCRC, Children’s Museum, Science Museum and others
  • Research-based methodology- Neuroscience shows the developmental impact of approaches such as Reggio Emilia among others. We seek to bring this research to providers and information to caregivers so they can apply it appropriately in their own settings.
  • Policy dialogue and input sessions– The national and statewide focus on early childhood has catalyzed an increase in legislation aimed at ensuring quality early childhood is accessible to all children. This legislation often lacks an equity lens. KairosPDX seeks to work with our network in establishing a voice that can inform such policy.
  • Capacity building– KairosPDX will leverage its partnerships to provide additional partnership and training opportunities to the network that help them improve their business ad meet certification requirements, or help them grow as professionals who sere childen.

Benefits

We believe that creating a network for in-home providers and friends/family/neighbor caregivers will greatly benefit the system of early childhood, both enhancing the quality of early childhood but also expanding the policy and practice dialogue to a tremendously important group responsible for the early childhood development of the majority of children in the community. By strengthening and reflecting the service delivery within the network, we will strengthen the system itself ensuring more of our kids are in fact ready for Kindergarten and life beyond.

To join us please contact info@kairospdx.org

Family Connections Program

The Family connections program is born of the belief that families are first teachers and children exist in the context of their families. As such, if we are supporting children to thrive, we need to support families as well. The family connections program is also predicated on the belief that Portland has a wealth of family resources and our goal/job is to be a broker and connector to these existing resources.

Recruitment/Enrollment

Any programming that occurs outside of the classroom environment that supports children and families is designated as our family connections programming. The family connections program also exists to support families with children who are at three main age levels:

  1. Children 0-3
  2. Pre-School Aged Children
  3. Children K-5

The majority of the Family Connections program to start is focused on Early Childhood to ensure that all children have access to quality early learning experiences.

Reggio – inspired, Multicultural, Service Learning Academy

Our learning academy reinforces our belief that public schools are vital to the ecosystem of the educational landscape, and can lead to equitable outcomes yielding not only better students, but better people.

KairosPDX  submitted a K-5 charter application to Portland Public Schools in July of 2013. We were approved in December 2013 and  opened for kindergarten and first grade enrollment in August 2014.  We are college preparatory, multicultural and service minded. Our approach is grounded in the research of both Howard Gardner and Lisa Delpit, as well as the educational experiences of the city-run schools of Reggio Emilia, Italy.

Our students will obtain the habits of mind required to achieve academically and thrive socially and we will be an education incubator for promising practices in arts integration, culturally competent teaching practices, community partnership and service learning.  We are developing a community equipped to engage deeply, think critically and connect authentically. This is our Kairos. This is where youth as catalytic engines of change is realized.

We currently serve over 170 students in grades K-5 grade and will be hosting enrollment for the 2019-2020 school year in March 2019, for more information contact charter@kairospdx.org.

Wellness Policy

KairosPDX Learning Academy Public Charter School is committed to the optimal development of every student.  Kairos believes that for students to have the opportunity to achieve personal, academic, developmental, and social success, we need to create positive, safe, and health-promoting learning environments at every level, in every setting, throughout the school year.  To review our full wellness policy, please click here: KairosPDX Wellness Policy.

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