Co-Working for Educators · Portland, OR

You don't need
another PD.

You need a room full of people who get it.

Homeroom is a shared workspace in Portland built by and for educators. Bring your lesson plans, your grant drafts, and your Sunday-night weight.

The Room

The room is already
full of the right people.

Every person at this table chose education on purpose. Here are a few of them.

Denise Okafor, a middle school science teacher, smiling at a wooden desk with papers and a mug of tea
Member since 2022

Here on

Tuesdays & Thursdays

"I write every grant application at the table by the window. Something about being here makes the bureaucratic language feel less lonely."

Denise Okafor

7th Grade Science Teacher

STEM & Grant Writing

Denise has been teaching at Jefferson Middle School for eleven years. She discovered Homeroom during her third year when she was spending every Tuesday night alone at her kitchen table drafting STEM grant applications. Now she arrives at 4:30 PM, orders the same chamomile tea, and has secured over $47,000 in classroom funding — some of which she attributes directly to conversations had here.

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Raymond Castellano, a retired principal with silver hair, seated thoughtfully at a table with a coffee cup
Thursday Office Hours

Here on

Thursdays (Office Hours: 2–5 PM)

"I spent 28 years running buildings. Now I just want to help the people who are still inside them. Thursday office hours are the best part of my week."

Raymond Castellano

Retired Principal

School Leadership & Mentorship

Raymond retired from the Portland Unified School District in 2020 after serving as principal at three different schools. He hosts open office hours every Thursday from 2–5 PM, where any educator in the room can pull up a chair and ask him anything — from navigating a difficult parent conversation to understanding your district's budget process. No appointment necessary.

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Priya Menon, a curriculum designer, working at a laptop with handwritten notes spread beside her
Member since 2023

Here on

Monday, Wednesday, Friday

"Working from home meant I was invisible. Here I have colleagues again — people who ask how the unit is going and actually understand what I mean."

Priya Menon

Freelance Curriculum Designer

K–8 Literacy & UDL Frameworks

Priya left her district position in 2023 to build curriculum independently for charter networks and homeschool co-ops. The transition was isolating until a former colleague brought her to Homeroom. Within four months she had doubled her client base — partly from referrals made across this room's communal table.

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Free Resource

The Teacher's
Co-Working Starter Kit

A free PDF built from four years of watching educators figure out how to actually work in shared spaces. Useful by Monday morning.

📋

Workspace Setup Guide

How to make any shared space feel like yours.

🤝

Community Norms Template

A living document your co-working group can actually use.

📅

Sample Weekly Schedule

Real blocks from real educators — not aspirational fiction.

✍️

IEP Draft Checklist

The one we pass around the table every November.

Grab the free kit.

No drip campaign. One email with your PDF.

Unsubscribe anytime. We respect your Sunday nights.

This Month's StoryFebruary 2026Homeroom PortlandMember FeatureFree to Read
This Month's StoryFebruary 2026Homeroom PortlandMember FeatureFree to Read
Member Story · February 2026

"I stopped dreading
Sunday nights
the week I found this table."

Sofia Brennan, second-year high school English teacher, headshot

Sofia Brennan

2nd-Year English Teacher · Lincoln High School

Sofia Brennan walked into Homeroom for the first time on a Wednesday in October, carrying a tote bag full of un-graded essays and the particular exhaustion that hits second-year teachers when the novelty has worn off but the skill hasn't fully arrived yet.

She didn't know anyone. She ordered a coffee, found a corner table, and opened her laptop. Within twenty minutes, the retired principal at the next table had asked her what she was working on.

"He didn't give me advice. He just asked questions until I figured out what I already knew. That's what good mentorship is, I think."

By November, Sofia was coming every Wednesday. By January, she had stopped using Sunday nights to dread Monday mornings and had started using them to prepare for them — at a table surrounded by people who understood the difference.

The Space

A real place,
not a concept.

2847 NE Alberta Street, Portland, OR · Open Monday–Saturday, 7 AM to 9 PM

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Active Members

Educators working here this year

0 years

Open Since 2021

Outlasted three school superintendents

0K+

In Grants Secured

Written at tables in this room

0 days

Per Week

Mon–Sat, 7 AM to 9 PM

Specialty coffee & tea included with day pass

📚

Shared resource library — curriculum books, manipulatives, reference binders

🖊️

Whiteboards, markers, sticky notes always stocked

🔇

Quiet hours 9–11 AM daily — no meetings, no calls

🌿

Natural light, plants, and zero motivational posters

🤝

Thursday open office hours with a retired principal

First visit is free.

Come on a Wednesday. Bring whatever you're working on. Leave the overhead fluorescents to us.