Amber Namik is a graduate student in PSU's College of Education.
Portland Reading Council awarded one of two $1,000 scholarships to Portland State University graduate student and teacher Amber Namik, who is pursuing a Master’s in Education in Curriculum and Instruction with a Reading endorsement.
Namik, who grew up in California, is in her fourth year with Beaverton School District, teaching alternative education and working with students who have been expelled. She is an advocate for students, selecting literature reflective of who they are and diverse perspectives.
“What happens to kids when they are expelled or suspended? When they are taken away from the school site, they develop a negative view of school and it is hard to build trust. They don’t see themselves as readers,” she says, “so I help them find a passion for reading.”
Disproportionate exclusionary discipline throughout the country means more students of color and male students are expelled from school, and that happens in Oregon, too, she notes. Alternative education programs are intended to provide more learning options that are flexible in structure, pedagogy, environment and time to help students.
“Being a teacher, I love alternative ed, and I encourage people to look into alternative education,” says Namik. She currently teaches 9th to 12th grade students from throughout the school district. Prior to this year, she worked with 6th to 12th graders. Students attend for a shorter day, and instruction may be remote or face-to-face, depending on the student.
She finds that PSU’s College of Education is a good fit for a working teacher, with an online cohort model that allows her to attend classes in the evening. Indeed, the all-online program is what drew her to PSU, where she discovered diverse perspectives from all over the state and internationally, with vibrant discussion groups in her classes. “Being online, everyone has more of a voice,” she says.
The 2023 Literacy Educator Scholarship honors her work as a classroom teacher and scholar. She is excited to wrap up the Reading endorsement, and tackle what’s ahead – practice, testing, and her thesis, to complete the Master’s in Education. She is hoping to pursue instructional literacy in her career, building engagement with content, inclusive libraries, fluency of reading, emergent bilingual reading comprehension, and helping students find a passion for reading.
The Portland Reading Council (portlandreadingcouncil.org) was founded in 1957. It promotes literacy and a lifelong love of reading through the empowerment of teachers, offering programs and projects to support literacy educators in Multnomah, Washington and Clackamas counties in the Portland Metro area. It is an affiliate of the Oregon State Literacy Association and the International Literacy Association.