August 12. 2009
Page A2
Community Rallies Against Hate
continued ^ k f r o m Front
taking the courage to stand up.
"What has happened to you
nty friend has happened to us,"
Fish said, invoking the words
of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
Je ff C ogen. a M ultnom ah
C o u n ty C o m m is s io n e r and
ehair o f the city's Human Rights
Com m ission, said even a pro
gressive com m unity like Port
land ca n 't afford to rest on its
laurels.
Hatred grows if we give it an
opening, he warned.
Cogen told the Portland O b
server that Vuong has talked
about his experience with the
rights com m ission w hich has
formed a subcommittee to deal
with incidents of hate. He added
that the committee was also plan
ning a summit to talk about rac
ism and intolerance in Portland.
A fter all the speakers had
c o n c lu d e d , p e o p le m u lle d
around the parking lot, m unch
ing on food that was left over
Iront the neighborhood's N a
tional N ight O ut an ti-crim e
gathering.
pilo ro by J ake T homas /T he P ortland O bserver
A large crowd gathers at Beaumont Middle School in northeast Portland to rally against hate and in support o f a 22-year-old Vietnamese-American victim.
Schools Graded Under No Child Left Behind
70 percent
pass tests
N e a rly 7 0 p e r c e n t o f
Portland's public schools mea
sure up to academ ic p erfo r
mance ratings required by the
federal No Child Left Behind
law.
Highlights for this year's an
nual ratings include a complete
turnaround for L ane M iddle
School in outer southeast Port
la n d , a n d R o o s e v e lt H igh
School in north P ortland be
com es one of only four o f the
district’s high schools ever to
meet all NCLB standards.
The Oregon D epartm ent of
Education released preliminary tion standards. This is the first
reports under the law, indicating time for POW ER and the third
whether each school met or did year in a row for Lincoln.
T h re e o th e r PPS h ig h
not m eet stan d ard s for "a d
equate yearly progress," or AYP: schools, Pauling Academy and
After five years on the school Renaissance Arts Academy on
im provem ent list, Lane Middle the Marshall Campus and the
School met all standards for the Arts. Com munication & Tech
S ch o o l
on
th e
second year in a row - an aca n o lo g y
demic comeback resulting from Roosevelt Campus, met all stu
reform s put in place by leaders dent achievement benchm arks,
and teachers. Lane now moves but missed the graduation rate
off the improvement list and is standard.
"Strong and consistent work
free from any NCLB sanctions.
by
students, teachers and staff
The Pursuit o f Wellness Edu
at
these
schools - along with
cation at Roosevelt (POW ER)
support
from
the district - is pay
A cadem y and L in co ln High
School were the only PPS high ing off," said Superintendent
schools to meet all achievement, Carole Smith. "Congratulations
test participation and gradua to the students, families, staff
and everyone who has contrib
uted to the schools' success."
Jefferson High School was
p laced on the san ctio n s list.
T h e n o rth P o rtla n d sc h o o l
avoided penalties in the past
b e c a u se o f re c o n fig u ra tin g
school program s. But this fall,
the school m ust offer its 600
stu d en ts free tu to rin g and a
transfer to another school.
P rin c ip a l C y n th ia H a rris
called the failing grades an im
portant wake-up call. She said
school leaders will look deeper
at instruction and individual
student needs.
T h e d is tr ic t w ill g iv e
Jefferson students the option
o f a tte n d in g M a d iso n o r
F ra n k lin h ig h sc h o o ls , b u t
those schools also fail to meet
many o f the NCLB standards.
Tw o local m id d le sch o o ls
barely m issed passing grades.
G eo rg e M id d le S ch o o l in
north Portland has dramatically
increased its students' achieve
ment scores since it first went
on the NCLB watch list in 2003.
SE1 M iddle School, a public
charter school, also did not meet
NCLB standards by the narrow
est o f m argins.
If only one additional special
education student at SE1 met the
m ath achievem ent standards,
the entire school w ould have
met NCLB. Instead, it joins the
watch list.
Portland Public Schools' el
em entary schools have trad i
tionally steered clear of NCLB
sanctions. This year, however,
some did not. In 2(X)8-09, six
schools m issed the mark.
For three o f the six, this was
the second year in a row - m ov
ing the schools into school im
p ro v em en t status. S itto n E l
em entary School, in school im
provem ent status last year, met
all m easures this year and will
be released from NCLB sanc
tions if it m eets all m easures
again for 2(X)9-10.
AYP reports for all Oregon
schools are posted on the O r
egon Department of Education's
Web site at ode.state.or.us.
First Hispanic on Supreme Court
continued J ^ f r o m Front
Princeton and Yale before go
ing on to success in the legal
profession and then the federal
bench.
O b am a, th e n a tio n 's first
b lack p resid e n t, p raised the
Senate's vote as “breaking an
other barrier and moving us yet
another step closer to a more
perfect union.”
The new justice can now get
to work, although the Supreme
C o u rt w o n 't hear arg u m en ts
until Sept. 9, in a key campaign
finance case. The entire court
will convene a day earlier, how
ever, for a formal cerem ony to
welcome Sotomayor.
S o to m a y o r a ls o w ill b e
learning the q u irk y cu sto m s
o f the h ig h e s t c o u rt in the
land. A s th e n ew c o m er she
will take notes and answ er the
d o o r w hen the ju stice s have
p riv ate m e e tin g s, in c lu d in g
Sonia Sotomayor, 55, becomes the first Hispanic justice
the U.S. Supreme Court. She was nominated by President
Barack Obama, the first black president.
one in late Septem ber a, which
they dispose o f a couple thou
sand ap p eals.
A former clerk to Sotomayor's
predecessor, Souter, says that
first case in Septem ber could
get her thinking about the big
gest ch an g e anyone faces in
b eco m in g a ju stic e , the far-
reaching im pact o f some Su
preme Court decisions.
There are few easy questions
that come the court's way," said
M eir Feder, the form er Souter
clerk who is now a partner at
the Jones Day firm in New York
"Y ou're not ap p ly in g settled
law," Feder said, "because if it's
settled, it shouldn't ge, there in
the first place."
KNOW BEFORE YOU GO! ¡¡fljc h e c k .c o m
All lanes and ramps on 1405 southbound between the Marquam and Fremont
Bridges will be closed Friday. August 14.10 p.m. through Monday. August 17,
5 a.m. Motorists can use Interstate 5 to get to their destination during the
closure. Downtown businesses will be open during construction. Detours are in
place to help you get to your favorite destinations.. .
KNOW BEFORE YOU GO!
Call 511 or go to TrlpCheck.com