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A4 U.S. NEWS
Friday 4 November 2022
Cities seek to control camping amid growing homeless crisis

By Claire Rush waived if the person takes
Associated Press part in a diversion program
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The that would require mental
tents proliferating on side- health or substance abuse
walks in downtown and treatment in lieu of jail time.
residential neighborhoods Denver, Colorado, and
across Portland, Oregon, Austin, Texas, have also
are fueling a debate that’s passed ordinances both
playing out in cities nation- banning public camping
wide as the homelessness and allowing sanctioned
crisis in the U.S. explodes: campsites. Denver has
Should camping be opened several “safe out-
banned anywhere except door spaces” since 2020
in sanctioned sites? where tents, food and oth-
Republican-led states in- er services are provided.
cluding Texas and Missouri In Austin, the Esperanza
have passed laws in the community is a sanctioned
past couple years prohibit- encampment that serves
ing street camping while di- about 150 people and is
verting money from afford- currently constructing 200
able housing projects to individual shelter units.
short-term shelter solutions. The Cicero Institute, which
Now, after decades of wrote the model legislation
struggling to tackle home- Tents line the sidewalk on SW Clay St in Portland, Ore., on Dec. 9, 2020. City council members in that inspired many of the
lessness, some progressive Portland, Oregon, are set to vote on a resolution that would ban homeless street camping. recent camping ban poli-
West Coast cities are con- (AP Photo/Craig Mitchelldyer, File) cies, says creating specific
sidering similar plans. Port- phe,” Portland Mayor Ted starting to happen is that least three designated sites areas where camping is
land City Council mem- Wheeler said last month the way to immediately where camping would be permitted can be a faster
bers will vote Thursday on when he unveiled the address an issue that is at allowed, with an initial ca- solution for cities com-
a proposal to create at plan. “We need to move its core an affordable hous- pacity to serve about 150 pared to building afford-
least three large designat- our scattered, vulnerable ing problem is to try and people each. They would able housing.
ed campsites and ban the homeless population closer remove people from pub- have 24-hour manage- “One of the biggest prob-
rest of the roughly 700 en- to the services that they lic view.” Portland’s soaring ment and provide access lems that sanctioned
campments currently scat- need.” “As visible homeless- homelessness has become to services such as food, camping is trying to ad-
tered across the city. More ness has increased, there is a top concern for the vast hygiene, litter collection dress is just the unbeliev-
than 3,000 people are living also an increase in pressure majority of residents and and treatment for men- able difficulty of getting
without shelter in Portland, from the public and from has prompted legal action. tal health and substance more shovels in the ground
a 50% jump from 2019, ac- others for elected officials A group of people with dis- abuse. Outreach workers to get shelter or other sorts
cording to the proposal. and other folks in positions abilities has sued the city would direct people living or services available for
“The magnitude and the of authority to address that over tents blocking side- on the street to the desig- the homeless,” said Judge
depth of the homeless crisis issue,” said Ann Oliva, CEO walks and making them nated camping sites. Those Glock, the group’s senior
in our city is nothing short of of the National Alliance to inaccessible. Portland’s who refuse could be cited, director of policy and re-
a humanitarian catastro- End Homelessness. “What’s proposal would establish at but the citations could be search. q

In 1 classroom, 4 teachers manage 135 kids -- and love it

By Neal Morton, The Hech- MESA, Ariz. (AP) — A how many needed his help spreading to other schools groups or whatever the
inger Report teacher-in-training darted with a history unit on Islam. in the district and beyond. teachers as a team agree
Associated Press among students, tallying A veteran math teacher Five years ago, faced with is a priority that day. What
hovered near a cluster high teacher turnover and looks at times like chaos is in
of desks, coaching some declining student enroll- fact a carefully orchestrat-
50 freshmen on a geom- ment, Westwood’s leaders ed plan: Each morning, the
etry assignment. A science decided to try something Westwood teams meet for
teacher checked students’ different. Working with pro- two hours of the school day
homework, while an English fessors at Arizona State Uni- to hash out a personalized
teacher spoke into a micro- versity’s teachers college, program for every student,
phone at the front of the they piloted a classroom dictating the lessons, skills
classroom, giving instruc- model known as team and assignments the team
tion, to keep students on teaching. It allows teach- will focus on that day.
track. ers to dissolve the walls By giving teachers more
One hundred thirty-five that separate their classes opportunity to collabo-
students, four teachers, across physical or grade di- rate and greater control
one giant classroom: This is vides. over how and what they
what ninth grade looks like The teachers share large teach, Mesa’s administra-
Westwood High School English teacher Jeff Hall, top center, at Westwood High School, groups of students some- tors hoped to fill staffing
monitors his class, Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2022 in Mesa, Ariz. Like in Mesa, Arizona’s largest times 100 or more and gaps and boost teacher
many school districts across the country, Mesa has a teacher school system. There, an rotate between group in- morale and retention. Ini-
shortage due in part due to low morale and declining interest in
the profession. innovative teaching mod- struction, one-on-one in- tial research suggests the
(AP Photo/Matt York) el has taken hold, and is terventions, small study gamble could pay off. q