Blog
Multnomah County Preschool for All Initiative: An Update
The COVID-19 pandemic has made clear the critical need for a quality preschool system. As the economic crisis deepens and closures have threatened the supply of child care and preschool providers, our families, community, and economy need Preschool for All now more than ever. SVP Partner and Preschool for All Co-Chair Mark Holloway offers an update on Multnomah County's Preschool for All initiative.
How Communities Are Leading The Way With Effective Solutions
As the world collectively navigates the shock and pain of a "new normal" fueled by the uncertainty and grief of the COVID-19 pandemic, SVP Portland is looking to resilient communities here in Oregon, to lead the way into the future.
The Leaders Among Us
SVP Partner Larry Fox explains why the Lead Partner role is the linchpin of success. Lead Partners are the primary contact with our Community Partners. Their job is to bring together a team of Partners to create mutually-shared goals with the Community Partner, to ensure that resource needs are communicated to SVP staff, to monitor progress, and to suggest adjustments as necessary… but the role is so much more.
SVP Portland's Executive Director Update: March 2020
On February 25, Partners gathered to learn about and discuss our 2019 impact and 2020 strategy. In case you missed it, here is a recap of the conversation. You can also read more about our 2019 impact in our Year in Review, listen to the Partnership Meeting, or see the presentation.
Partner of the Month: Mark Holloway
Known for his energy and tireless efforts to create “Preschool for All” in Multnomah County, Mark has served as Vice-Chair of the Preschool for All Task Force (chaired by Commissioner Jessica Vega Pederson) for the past nine months. We are thrilled to honor him as August's Partner of the Month!
Preschool for All: One Step Closer
All children in our community deserve the chance to enter kindergarten with the tools they need to learn, grow, and be successful. When children have access to quality early learning experiences, their positive outcomes in school increase significantly. SVP Portland is proud to celebrate the Preschool for All Task Force's report on the current state of preschool in Multnomah County and recommendations for how we can provide equitable access to high-quality early learning for all children. This report is the first step to making universal preschool a reality.
Student Success Act Signed Into Law
On May 20, 2019, Governor Kate Brown signed House Bill 3427 into law, tweeting, “Proud to sign our Student Success Act into law today, ensuring our schools will finally receive funding at the level our children deserve. This is a big day for our kids, and their future." SVP Portland has served as a capacity builder, seed investor, fiscal sponsor, and champion of the Equity Collaborative over the past several years, and we are incredibly proud of the advocacy efforts that resulted in this significant outcome.
Preschool for All: SVP Partners' Perspectives
Our network has been deeply engaged since the Preschool for All Task Force and Work Groups kicked off last year. And, like all our investments, Investor Partners have a bilateral relationship with the Community Partner, learning as much as they give. Read on to learn about our Partners’ experiences with this engagement!
Building Community Capacity: SVP Influences Early Childhood Systems Change
Last week the Early Childhood Coalition (ECC) and Children’s Institute convened Early Childhood Lobby Day at our capitol in Salem, and SVP showed up in support of the cross-sector effort. Dressed in blue, Partners joined 142 early childhood advocates from across Oregon and met with 63 legislators to ask them to make significant, high impact investments in early childhood.
End of Year Gratitude
As 2018 comes to an end and we celebrate the accomplishments of the year, we want to thank you for your deep commitment and service to Social Venture Partners Portland. Because of you, SVP Portland has expanded both the breadth and depth of our impact by investing more deeply in our current Community Partners as well as growing our portfolio to 14 investments—the largest ever!
Pull Up a Chair...Early Childhood Updates
As capacity builders, SVP is known for being a leader behind the public leader. This is why we have been invited to seats at early childhood decision-making tables, where we play a role in driving a cohesive strategy and alignment in. Together, across sectors, we are building the capacity of our community to ensure that all children have access to high quality, culturally relevant early learning experiences. Please read on for a snapshot of important conversations in which SVP is participating at the State and local levels.
Bolder and Brighter: New Faces With a New Vision for Portland
On Friday, June 15, our Partnership convened with Portland Public Schools Superintendent, Guadalupe Guerrero; and Oregon’s Early Learning Council Chair, Sue Miller, for an armchair discussion surrounding Portland’s progressive vision for education in Portland, and how that will take place in the years to come. John Branam, SVP Investor Partner and Board Member moderated. Here’s what we took away:
Meet Our Public Health Perspective
To help us pursue our Ready for Kindergarten goal to ensure that all children in the Portland metro area are prepared for kindergarten, we have built a Goal Strategy Team to plot our best course. The team will inform SVP's investment process by providing a detailed understanding and high-level perspective on Portland's early childhood landscape. Here is what Jessica Guernsey has to say about the unique perspective she brings to the table and why she got involved.
Results and Targets to Kick Off 2016
In 2015, we developed Key Performance Indicators (KPI) to report activity against our four Strategic Objectives. The KPIs are intended for Board review quarterly and full Partnership review at our Annual Partners Meeting. We have highlighted several key results and targets on which to focus.
2015 Year-End Message: Here's My Dream
While I offer endless thank yous as well, we take responsibility for results at SVP, so it’s equally important that I share where we still need to stretch.
Progress and Priorities, Fall 2015
We continue to focus and increase our effort in driving numbers one and two but we have just begun to scratch the surface of the significant funding alignment role that we must play. Thus, we have set the following 2016 priorities to take important next steps to increasing that effort.
Building Community Through Teacher Home Visits
Cherry Park Elementary is so thankful to be the recipients of grant funds to support our Kindergarten Teacher Home Visits program. We are a school of 600 students, where 75% live below the poverty line and 28 different languages are spoken. We have an emphasis on early childhood at our school and house six classrooms of all-day kindergarten students and two classrooms of pre-school. Building relationships with our students and community is at the heart of what we do at Cherry Park. Home visits are a perfect way for us to connect with our community so when we heard about the opportunity to receive grant funds to do this important work we were thrilled!
Plotting the Course to Our R4K Goal
At SVP we pursue the greatest potential, not the easiest path. To help us pursue our Ready for Kindergarten (R4K) goal to ensure that all children in the Portland metro area are prepared for kindergarten, we have built a Goal Strategy Team to plot our best course.