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September 17,2003
Hundreds of Students Leave Area Schools Under New Law
W hitaker, Jefferson,
M arshall and
R oosevelt suffer
(AP) — More than 800 students have
left four underperforming schools in north,
northeast and southeast Portland
for higher achieving classrooms
this fall under the federal N oChdd
Left Behind law.
T he shrinking enrollm ents
threaten to close the schools im
pacted rather than save them.
U nder the law , R oosevelt,
Je fferso n and M arshall high
schools and W hitaker Middle
School have to give students free
bus passes to attend higher per
forming schools.
"I want to graduate from a school
with higher standards," said DeAngela
Venable, who left Portland’s Roosevelt
High for Grant High last year.
In Portland, years o f low test scores put
the four schools on the list. At Roosevelt,
for example, test scores have been rated
unacceptable by the state for three years
running. This year, one in four sopho
mores met state benchmarks in reading.
entered the schools as freshmen last fall.
Portland educators fear that by allow
ing enrollment at the struggling schools to
plunge because o f transfers, the federal
law will undermine efforts to improve those
schools.
W hitaker Middle School, situated at a
temporary site on Northeast Columbia
Boulevard after the main school
campus was closed a couple o f
years ago because o f poor build
ing maintenance, for instance, has
launched the first phase o f a
$300,000, three-year effort to over
haul the school.
But Principal Lynn Buedefeldt
reported that Whitaker was at 352
students last week. She expected
440. The school stands to lose
— Lolenzo Poe, co-chairman of
teachers ifenrollment doesn ’t pick
the Portland School Board
up next year.
The district says 148 students
in the W hitaker neighborhood were
“The critical issue is to make sure all
granted transfers to other middle schools
schools have a rigorous curriculum," said
this year. Some o f the no-shows moved
Lolenzo Poe, co-chairman o f the Portland
out o f the Portland district, while others
School Board.
Official enrollment figures at all schools tra n s fe rre d to o th e r c ity sc h o o ls,
Buedefeldt said.
w on’t be tallied until next month. But the
“ Will 1 be able to maintain all the pro
670 students who transferred out o f the
three high schools this fall represent al grams if my number doesn’t go up?” she
most as many students as those who said. “No.”
writing and math, and 57 percent o f fresh
men graduated in four years.
Portland educators say all four schools
hit by sanctions are using research-based
approaches to try to raise achievement.
The schools cannot get better, they say,
if enrollments are allowed to plummet,
taking away teachers and resources.
* The critical
issue is to make
sure all schools
have a rigorous
curriculum.
PTA Sponsors Conversation
The Jefferson High School PTA will
hold a com m unity conversation regard
ing the “ Leave No C hild B ehind” law in
the school cafeteria on M onday, Sept.
22 beginning at 6 p.m. w ith light snacks.
The discussion will start at 6:30 p.m.
Fam ilies are encouraged to find out
how the federal law will affect their
children, their schools and teachers.
Experts from the Portland Public School
District and the O regon D epartm ent o f
Education will m ake briefpresentations
and answ er questions.
P e o p le a tte n d in g th e m e e tin g are
e n c o u ra g e d to b rin g c lo th e s fo r th e
P T A C lo th e s C lo s e t, a p r o je c t th a t
h as p ro v id e d c lo th in g fo r c h ild r e n
fro m lo w -in c o m e fa m ilie s fo r 4 0
y e a rs. C le a n , in -s ty le c lo th e s th a t
d o n 't n eed re p a ir, in c lu d in g u se d
c o a ts , w arm h a ts an d g lo v e s , j e a n s ,
p a n ts an d le g g in g s , g y m an d p la y
c l o th e s , s le e p w e a r , b e l ts , b a c k
p a c k s , a n d lu n c h b o x e s a r e r e
q u e s te d . A lso n e e d e d a re n ew u n
d e rw e a r an d so c k s.
To sign up for babysitting and light
snacks or for m ore inform ation, call the
Jefferson High School PTA H otline at
503-299-4490.
_________■
Grant Launches Job Training Effort
Portland C om m unity C ollege has an
nounced a nine-m onth, $34,484 grant
to pilot a new training program at P C C ’s
M etropolitan W orkforce T raining C en
ter. The college will provide training
and jo b placem ent to help participants
secure living-w age jo b s with benefits
and the opportunity to advance.
The program , called Keys to C us
tom er Service, will provide 60 north
and northeast Portland residents with
skill assessm ents; four w eeks o f class
room training in custom er service; four
w eeks o f work experience through in
ternships; the opportunity to earn cer
tification in custom er service; and jo b
placem ent services.
Local employers
have identified a
need for job
applicants and
employees with
strong customer
service skills.
— Pamela Murray, director of Workforce
Development for PCC
Advertise with diversity in
JjJorttanh (Bbsmier
call 503.288.0033
“ Local em ployers have identified a
need for jo b applicants and em ployees
with strong custom er service skills,”
sa id P a m e la M u rra y , d ir e c to r o f
W orkforce D evelopm ent for PCC. “The
skills that will be learned in thistraining
are essential to providing good service
in all industries.”
The college will partner with four
b u sin esses in the E n te rp rise Zone:
Legacy Health System s, Target, Kroger,
Swan Island Dairy and Safew ay.
“ Each business has com m itted to
interview ing and hiring qualified candi
dates from the training,” said M urray.
For m ore inform ation, contact M urray
at 503-943-2266,
Parkrose Students Suspended
A series o f racially charged fights has resulted in
the suspension o f 18 Parkrose High School students
and more students could be suspended from the
northeast Portland school, according to Principal
Roy Reynolds.
A fight reportedly began off-campus Friday dur
ing the school’s lunch hour after racial comments
were exchanged between Asian and African Ameri
can students. When the students returned to school,
fights continued, eventually involving white stu
dents on both sides. No weapons were involved in
the altercations.
Parkrose school officials said they’re taking steps
to keep that kind o f dispute from happening again.
photo bv
M arr W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver
PCC Cascade Builds
A major expansion project is underway at Portland Community College's
Cascade Campus. This structure, the physical education complex across
the street from the main campus on North Killingsworth, is part of the
120,000 square feet expansion paid for by a $56 million bond approved
two years ago. The project began as a response to Cascade’s 55 percent
enrollment growth in the last five years.
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