made by the school board to change the curriculum to
that it reflects the cultural diversity o f the student
population.
6. It is important that the school board and district
establish and maintain a discipline policy and practice
that is fair, consistent and impartial
7. It is important that the district carry on a constant
effort to involve parents and the whole community in
the desegregation/integration process.
8. It is important that when students are bused for
desegregation, they are transferred along with their
neighborhood peers and not alone or in small numbers.
9. It is important that high expectations are held for
all students involved in desegregation/integration
regardless o f race.
10. it is important that the school board and district
dearly communicate to the rest o f the community that
both Black and white students benefit from school in
tegration.
preparation o f students in the feeder schools o f Jeffer
son.
b. The Performing A ns Program at Jefferson should
be kept as a magnet serving students who come to Jef
ferson full-time.
c. The current career oriented programs at Jefferson
High School (i.e ., legal secretary, auto shop) should be
retained.
d. The adm inistrative o ffice responsible fo r the
District’s desegregation programs should report an
nually to the School Board the total number and the
number per high schools o f the white students living in
the Jefferson feeder area but attending other high
schools.
Data
T he School Board should have data on the
desegregation/integration program available for its
members and community groups requesting it.
School Pairing
After reviewing many methods for bringing about
school desegregation and considering the unique
features o f Portland, the Coalition feds that school
pairing is the best way to desegregate/integrate Port
land’s schools. The following reasons served as a basis
for this conclusion:
1» Equity:
a. Both Black and White students would be required
to transfer.
b. Grade level riimination would be equitable be
tween the Black and white communities involved in
desegregation.
QuaBty Education:
a. Research in d ict»« t h t school desegregation is
most successful when it starts at the early grade levels.
b. School pairing allows for greater grade level
specialization to better serve the educational needs o f
the students.
c. Title V II monies could be concentrated on the
schools involved in pairing to provide additional staff
aad materials -
d. School pairing would make it easier for parents to
be involved in their child’s education than is currently
the case with the Administrative Transfer Program.
e. School pairing retains the best students in a given
neighborhood as role models for their neighborhood
peers.
Students involved in school pairing would spend eight
years in an integrated educational setting. This long
term arrangement would maximize the potential for
developing m eaningful relations between students,
parents, teachers, administrators, and others involved.
Neighborhood Integrity:
School pairing would insure that neighborhood
children would be kept together as they go through
school.
School pairing would maintain most o f the facilities
that have been redesigned and renovated. School
pairing involves a transportation savings over the trans
portation cost o f the district’s current program.
Recommendations:
Student Transfer: The School District should develop
a desegregation/integration program that:
a. Transfers enough white and Minority students to
bring its schools into compliance with state guidelines.
b. Involves both white and minority students in an
equitable two-way transfer program that keeps neigh
borhood classmates together.
c. Eliminates the current scattering and isolation of
Minority students.
School Pairings: The School District should use school
pairing as the major means to accomplish desegre
g a tio n /in te g ra tio n . The D istrict should pair each
o f the seven predominantly minority schools in the
District with one or two predominantly white schools in
a manner that will comply with state guidelines on racial
balance.
In establishing the pairing arrangments, the following
guidelines should be followed: a. The schools that are
over 50 percent M in o rity should be paired with
schools in middle income residential area.
b. Transportation time should be kept to a minimum.
Curriculum
Rationale:
c. A Title I school’s eligibility for Title I funds should
be maintained i f possible. However, if through the
pairing, a school loses Title I funds, the general fund
should be used to continue the Title I programs for
eligible students.
d. ESAA Title V II funds should be concentrated on
those schools involved in pairing and the high schools
they feed.
e. None o f the paired schools should have less than
the District-wide average o f M inority students (in 1977-
78 that average was 20% ).
f. Voluntary transfers into the paired elementary
schools should be allowed two years after they are in
stituted, providing there is space available.
g. During the first two years the pairing program is in
effect, transfen out of the paired schools should not be
allowed.
h. A maximum o f four o f the Early Childhood
Education Centers should be organized as prim ary
schools, pre-kindergarten through 4th or 5th grade,
with early childhood education programs and other
specialized program s to enhance the academic
achievement o f the primary student.
i. The upper grades, 5th or 6th through 8th, in the
paired schools should have specialized programs to
enhance the academic achievement o f the students.
j. The students who have been together in a set o f
paired schools should be given the option o f attending
either one designated high school or the high school they
would currently be expected to attend given their
residence. Jefferson and Adams High Schools should
not be dosed.
k. Schools involved in school pairing should not be
closed
l. Preparation o f parents, students, and faculty for
the fo rm a tio n o f paired schools should begin a
minimum o f three school months before paired schools
are instituted.
m. School pairings should be instituted by September
I, 1980. The Administrative Transfer Program should
be discontinued by the tim e school pairings are
operative.
