Kellogg Middle School: Closure Announcement Other Schools Also Threatened

April 4, 2006


NEWS RELEASE
Contact: Sarah Carlin Ames, Portland Public Schools, sames@pps.k12.or.us503-916-3212


Portland, Ore. Superintendent Vicki Phillips today proposed a school configuration proposal that over a three or four-year period could phase out at least five current middle schools in favor of creating new kindergarten-8th grade schools in areas of North, Northeast, and Southeast Portland.



“Portland Public Schools’ new five-year strategic plan contains a promise to make sure we offer a world-class education to every single student, in every school across Portland, and to sustain hope and confidence in our public schools,” Superintendent Phillips said. “To deliver on that promise, we must face our current reality head on: Our schools have fewer students and fewer dollars than they did in the past. To provide the best possible education for our children, we must balance the budget and manage our schools more effectively.”



Superintendent Phillips made a series of proposals that she said would help PPS offer “strong and stable schools into the future,” reforming some of the city’s least successful middle schools and saving the school district millions as it serves students in as many as seven fewer school buildings.



The proposal now goes out for community review and the School Board will hold public hearings throughout the city before a decision is made in May.


Some of the Superintendent’s proposed changes would phase-in starting in the fall of 2006. For some neighborhoods, Superintendent Phillips has set clear goals but is supporting a community process to develop a specific proposal. As proposed, the changes would play out over three or four years, to allow time for thoughtful implementation. After a series of community meetings and School Board hearings throughout Portland, a vote on the proposals is planned for May 1.

Superintendent Phillips is not proposing closures or changes at the high school level, in order to allow reforms at Jefferson, Madison, Marshall and Roosevelt to take hold. If those high schools do not improve both academic achievement and enrollment in two or three years, that decision will be revisited.

Further detail on the individual proposals, their timelines and implementation, is available on the Portland Public Schools Web site on in other materials. What follows is a brief outline of the most significant changes:

. Some middle schools would phase out over the next three years, with the elementary schools that feed into them building, one grade at a time, to serve kids from kindergarten through eighth grade. In four cases, the K-8 eventually leaves its current building and moves into the middle school building (Fernwood, Gregory Heights, Binnsmead, Portsmouth). In one case the middle school phases out and its building would close (Kellogg).

· In several neighborhoods, there are fewer families than in the past and fewer students in the schools. Where enrollment and population forecasts don’t predict future increases in enrollment, the school district would close an elementary school building as the remaining schools move to K-8. (Clarendon, Hollyrood, Humboldt, Rose City Park)

· In two cases, Superintendent Phillips believes the drop in enrollment calls for a school building to close (Rieke in Southwest, and one of a group of six buildings in the Sellwood/Moreland neighborhoods), but she would like a community process to develop a proposal, with a report back to her in the fall. She will then forward her recommendation to the School Board.

· The student population is expected to grow in North Portland’s St. Johns neighborhood and in the outer Southeast neighborhoods surrounding Marshall High School. Superintendent Phillips is calling for a community process in each of those areas to explore whether a change in configuration or other effort could improve student achievement at middle school level, building stronger schools in the same number of buildings. Again, she would like the community to report back to her in the fall.

“Schools of kindergarten through eighth grade offer several advantages over traditional middle schools: Students face fewer transitions, parents stay involved in their schools, and teachers and principals have the time to really know the students and support them in their learning,” Superintendent Phillips said. “In addition, several studies indicate that for many groups of students who have not done well in traditional middle schools, K-8 schools can increase their academic success.”

---My note, they are also cheaper. Didn't we just join the small schools initiative, which is it. Seems like it changes with the weather. School changes affect children, families, and children's attitudes about the world. These are not adults and companies. There needs to be more caution used with children. Political gain does not need to be made at the sake of our children.


Portland once was a school district of K-8 schools, and many of the district’s elementary and middle school buildings were built for that configuration. Most of the new K-8 schools to be created would have between 400 and 600 students, with enough staff members to offer a stronger curriculum and stronger support from limited ESL and Special Education staff.



The school district faces upfront costs in making these changes: moving costs, professional development for teachers, and adjustments to buildings and their grounds to accommodate the new students. However, the school district would also save millions every year: reducing the numbers of principals and school secretaries; cutting maintenance, utilities and food service costs; and avoiding at least $10 million dollars in capital costs such as replacing boilers, roofs, or bringing aged buildings up to modern health, safety and accessibility code. The Superintendent’s budget does not count on savings from reconfiguration in 2006-07, but projects on-going operations savings of approximately $3 million a year starting in 2007-08.



These proposals would affect student’s elementary and middle school options next fall. After the School Board votes, Portland Public Schools will open the School Choice application for two weeks in May to allow families to revise or to file new transfer applications. Students already in a school, whether they live in the neighborhood or have transferred in, would continue in that school to the highest grade offered. Any boundary changes proposed would affect only new students at the school, most commonly incoming kindergarteners.



Over the next month, school district staff will visit each grouping of schools to present the proposals, answer questions, take suggestions and hear from those directly affected. These conversations will shape the proposals, and their implementation. The School Board also will hold four hearings, in North, Northeast, Southeast and Westside Portland to take public testimony.



Interested parties may also share comments, ideas and suggestions by writing to Superintendent and the School Board, at 501 N. Dixon Street, Portland, OR 97227 or via e-mail at Superintendent@pps.k12.or.us or SchoolBoard@pps.k12.or.us.