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A p ril 6. 2005
Phillips Sees Better Schools in the End
Local closures, budget
cuts make tough sell
by K atherine K ovacich
T he P ortland O bserver
With all those affected by the
recent plans to close six local
schools, Vicki Phillips has become
a household name. The Superin
tendent of Portland Public Schools
is feeling the heat, but she’s defi
nitely not getting out of the kitchen.
“These are decisions that are
tough and challenging and you’d
rather not have to make them,”
Phillips said. "I wouldn’t be a re
sponsible leader if I chose to do
that. Even in times of tough fiscal
constraints and declining enroll
ment, my job is to make progress. I
would be shirking my responsibil
ity by not taking on the hard stuff.
Is it painful? Yes. Does it make my
heart hurt? Yes. But it’s necessary.”
The list of hits: Edward, Rich
m ond, Sm ith, A pplegate, and
Kenton Elementary Schools, and
W hitaker Middle School. All stu
dents will be merged intoother area
schools this fall.
Parents, understandably hesi
tant toward change for and m ove
ment of their children, also are in
uproar concerning a possibility of
$51 m illion in budget cuts to
Portland’s educational system.
Phillips claims that resistance to
school closures is something she
can understand through personal
experience.
“One of the most heated times
I’ve had with my sister was when
my nephew ’s elementary school
was closing," Phillips said.
P ortland’s top educator was
working for the state of Pennsylva
nia at the time and her sister hoped
Phillips could do something to
change it.
“I understand how painful it is
and have an understanding of be
ing passionate about trying to re
ally respect where they are coming
from,” Phillips said. “At the same
time, my job is to take care of the
stud en ts.”
Phillips said she takes comfort in
the fact that “we are moving kids to
solid schools.”
Phillips started out in rural Ken
tucky on a small tobacco farm. She
was the first of her family to attend
college, where she earned a bachelor
of science in elementary education
and later a master’s degree in school
psychology from Western Kentucky
University, both with honors.
“W hile 1 got a good base in edu
cation, I was not encouraged to go
to college. I got it by luck,” Phillips
said. “I believe kids should have it
by design.”
Phillips has been working within
ÿ o rtla n h (JDbscrucr Established 1970
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Charles H. Washington
EoiTOR.Michael L eighton
R eporter : Katherine Kovacich
D istribution M anager : M ark W ashington
C reative D irector : Paul N eufeldt
O ffice M anager : Kathy L inder
E ditor - in -C hief . P ublisher :
I would be shirking my
responsibility by not taking on
the hard stuff. Is it painful?
Yes. Does it make my heart
hurt? Yes. But its necessary.
- Vicki Phillips, Superintendent of Portland Public Schools
photo by
K atherine K ovacich /T he P ortland O bserver
Superintendent o f Portland Public Schools Vicki Phillips pledges
her support to improve schools for low income and minority
students while proposing school closures and budget cuts to
offset declining revenues.
the education system for more than
20 years now, being involved with
the Kentucky Department of Edu
cation, National Alliance for Re
structuring Education, Children
Achieving Challenge, Greater Phila-
P ostmaster : Send address changes to
Portland Observer, PO Box3137,
Portland, OR9 7 2 0 8
delphia First Partnership for Re
form, and as School Superinten
dent in Lancaster, Penn.
“People have held the bar very
high and expected me to rise to the
occasion,” Phillips said.
The changes slated for Portland
schools will not only mean big
moves for the environment o f stu
dents, but big losses for staff.
Across the district, more than 260
full-time positions could be cut.
“W e’re going to do everything
we can to be generous with our
leaves, to minimize the loss. A num
ber of teachers are retiring,” Phillips
said.
She’s quick to point out that this
is not just an issue facing the city of
Portland, but Oregon as a whole.
“I don’t know what you say to
staff or children with a state that
refuses to tackle the real need here,”
Phillips said. “It’snotjust Portland’s
children undergoing change.”
A recent Census study showed
that Oregon ranks 3111 in the nation
for school spending. This results in
nearly $ 1,000 per-student below the
national average. O regon also
ranked among the bottom-fifth of
states for instructor salaries.
D eclining enrollm ent causes
schools to lose funding for each
student not attending.
It may not be a favored decision,
but “part of why schools are clos
ing is to gain some stability so that
we can provide every kid with the
quality o f education they deserve,”
Phillips said.
“In the case of middle and high
schools, I think the thing we all
agree on is that w hat’s going on
here isn’t good enough for our kids,”
she continued.
As for concerns that bringing
two schools together would mean
less attention toward each student,
Phillips noted that “larger schools
don’t necessarily translate to larger
class sizes. Where we are combin
ing, we still meet the definition of
small schools.”
She believes that despite the fi
nancial hardships the city is going
through, the schools will come out
better in the end with public in
volvement.
“One of the things that drew me
to this community and that makes
me continue to be delighted to be
here is the caring and support that
the community gives its children.
