The “Relaxation and Rejuvenation” of the Marshall Community
June 16, 2010
Dear Superintendent Smith and Members of the School Board,
I need to be honest – I wasn’t going to write this letter. I had given up on the process some weeks ago when, after 200+ members of the Marshall Community came together to speak and plead for a comprehensive school on their campus ,Superintendent Smith presented her revised proposal which recommended the slow and painful death of Marshall Campus. Today however, I received an email from Superintendent Smith, wishing me “relaxation and rejuvenation this summer.” Please allow me to tell you about the start of summer for so many of us…
Yesterday was the last day of school for students on Marshall Campus. As the freshmen, sophomores and juniors walked out of their classrooms, many gave their teachers hugs, and asked, “Will I see you this fall?” My freshman English class spent time talking about their own plans for the Fall… Many have younger siblings who would have been freshmen next year. Because of the recommendation to not allow freshmen at Marshall Campus (no matter their interest), many parents are looking to pull these older siblings as well. After all, what parent would want their children at two different high school campuses?
Our principals are scrambling around – strongly desiring to create a master schedule with teacher names, classes, and student rosters. But they too are in the dark. They have been given estimates on which to create a “Worst-Case Scenario” schedule. They have to reevaluate program needs, and examine teacher seniority. These decisions are not easy – especially considering that all of these actions were already completed two months ago; schedules were complete, contract exceptions filed and approved, hiring completed. They now have to start over.
Teachers know that all this is going on. We are grasping to find any information we can: seniority within the building, seniority within the district, any rumors whatsoever about whether or not we have a job next fall, let alone if it may be here. Meanwhile, we have been teaching our hearts out, trying to keep some sense of normalcy in the lives of our students. Normalcy in a time of grieving.
Our students, who have been fighting for their schools (whether as individual small schools, or as a comprehensive campus) for nearly two months, are grieving. They see the news, and see in the Superintendent and Board’s recommendations, that their actions and desires do not matter. They see that their voice, which asked so strongly for a comprehensive school, and for more time, was ignored. They see that Benson students got what they wanted by skipping class on a walkout. They see themselves attending school, getting an education, making their demands on their own time rather than their teachers’. They see that Jefferson students get a voice in the media because of the color of their skin. They see that they are ignored because they are poor. They get the impression that they don’t matter to their own school district.
What many don’t see is the impact of having the freshmen pulled out from underneath us. Students haven’t realized that they will lose anywhere from 25-33% of their teachers. Students haven’t realized that they will lose elective classes. Students haven’t realized that they will lose JV sports. Students haven’t realized that they will lose out on so much that makes up a high school education.
All of this in the name of “EQUITY”. Isn’t that what this is all supposed to be about? Creating an EQUITABLE education for all students of PPS, regardless of their ZIP Code? Yet the proposal not only plans to ship these kids OUT of their ZIP code in order to get that “equitable” education – it also aims to provide the current students of Marshall’s three small schools a LESS THAN equitable education as the District “phases out” BizTech High School, Pauling Academy, and Renaissance Arts Academy. How is this fair? How is this equitable?How is this right?
By taking our freshmen, many of whom truly wanted to come to one of the three small schools, we are being set up for failure. The staff we will lose as a result of having no freshmen severely limits the educational opportunities we can offer our students. The sloppy process being followed here takes away any rights that we as students or staff should have gotten: students’ right to apply for a transfer passed in February; staff rights to apply for new positions in Phase One passed in early April. Only in late April did we find out that our schools’ livelihood was at risk. And only two weeks ago, in early June, did we learn that it was critical, and that the District is placing a DNR tag on our doors.
I cannot imagine being an eighth grader in this neighborhood these past few months. In February, these students filled out an application stating their desire to attend BizTech, Pauling or Renaissance (or any of the other schools in the District). Just a few months later, these students received a letter saying that while their school was slated for closure, they could choose again: they could indicate their desire to remain committed to technology, science or art, or opt to go to their “new” neighborhood school: Madison or Franklin. Then, just a few weeks later, they were sent yet another letter saying that they would not get to go to any of the three schools on Marshall Campus, nor Benson; rather, they would be sent to their NEW “new” neighborhood school of Cleveland, Franklin or Madison. How confusing this must be for a 13-year-old! And the uncertainty of not knowing where your friends will be in the Fall Semester must have certainly put a damper on their promotion celebrations.
