Vote moves Portland schools toward pilot program
PORTLAND, Ore. – Big changes appear to be in store for high school students and their families in the Portland Public School District, a district which stretches from downtown Portland out to nearly Tigard south, nearly Scappoose north and to Interstate 205 east.
With education advocates such as Mike Rosen, with the Eastside High Schools Coalition, pleading that "boundary adjustments, school closures – or repurposing and establishment of additional focus schools – ...not be rushed," school district decision makers in a Tuesday night meeting approved a 45-day window for the superintendent to come back with a plan.
The decision came after extensive public testimony ending around midnight Tuesday. The approved plan brings the district one step closer to completely re-structuring the district's high school system. The plan will change the entire school system – top-to-bottom, kindergarden through 12th grade – though the board's emphasis boils down to improving high-school-graduation rates and enrollment.
The possible end result? Word that some of the district's schools will close, other schools may expand to absorb the closed schools, and ninth-grade core-skill academies and district-wide specialty/"focus" schools may be on the way.
However, no one knows yet which high school might be closed or turned into a different kind of school under the new plan. Within the next month-and-a-half Portland's school superintendent will draw up new school boundaries that each school will draw from, designating which schools could stay open and which may close. The superintendent's ideas for that will be out within 45 days.
The goal, school board members said, is to increase graduation rates and consolidate services for dropping enrollment. Superintendent Carole Smith had proposed closing as many as three high schools and creating larger, comprehensive neighborhood campuses along with the smaller specialty schools. Those changes are expected in her draft.
It was Portland Public School's Chief Academic Officer, Xavier Botana, that mentioned the concept of 9th-grade academies: "We've talked about establishing ninth grade academies as a way to create a common core of teachers that are focused on the same kids and have the opportunity to get to understand what those students need."
Many parents spoke out at Tuesday night's school board meeting, urging the district not to rush all of this. Applause broke out for those parents pleading to save their high schools: "My fear today is that, yet again, my community will fall victim to school closures," said one parent at Tuesday night's meeting.
"You owe us the opportunity to take back our school,” Roosevelt High School parent Leah Sievert said at Tuesday’s meeting. “All we want is a good school so that our kids can come home."
However, school staff also told the Portland school board that the district's restructuring cannot go forward without cutting the number of high schools open now.
We're told that the first improvements to high schools could start as early as fall 2010. However, the superintendent said she does not now envision closing current neighborhood high school campuses, implementing new high school attendance boundaries or opening new focus schools until fall 2011.
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The crowd at the Portland School Board meeting Monday night:
