Jefferson High School Principal Leon Dudley is on leave of absence until the end of the school year, according to Portland Public School officials. Cynthia Harris, area director for the Jefferson Cluster, will take his place on a temporary basis.
Dudley was hired as Jefferson's principal on Aug. 14, 2006, and the end of this school year would have marked his first year at the school, which has been marked with controversy over his leadership style, including recent criticism from the student council over Dudley's allegedly frequent absences.
Portland Public Schools Spokesman Matt Shelby declined to say if the leave was forced or if Dudley chose to leave, but said the leave is for a defined amount of time and that he expects Dudley to return to his duties after that time.
"We're affording him the same respect we would any other (PPS employee)," Shelby said. "It is a personnel matter."
Harris, who also started her position in the fall of 2006, has been involved with many of Dudley's duties, says Shelby, and supervises all the principals in the Jefferson Cluster. The district will be filling Harris' position in the near future, but says it will have "zero effect" on day-to-day functions.

Ten years into his tenure as Portland State University's president, Daniel Bernstine announced
Wednesday that he is leaving. "It's time to explore different opportunities," Bernstine told The Skanner on Wednesday. "I will miss it ... but it's better to leave too early than to leave too late."

When August Wilson's Tony Award-winning play "Fences" opens in Portland this week,
only two of the actors will be able to sleep in their own beds each night.
Ten-year-old Justyce Chaney and 9-year-old Makayla Irvan, both local girls, will rotate the part of Raynell, a sassy youngster whose family is dealing with the racial inequalities of 20th century America.

Awoken from his sleep at 1 a.m. on Feb. 22, 1987, Luther Lockett got a call that would save his life. Less than one hour later, the 52-year-old was at OHSU being prepped for a heart transplant – the 25th such transplant ever performed at OHSU.
"Without that heart, I wouldn't be here at all," Lockett said.
Now, 20 years later, Lockett said he's grateful to the man who lost his life, and for the family who agreed to let their loved one become an organ donor.
As a Black man, Lockett knows his chances of receiving a transplant were less than if he had been White.
"About 35 percent of people waiting for a kidney are African American," says Mary Jane Hunt, director of Donate Life Northwest.

Pastor Pat Wright and the Total Experience Gospel Choir sing at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Peacemakers Banquet, held April 4 at Mt. Zion Baptist Church. The event raised funds for survivors of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

The Mayor's Council on African American Elders has announced it will hold health education sessions the fourth Thursday of every month to educate African American elders and their adult children on issues related to senior African Americans in Seattle and King County.
Established in 1995 by then Mayor Norman B. Rice to oversee the development of a comprehensive continuum of services to serve the needs of African American elders, the 12-member council is chaired by Roger Moore, administrator of the Leon Sullivan Health Care Center in Seattle.
Appointed to the MCAAE board in January, Moore comes to the council with extensive experience in the long-term care industry. He earned his bachelor's in business from Evergreen State College in 1986, has 15 years experience in the industry and is on the board of directors for Cancer Lifeline.
"Being in the long-term care industry is important because it allows me to have a positive impact on people's lives including residents, patients and their loved ones," Moore says. "People want to know that they're loved one is receiving the best of care in a quality, warm, structured environment which can assist them in terms of making their lives easier."
Of being on the council, Moore says education is a top priority.

The Seattle Public Library's Madrona-Sally Goldmark Branch, at 1134 33rd Ave., is expected to close its doors for a lengthy renovation at 6 p.m. Saturday, April 21.
During the closure, the library will add staff to nearby branches to help meet the needs for library service. Librarians also will continue community outreach to children and young adults and will make school visits in the branch's service area.

Aliens, healers, spies and cowboys – the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center's fourth annual
African American Film Festival, which kicks off April 21, has them all. "Our goal for each year is to present as wide, and as honest, a variety of portrayals of Black life as possible," Festival Curator Zola Mumfor said. "People of African descent are doing all sorts of interesting things all over the world; why not invite audiences to learn and enjoy?'

The Young Eight, a critically acclaimed African American string quartet, will end their two-week residencies at three Seattle Public Schools with a concert performance with the students.
The concert takes place at 6 p.m. April 20, at Rainier Beach High School, 8815 Seward Park S. The event is free and open to the public.

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