Fellowship - Confronting White Nationalism in Oregon Schools

Western States Center Inc. • Portland, OR

31d

About The Position

The Confronting White Nationalism in Oregon Schools Fellowship is a pilot professional learning cohort at the Western States Center designed to equip Oregon educators with the knowledge, tools, and community support necessary to protect public education and advance inclusive democracy. At a moment when white and Christian nationalist movements are increasingly targeting schools, school boards, and educators, this fellowship responds with opportunities to build community with other educators and organizations who want to protect public schools.

White and Christian nationalism pose both an existential threat to democratic education—by undermining pluralism, inclusivity, and civic trust—and a material threat to schools through harassment, policy and fiscal impacts, and political violence. This fellowship creates structured space for educators to deepen their analysis of these movements while building concrete skills to respond, organize, and lead in their local contexts.

Through a cohort model grounded in Oregon’s political, cultural, and geographic realities, participating teachers will strengthen their capacity to recognize organized bigotry, interrupt recruitment pathways, respond to crises, and build school environments where students feel supported. They will then design projects and implement plans to support the creation and maintenance of a community of practice designed to identify and address the threats posed by anti-democracy and authoritarian threats to public education.

Requirements

• The Fellowship will run from May-December 2026.
• Be a teacher in a public school in Oregon. (Efforts to create geographic diversity in the state will be made).
• Ability to commit to bi-weekly fellowship meetings to be held on Wednesdays from 4-5:30 pm PST.
• Ability to commit to 3-5 hours of work per week for Western States Center
• A demonstrated commitment to racial and gender justice.
• Enthusiasm about creative approaches to countering white nationalism and approaches that build broad coalitions to deal with the white nationalist movement and defend democracy.
• Attention to detail and excitement about the nitty-gritty work of organizing and monitoring.

Responsibilities

• Participate in twice-monthly 90-minute virtual sessions (Zoom)
• Attend two in-person, two-day retreats focused on collaboration, planning, and applied strategy
• Participate in discussions around readings, case studies, and other media and guest speakers
• Design and implement individual and/or group projects rooted in participants’ school and community contexts
• Participate in ongoing coaching and peer support

Benefits

• Fellows will receive a monthly stipend of $750 based on 3-5 hours of work per week for a total of $6,000 for the fellowship.
• Fellows may also receive support for participation in local/regional or national conferences and convenings where they share their work.

What This Job Offers

• Education Level: No Education Listed
• Number of Employees: 1-10 employees