Jefferaon High School
a. The School District should support and promote
the general academic program at Jefferson High School
to the same extent that it supports and promotes the
P erform ing A rts P rogram . This recom m endation
requires that the School District intensify the academic
The Portland School District currently provides its
teachers with multi-ethnic themes they may use along
with their basic curriculum Scope and Sequence. The ex
tent to which these themes are in co rp o rated in
classroom instruction is unknown. The District does not
require that Black culture be included in the curriculum
o f its elementary or secondary schools. Furthermore,
the District does not require that the various cultures
represented by other M inority students in the student
population be included in school curriculums.
C u rre n tly , Black students constitute the largest
M in o rity group in the District (1977-78: Blacks —
13.8% , Orientals — 3 .3 % , American Indians — 1.3% ,
and Spanish Americans — 1.6% ). According to a sur
vey conducted jointly by the Coalition and the Portland
School District, 54% o f the Black students bused for
desegregation purposes are in classrooms that do not in
clude Black culture, history, or literature as part o f the
required curriculum.
Recommandations:
1. Minority Cultures in Curriculum
The District should include the teaching o f M inority
cultures with a special emphasis on Black culture under
its heading " M a jo r category** in the Social Studies and
Language Arts subjects for K-12 in Scope and Se
quence, the basic curriculum guide for Portland’s schools.
2. Independent Survey
The D istrict should commission fo r the 1980-81
school year an independent survey o f the elementary
classrooms in all schools to determine:
a. The extent to which M inority culture is included in
the social studies and language arts curriculum.
b. The extent to which the m ulti-ethnic theme,
which is already included in Scope and Sequence, is used
in the classroom work in all subjects.
3. Minority Culture Material Search
An ongoing search for and acquisition o f current
books, audio-visual materials and curriculum guides
and other aids for the teaching o f M ino rity culture
should be conducted by District specialists in con
sultation with the Community Coalition for School In
tegration.
Teacher Training
Rationale:
The Portland School D istrict’s present policy on
teacher training for school desegregation is:
C ontinue s ta ff development program s in human
relations and otherwise assist s ta ff in both forwarding
and receiving schools to work successfully with children
o f different races, cultures, and economic backgrounds.
(Administration Scries 2000: 2001-2b, 5-b.)
Linder its general policy, the Portland School District
has sponsored a number o f workshops on multi-ethnic
education. Teachers have received a m u lti-ethn ic
curriculum and multi-ethnic teaching units. In addition,
each administrative area o f the District has sponsored
its own training sessions and workshops on school
desegregation. However, although a noticeable effort
has been made to provide school desegregation related
in-service training, a sizeable number o f teachers have
not been reached.
Teacher training efforts in the area o f desegregation
have been inconsistent for several reasons:
1. Workshops and in-service training have been con
ducted on a fragmented, piece-meal basis with no long
term , District-wide teacher training plan
2. Training related to school desegregation listed in
"In -S e rv ic e O pportunities for P ortlan d Teachers”
(1 9 7 7 -7 8 ) has not focused on P o rtla n d ’ s largest
M inority group.
3. in-service training related to school desegregation
is not mandatory.
4. The current desegregation program is administered
in a manner that scatters and isolates students bused for
desegregation purposes.
Recommendations:
1. General Personnel Training
The office responsible for District-wide desegregation
o f the Portland School District should develop a long
term plan to assure that: 1) A ll teachers, administrators.
School Board members, and other personnel whose
responsibility requires daily interaction with students,
have training in group dynamics in an integrated setting,
m ulti-cultural perspective, and Black culture; 2) A
record be kept by name, employment category, and
school o f those attending the classes and workshops;
and 3) This record be made public annually at a School
Board meeting.
2. In-Service Teacher Training
The office responsible for District-wide desegrega
tion, with the input o f the Community Coalition for
School Integration, should develop an in-service train
ing program based on the particular needs o f M inority
students and white students in an integrated setting.
Distribution of A.T.
Distance T raveled:
between 2.1 and 10.7 miles (one way)
Total Number of Students: 451*
Total Number of Schools: 39
r
I
J Sylvan (1)L
Ainsworth
/
West Sylvan(12
Receiving School
( ) » of A.T. students at
each school
Training programs relating to the issues found in
desegregation in whatever its forms should be man
datory for all staff who come into contact with children.
3. In-Service Credits
The School Board should require that two o f the six
in-service training credits required for teachers every
fo u r years be in hum an re la tio n s , m u lti-c u ltu ra l
education, Black culture, or skills in group dynamics in
an integrated classroom.