Our Second Language students are being inundated with letters from the District, as well as from the ESL departments at Franklin, Madison and Cleveland. They are being led to believe that they must transfer. Over the past few weeks, countless students have brought in these letters to their ESL teachers, or to our ESL Educational Assistants asking, “What does this mean? Do I have to leave?” They love the small classes in their schools here. They love that they are able to be fully mainstreamed into classes that are still small. They love that they are part of the community alongside every other student in their small school. They do not want to leave.
This is awfully late in the year for such drastic decisions. It is unfortunate that the end of a two year process has to happen so quickly and at a time where those so dramatically affected have lost all opportunities to make a choice about their own future. As for Superintendent Smith’s hope for “relaxation and rejuvenation” this summer – it is not starting off well. As I clean my classroom, it is bittersweet; anticipating the summertime (or summer job, in my case), while also uncertain about where I will return to in two months. Will I return to my students at Marshall, or will I get a phone call mid-summer informing me of my placement elsewhere?
Emily Paddock
BizTech High School
English/History/Digital Media Teacher
Marshall JV Girls Soccer Coach
9 comments
Emily, thank you so much for sharing the mess the district has made at Marshall. I am so sorry. As one of the main people in getting the equity movement started I am terribly disappointed in the way the district has messed it up. The whole idea was to make sure all kids, regardless of their parent’s income or their neighborhood, have access to equal educational opportunities. After all this is a PUBLIC school system and at one point PPS actually valued the education of all children equally and the thought was that we could do that again. But evidently the middle and upper middle class neighborhood activists who control the school board, and have for years, are not willing to embrace the idea of a public system with equal educational opportunity for all. If students in all the poorer areas of town get equal chances then the supposed educational leaders are fearful the education in their schools will be weakened. So a little sacrifice is needed and since Marshall is the weakest politically, well…….. And since Jeff has been so destroyed anyway, well…….
But don’t give me focus schools and tell me it is equitable because it is not. If you want a school in the Marshall or Jeff area it should have EVERYTHING the other schools have. This is the only fair and equitable result. Anything short of this can not be the result and an equity movement. So, close Marshall, close Jeff, but what are you going to do, going to do, not promise to do because we all know how well promises get kept around the orange building, what are you going to do to make it equitable?? What are the trade-offs which the Marshall kids and the Jeff kids get for riding the bus farther, getting up earlier, having difficulty in doing athletics and activities, getting uprooted from their school and communtiy, being the outsiders at their new schools, having their friends end up elsewhere. What are they getting to keep it all EQUITABLE? What?????????????????? Haven’t heard word one about that. All we know is Lincoln, Cleveland, Wilson, and Grant (the close the gap not the schools people) once again get the cream, while the rest get the dregs. Same old story. And where are the community leaders to protest the way this has come about?? Where is Stand for Children, The Chalkboard Project people, the School Foundation people, the Mayor and his minions. Right where they have always been — same old place — supporting the most politically feasible and the most politically powerful. Same old place. And furthermore, I don’t want to hear Trudy Sargent and Pamela Knowles, or even Martin Gonzalez spouting any more about EQUITY — it is not your word, nor your province, and it sure isn’t your board’s process result. Just stand up and say, “Well take this poor folks.” We would all respect you more if you did.
I must step in here and defend Close the Gap, Not the Schools. We called, emailed, went to businesses, went to high profile leaders in the community, PTA, etc. to try to get people on board from the other schools–especially Jefferson–and we got virtually no response from anyone! I understand the distrust and reasons for being suspicious but the same people that have been mocking CTG and our motives all these months are now accusing us of benefiting from school closures, when we did all we could to prevent them–and not just Grant but all Portland’s high schools! CTG lost momentum and has essentially died after the April board vote approving closure of high schools. It’s too little, too late folks.
Emily,
Thank you for posting your letter publically. It highlights the devastating effects these last-minute decisions coming from Superintendent Smith and the PPS Board are having on the schools and communities. After two plus years of wasted planning, it all comes down to unplanned consequences like Marshall being slowly stripped of resources and its students getting an even less equitable education than it provided at the beginning of the process. Four years of high school for these Marshall-area students will be weakened and stress-filled.
