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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 13, 2010)
Fortiani» (Obstruer October 13, 2010 IN S ID E This page Sponsored by: Page 3 Fred Meyer What's on your list today?. W eek in R eview H ealth pages 6-7 Marshall Closure Eminent Benson, Jefferson brace for new foCus by C ari ïNIITIÀlMttNI pages 8-11 O pinion pages 14-15 L aw 8< [ ustice p » ^ 16- 17 H achmann T he P ortland O bserver With extra tight budgets for Or egon in the upcoming years, the Portland School Board was prepared to take action Tuesday night on changes to its high school system, including the closureofthe Marshall High in southeast Portland, with in te n tio n to c o n so lid a te and stre n g th e n the rem a in d e rin g schools. Superintendent, Carole Smith presented an updated plan for Portland’s public high schools to the board two weeks ago and the district held a work session and took public testimony at Marshall last Wednesday. E x istin g a c a d e m ie s on the M arshall cam p u s — B izT ech, Pauling, and Renaissance Arts — w ould clo se after the cu rren t school year, and the high school program at the Harriet Tubman Leadership A cadem y for Young W omen in north Portland would d isc o n tin u e , leav in g a sta n d alone focus m iddle school. Cleveland, Franklin, Grant, Lin coln, Madison, Roosevelt and Wil son would continue normal opera tion as community comprehensive Marshall High School in southeast Portland. schools with neighborhood bound aries and well-rounded high school programs, while Benson, Jefferson, and existing charter schools would serve as focus schools, open to students from across the school district. Students leaving Marshall would likely receive education at Madi son, Franklin or Cleveland. S m ith’s vision was drawn from the harsh reality o f budget reduc tions presenting the dilem m a o f keeping all the high schools alive, but at a subpar level and hoping to build them back som etim e in the future or consolidating them now and strengthening a comm on core o f program m ing. Though the school board faces difficult challenges, the students, te a c h e rs, and p a re n ts o f the M arshall comm unity are not about to let their school be closed in silence. L ast W e d n e s d a y in th e M arshall auditorium , the school board sat and listened as students showed up with the all the school spirit they could m uster, waving signs that read “ Save M arshall’’ and testifying in support o f what they called am azin g teach ers. Teachers and parents spoke o f success stories, pleading to keep the school as a m uch needed sup port system to M arsh all’s pre dom inately low -incom e students. At the top ofconcem for Marshall supporters was how their students will fare in other schools that lack the specialized programs that found success at Marshall. Examples were a Marshal 1 day care for teen parents, a full time nurse, an association for homeless students, and an after school tutoring and enrichment pro gram. Board members watched with difficulty hours o f inspiring persua sion from the Marshall community who will without a doubt, lose their school unless the school district decides otherwise. HHM HHHHI Schools Make Grade, with Exceptions el O bservador C lassifieds R eligion F o o d ” «'2° Forty-four percent of Portland Public Schools naissance Arts Academy on the Marshall Cam earned the top of grade of “outstanding” on a new pus moved from “in need of improvement” to report card on Oregon schools. Overall, 92 per “satisfactory,” and Hayhurst Elementary, Tril cent ofthe Portland School District’s rated schools lium Charter School and Wilson High School page 18 earned “satisfactory” or better. moved from “satisfactory” to “outstanding.” Based on how students performed on the Six schools declined this year: CM2 Opal state’s standardized tests, improvement from Charter School, Grant High School, Sabin K-8 previous years and graduation rates, schools are and Whitman Elementary moved from “out page 19 assigned one of three labels: outstanding, satis standing” to “satisfactory.” factory or in need of improvement. Jefferson High School and POWER Acad “Beyond the overall grade, these report cards emy on the Roosevelt Campus slid from “sat offer families a good look at some of the vital isfactory” to “in need of improvement.” Also achievement data in every school,” said Superin rated “in need of improvement” were: LEP tendent Carole Smith. “Many students in our Charter School, rated for the first time this district do incredibly well - but we are not ensur year, and the three small schools on the ing success for all of our Students, particularly Roosevelt Campus, which is benefiting from a . . among students of color and those living in pov $7.7 million federal grant to provide greater erty. support and improve results at the north Port- ’ ’ » • "»I • • • » » Î ’yp,schools did.improve; BizTech and Re»., land schooL................... ............ < ... ♦ • • • I ♦ f < < (Vi » I l U I» f l H « < f M « a « • a pages 16-17 « « « ••••a