By working together, we can create
the kind of school system that Port
land needs. Every classroom in
every school has to be as good as
the next,” Phillips said. “I’m con
vinced that with the passion of tl)e
parents, these schools will be ex
traordinary.”
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Let’s Make
Read Across America
An Every Day Event
King ’s Voice Booms in Tribute
(AP)- The voice of Martin Luther
King Jr. boomed again from the
pulpit of Ebenezer Baptist Church
on Saturday as dozens o f people
gathered to commemorate the 37th
anniversary o f the civil rights
leader’s assassination.
E x c e rp ts o f se v e ra l K ing
speeches were played over a loud
speaker at the church where King
preached from 1960 to 1968, includ
ing his “I’ve Been to the Mountain
Top” speech, delivered in Mem
phis, Tenn., just hours before his
death.
Among the crowd was U.S. Rep.
John Lewis, a lieutenant o f King’s
during the civil rights movement
who became a follower as a teen
ager after hearing King on the radio
during the Montgomery Bus Boy
cott.
Lewis, a Georgia Democrat, re
membered being a nervous college
student when he met King for the
first time. “He changed my life,”
Lewis recalled. "The most peaceful
warrior o f the 20th century lived
and walked among us.”
Their 10-year relationship ended
when King was gunned down on a
Memphis hotel balcony on April 4,
1968. Lewis was in Indianapolis
when he heard the news.
“It was a very sad and dark hour
in America and for the movement,”
Lewis said. “But we didn ’ t give up.
We didn’t give in. We kept the
faith.”
Kids who read - and kids who are read to - do better in
school and better in life. It’s a fact supported by research
and the com m on sense wisdom o f parents everywhere.
By
Reg Weaver,
President,
National
Education
Association
This week, more than 45 million students, parents, grandpar
ents, teachers, education support professionals, and others
are taking part in the National Education Association’s Read
Across America day.
You're never too
old, too wacky,
too wild to pick
up a book and
read with a
child.
nea
NATIONAL
E D U C A T IO N
ASSOCIATION
nea.org
Great Public Schools
fo r Every Child
NEAs 2 7 million
members are the
nation's leading
advocates for
children and public
education
But reading can’t be just a one day event. Kids need to expe
rience the joy o f reading every day. It’s more than a way of
helping students in school. Family reading helps strengthen
families. Strong families help build strong communities.
Reading and lifelong learning are at the core o f our founding
generation’s highest aspirations for the United States of
America.
NEA’s Read Across America is one example o f NEA’s work to
make sure every child has a public school as great as
America’s best public schools. NEA’s Read Across America
events bring others into the school com m unity who might
not otherwise get involved. School-based and community-
based Read Across America events draw com m unity leaders,
politicians, athletes, musicians and actors into contact with
students and with schools. Some o f those connections
between com m unity leaders and schools evolve into ongoing
efforts to he engaged with the school year-round.
In the same way, it provides an opportunity to highlight what
NEA knows works in the classroom - the same ingredients
that are supported by research by parents and by teachers
and education support professionals: strong parental
involvement, qualified and certified teachers, small class sizes
that allow for individual attention, and books and materials
aligned with high standards - and high expectations - for
every child.
So on March 2 - and every day - take a m om ent and read
with a child. Visit NEA.org to find out more about how you
can get involved in activities in your area.
Cardinal Eduardo Martinez Somalo from Spain swings an incense burner as Pope John Paul Il's
body lies in state inside St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican for public viewing.
World Pays Tribute to Pope
(A P )-P ope John Paul Il’s body
was carried solem nly on a crim
son platform to St. P eter’s Ba
silica, past a sea o f more than
100,000 pilgrim s who w aited for
hours M onday under a blistering
sun for a glim pse o f the late pon
tiff before his funeral and entom b
ment.
The world advocate for justice
and m orality died on Saturday,
ending more than a quarter-cen
tury as leader o f the C atholic
Church. He will be laid to rest
Friday in an ancient grotto hold
ing the rem ains o f popes through
the ages, after a funeral to be
attended under heavy security
by President Bush and dozens of
other world leaders. Up to 2 m il
lion pilgrims are expected in Rome
to pay their final respects.
As cardinals in their red robes
and caps filed past the P o p e's
body during M onday’s cerem o
nies, bow ing and crossing them
selves, a long line of faithful, tour
ists and Rom ans who had packed
St. P e te r's Square slow ly snaked
into the basilica.
On John Paul’s feet were a pair of
the simple brown leather shoes he
favored during hjs 26-year pontifi
cate and wore on many of his trips
to more than 120 countries - a poi
gnant reminder of the legacy left by
history’s most-traveled pope.
John Paul was 58 when the
cardinals elected him in 1978. He
appointed all but three o f the 117
cardinals entitled to attend the
secret conclave electing the new
pope, but there is no guarantee
that his legacy o f conservatism
will continue into the new reign.
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