Speaking up for our Investees: CEO Mark Holloway in the Portland Business Journal

This week, our CEO Mark Holloway wrote a piece for the Portland Business Journal: an open letter encouraging Portland Public Schools' new Superintendent, Guadalupe Guerrero, to invest in Portland's underserved children.

In his letter, Mark addressed KairosPDX's current dilemma, stating that "their stability is being threatened by the district's desire to shuffle the facilities deck despite the fact that they exemplify the districts equity and excellence priorities." Here at SVP Portland, we stand behind and in support of our Investees, and we do everything we can to support their needs and advance equity. While this letter was penned in defense of KairosPDX, it applies to all of our investments and to all of the members of our community who are underserved by the resources available.We must have leadership in our community that prioritizes preparing students for kindergarten, that calls on other institutions to invest in preschool. We must immediately prioritize investments in more culturally responsive education models, schools, and teachers. If we don't, the hurdles that children from racially and linguistically diverse communities will face will show themselves in declining graduation rates down the line. All of our children deserve equal footing at the starting line, and organizations like KairosPDX fight for that equality.