On Friday, March 23, 2018 Chris Riser was placed on administrative leave from Ockley Green Middle School. This was in response to his involvement of the February 9th walkout in support of the family of Quanice Hayes. 17 year old Quanice Hayes was killed by the Portland police one year ago.

Chris Riser is an important presence to the students at Ockley Green Middle School. He is a strong voice for social justice, diversity and equality. At a critical time when gun violence is rampant, Chris Riser is teaching the kids that their greatest weapon is their voice. By placing him on administrative leave, it is teaching our children that speaking up for what they believe in is wrong. Some of the best education we can learn is not in the classroom but from social interactions. Chris Riser is a young, energetic, engaging teacher who should not be punished for something we all agree on. (e.g. gun violence in schools)

Our end goal is to see Chris Riser back in the classroom, teaching the students that we all know he cares a great deal for. We need to not be afraid of teachers who think outside the box to educate our children for the better and help build them into the strong, future leaders we need.

We implore all parents and members of the community to step up and support not only Chris Riser, an amazing teacher, but also our brave students who chose to voice their opinion and stand up with him that day.