4. Permanent Taachar Statue
The School Board should stipulate as part o f its
requirem ents fo r perm anent teaching status, that
teachers have experimental training in teaching in a
desegregated classroom.
6. Taachar Status Certification
The School Board explore with the State Board o f
Education the possibility o f including courses in m ulti
cultural education as part o f the requirements for
teacher certification.
Student Discipline
Rationale:
School authorities bear the most immediate respon
sibility for identifying potential in-school problems.
Conditions that breed inappropriate behavior can be
addressed by the school only through cooperative plan
ning with parents and community.
In June 1977, the U .S . D epartm ent o f H e a lth ,
Education and Welfare charged the Portland Public
Schools with violation o f the Emergency School Aid Act
(E S A A ) because its suspension procedure discriminated
against M inority group children. The US Department o f
H E W held that a disproportionate number o f Minority
children were suspended and expelled.
Although Portland promised to change disciplinary
practices in response to this charge, the percentage of
Black students suspended (1,263 or 17%) is three times
the percentage o f white students suspended (2,615 or
5.7% ). O f the 98 students expelled, 56 were M inority
students.
Concentrated effort should be placed on preventing
the disruption o f the process o f education. This process
is disrupted whenever a student leaves school prior to
graduation. A t times, parents are counseled to request
that their child be excused from further schooling
because o f achievement and adjustment problems in
school. Many o f the problems o f young Black adults
can be traced to these "push outs.” These young adults
foster a feeling o f apathy and helplessness in the im
mediate family and serve as poor role models for the
community, county, and state.
Students and parents, and in particular. M inority
group students and parents must be encouraged to exer
cise their right to vote their opinions and provide input
into all aspects o f school operations that affect them.
R •c o m m e n d a tio n s :
C ateg ories o f D iscip lin ary A c tio n
The District should adopt the following categories o f
disciplinary action and sanctions:
a. Claes Exclusion — This method o f disciplinary
procedure can be used to deny a student the right to at
tend a particular class for a period o f two days or less.
b. M in o r S usp en sio n * — The student is denied the
right to attend school including all classes and school ac
tivities for a period o f one 24 hour day or less. M inor
suspensions should not be made a part o f the student’s
permanent cumulative record.
c. M a jo r Suspensions — The denial to a student of
the right to attend school, including all classes and
school activities for a period o f more than 24 hours but
not more than five school days.
d. C ounseling and R eassig nm ent — Students who
can no longer function in their school setting should be
given options for future activity such as Portland Public
School alternative programs including: V ocational
Village, Open Meadows, the Portland Job Corps, night
school, and tributary schools.
e. Expulsion — Expulsions should be used only as an
option o f last resort. Exceeding care should be given to
"due process."
M inority Social W orkers and Counselor*
Sensitive M in o rity social workers and counselors
should be hired to work with students for prevention o f
the need for disciplinary action and for counseling at the
point o f disciplinary action o f suspension, reassign
ment, and expulsion.
Changes in Suspension Procedures
a. Teachers should be responsible for direct contacts
with parents, guardians concerning a student’s behavior
when the behavior first becomes inappropriate.
b. Students should not be suspended or held on
suspension solely in order to conference with parents.
c. No suspended student should be allowed to leave
the school grounds during school hours u n til the
student's parent or guardian or other responsible adult
has been contacted and given opportunity to arrange for
supervision o f the student during the suspension period.
d. While on suspensions, dasswork assignments should
be given the student and the student should be expected
to complete such assignments and receive fu ll credit for
the dasswork.
Reports to Superintendent
AU minor and m ajor suspensions, reassignments, and
expulsions should be reported to the O ffic e o f the
Superintendent o f Schools.
Discipline end Student Transportation
a. AU rules and regulations concerning student con
duct on school buses should be uniform throughout the
District. Such rules should be included in the Student
Handbook.
b. Students should not be punished or held respon
sible for being late due to late school buses.
c. The behavior o f the students traveUng via transpor
tation provided by the School District is the direct
responsibility o f the parents/guardians and the teachers
and principals o f the receiving schools.
d. No student should be put o ff the bus until he/she
reaches his/her destination.
e. I f a student misses the bus because a teacher keeps
the student after school, the teacher or the school
should arrange for and pay for transportation for the
student to his/her home.
f. A bus aide should be assigned to each bus.
Student Handbook
The Student’s Rights and Responsibility Handbook
should be written in language that a 5th grade student
can read and understand, "lhese rights and respon
sibilities should be discussed in each classroom and
students should be given the opportunity to make
recommendations to the appropriate office and the
School Board fo r changes in the H a n d b o o k . A ll
procedures concerning exclusions, suspensions.