JD, ctg couldn’t get high profile leaders to join because it was so blatantly fighting for its own agenda. It died after the April board meeting because it was finally obvious even to ctg that Grant would remain safe and the boundaries of Laurelhurst and Hollywood would remain untouched. After you pat yourself on the back for your fine example of civic engagement, enjoy your summer.
JD, one of the things about the Marshall community which has created a good deal of the lack of support from PPS has been the lack of community support. It is not made up of people who are comfortable, experienced, nor have large amounts of time or money to participate in the p0litical processes in school politics. That is pretty much a given (I worked there for 10years so I speak from a good deal of real-world experience). I am not excusing them, but the question then becomes why should children suffer because their parents don’t live in a wealthier neighborhood? Public education is just that, public education. Without good, solid education in a community such as Marshall then we condemn those children to a much more difficult and less productive life. And we condemn us all, yes, us all, to a worse city and to the social and fiscal problems which grow from ignorance and poverty.
So my problem with the gap people was they ran with the idea they were against all school closures and recruited everyone else to join them with the premise, and dare I say promise, that they would work against ALL school closures. Then, when Grant was no longer on the choppinig block they folded. Hypocritical at best, outright deception at worst. You suggest the reason they basically folded was the school board came out and voted to close some schools. Yet, if Grant had been one of the schools the school board had on their supposed final list you don’t think the gap people would not be fighting like crazy for overturning the decision? Of course, and they would make Jeff’s recent efforts look like nothing.
Now, all things being equal, I don’t have a problem with the gap people using any old strategy they want to protect their neighborhood school. Heck, it was a good strategy and it worked for them. But the problem is this: Grant people have worked for years politically to make sure Grant students have real educational opportunities and they have done this at the expense of thousands of poor kids. Not by putting those schools down or doing anything mean or purposeful, but by supporting people on the school board and organizations which don’t have any interest in poor kids, just their political constituents and supporters of which Grant is very capable of being. (Well, not really “no interest” just not enough interest to correct the problems and risk their political careers and constituencies by by doing so.) And in that way those Grant school activists have harmed those schools and the city. So it is easy to see why people who have been fighting this problem for years might be a little cynical.
Steve, you are way off base. You have many good points about a lot of things and I agree with much of what you say. But I think we will need to agree to disagree with the motives of the CTG people. It’s too bad we have become so cynical (understandably so) that we reject a helping hand when it is offered.
I totally agree that the CTG parent/group totally had one thing in mind…keeping GRANT as is. They have completely disappeared once they felt that their school was safe from any big cuts/changes.
I wonder if we will see them light the fire again when the boundaries are redrawn for the feeder schools to Grant. After all, aren’t some of the households that feed into Alameda/Laurelhurst much closer to Madison than some of the households that are in N.E., such as Faubion/Vernon? Only seems fair that if their neighborhood school (Jefferson) is closed that those families shouldn’t have to drive or ride the bus past Grant on their way to Madison.
JD, I’m just making observations. I don’t have a dog in this fight; I just know poor kids have been screwed for the last 20 years and almost no one in any of the “have ” schools have done anything but suggest I and others with similar opinions are way off base. Or they try to justify their actions, usually by saying how they really do care, but then they support the harmful actions and people espousing those actions. Been doing it for years. Been justifying or ignoring for years. You might be different — great, are you working with the Grant people to let the school board members know that the whole process stinks and they need to go back to the drawing board and that focus schools or anything less than full equity for all is not acceptable and you sure as hell won’t vote for, nor support any school board member that votes for anything less than equity for all children? Get a letter written up and signed by all the Grant leaders and send it off to the school board and send me a copy. Then you win the argument and I will know I am being overly cynical. But if you can’t do that or if you say that I am just off base again, then never mind suggesting that really the motives of the Grant leaders are really in it for everyone. P.S. I don’t think they are bad people for being in it for their own school, just don’t try to suggest they truly care about the poor kids in the other parts of the city. They don’t. At least not to the extent they will go to bat for them.
Steve,
FWIW, a number of us have been writing to the school board to ask the vote be delayed. They have announced that they will delay it one week, but that is not what we meant–or at least, not what I meant. I want it delayed until there is a full accounting of what any and all changes are meant to accomplish, and no more last-minute ideas pulled out of anyone’s ass.
Thanks Zarwen!
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