Every child in Multnomah County is prepared to succeed in school and life, regardless of race, ethnicity, or class. Our Strategic Plan describes how we’ll make that happen.

“It reminds me of a tornado,” says Hadiyah Miller. “It’s growing and there are a lot of pieces in the air.” Miller is an early childhood education expert and a member of Portland’s Black Child Development Council. She’s talking about—and taking on—school suspension and expulsion rates which disproportionately impact children of color from a very young age. Learn more about what the council is doing to calm the storm—and how you can help.

“I know inside of me I have the capacity to do whatever I want,” says Lulose Claude. Thanks to a program at Mount Hood Community College that’s funded in part by ELM, Claude, a Haitian immigrant and substitute preschool teacher, is well on her way.