On Nov. 7, Portland State President Wim Wiewel announced progress made at PSU because of the partnership with All Hands Raised.
All Hands Raised is an organization that seeks to provide “education, equity, & excellence from cradle-to-career”, according to the All Hands Raised website.
This fall, 40 percent of PSU’s incoming freshman class are students of color and Latinos who have a higher graduation rate than white students, according to Wiewel.
The PSU Initiative Schools, Universities, and Communities Committed to Educational Success for all Students will bring together faculty and staff to try to partner on campus and in the community to better education in K–12 public schools and help “first-generation, low-income, students of color, and students who are historically underrepresented” students at PSU succeed and have support, according to the Cradle-to-Career page on the PSU website.
According to the All Hands Raised website, “All Hands Raised brings together local business, government, non-profit organizations, faith community, parents, students and community stakeholders to ensure the sustained success of every child in Portland and Multnomah County from cradle to career.”
PSU has worked with All Hands Raised on Cradle-to-Career since 2009 and is the organization’s lead data partner.
“President Wiewel is an amazing advocate for All Hands Raised partnership work here locally, in our community, and also outside of Multnomah county,” Jeanie-Marie Price, Vice President, Communications at All Hands Raised said. “Portland State has been a vital partner for us and president Wiewel’s leadership from the very beginning of this work back in [November of 2010] has been instrumental.”
According to PSU’s Cradle-to-Career Framework 2010 Report, the project has five main goals for students, which are that students will be prepared for school, supported inside and outside of school, succeed academically, enroll in postsecondary education or training and graduate and enter a career.
PSU has added a Native American Center, Latino student support center and provided bilingual admission counseling in order to raise student success at PSU.
According to Price, there is another project emerging concerning strengthening pathways from high school to college and careers, which President Wiewel is on a task force for.
