Posts from — August 2010

SEPTAP invites you to a forum to discuss the most recent budget cuts to special education services with presentations by: 

Carla Randall

Chief Academic Officer, PPS

 Joanne Mabbott

Director of Integrated Student Services (formerly Special Education) 

When:  Tuesday, August 31, 2010  Doors open at 6pm

(presentation and question and answer from 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm)

Where:  United Way Community Center – 619 SW 11th Avenue

 Parking at First Presbyterian Church on 12^th, between Morrison and Alder.  One block away from the United Way office.

 For more information contact septap.portland@gmail.com or call Jen at 971.340.7722.

My parents are the kind of parents that save everything from their children’s childhoods.  I just ran across this old PTA Handbook from the 1968/69 school year.  It was interesting to look through it and see how things have changed.

It’s true when we tell our kids that they have so many more days off than we did when we were kids.  Here’s Grout’s 1968/69 school calendar:

Opening day of school – September 9th

Professional day (school closed) – October 11th

Veteran’s Day (school closed) – November 11th

Thanksgiving (school closed) – November 28-29th

Christmas holiday (school closed) – December 21st-January 1st

Spring vacation (school closed) – March 15-24th

Memorial Day (school closed) – May 30th

Last day of school – June 9th

Grout Elementary was a K-8 in 1968 and the school had:

• 1 principal
• 1 administrative assistant
• 2 secretaries
• 2 PE teachers
• 3 custodians
• 1 librarian
• 1 school nurse
• 1 speech pathologist
• 1 social worker
• 1 remedial reading teacher
• 24 regular classroom teachers
• 9 subject specific teachers

Grout offered music, foreign language, art, home economics, industrial arts, speech, drama and typing along with math, science, reading, and PE.

For the past 20 years, I’ve heard the annual claim that the superintendent has protected the classrooms from cuts and reduced central office staff.  That’s bullshit. 

Our schools (except the Lincoln, Grant, Wilson and Clevelands) offer nothing while the central office adds deputy superintendents, chiefs, POSAs, TOSAs, project/system managers and communications staff.  What could our schools have looked like if the classrooms were truly protected from cuts?

At a time when the district is strapped for funds, there’s a proposal to give the superintendent increased authority over district contracts. 

Under the old rules, the board had to approve contracts that exceeded $25,000 but under the new rules the board would only have to approve contracts over $150,000.  That’s quite a jump.

The new rules also give Smith authority to ”designate in writing any District employee or employees to exercise all or a portion of the superintendent’s powers and duties”.

On the surface the contracting changes may not seem to be concerning but central office departments have budgeted over $25 million for non-instructional personal/professional services in the upcoming year.  How much of the contracting is truly necessary and how much of that should be diverted to the classroom?

You can read the full document here.

I’ve been busy this summer and I haven’t been monitoring this blog as much as I did during the school year.  I’m concerned about what I’m seeing on it lately.   

I appreciate it when people speak candidly and honestly but I don’t want this blog being used to make anonymous accusations against individuals without the facts to back them up.  If you’re saying what you think or feel, then say so but don’t put it out there as if it’s fact. 

From now on, anonymous accusations being made without the facts to back them up will be deleted.

Come and show your support for all learners in Portland Public Schools. The recommended budget cuts to special education and ESL services are disproportionate and will impact all students in PPS negatively.

More details to be announced soon. We need students, peers, siblings, teachers, staff, community members, organizations, alumni, parents, grandparents, foster parents, and extended family to testify or write something in support.

Monday, August 23rd

   4:30 PM

PPS Central Office

  501 N. Dixon

Today I called Teacher Standards and Practices Commission (TSPC) to check on the status of a complaint that I filed against a PPS employee months ago.  The representative that I spoke with (Paul) told me that they are still investigating complaints from 2007.  He said that they have 300 complaints waiting to be investigated. 

Paul said that they investigate the more serious complaints (sexual abuse, use of force etc) first.  How many serious complaints could they have? 

In 2009/2010, TSPC disciplined 30 teachers  (2 from PPS).  Does TSPC need more investigators?  Do school districts need to do a better job screening applicants?  Are people filing meritless complaints?

I love the little treasures found in the PPS board books.  I noticed in the April 26th, 2010 board book that the district is paying outside organizations for “Community Engagement Services.”  The contracts total $1,528,000.  That’s outrageous considering that the Community Involvement and Public Affairs department has a $3,329,710 budget.

I recognize that the department includes Educational Television Services, Community Involvement and Public Affairs, Enrollment and Transfer Services, and the North/South Family Support Centers but that’s still $1,825,511 more than the same departments cost in  2003/04.

Here’s the list of Community Engagement Services Contracts:

Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization – $238,000

Neighborhood House – $200,000

Native American Youth and Family Center – $200,000

Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods – $240,000

Latino Network – $234,000

Catholic Charities of Oregon, Inc. – $200,000

Volunteers of America – $216,000

I can’t help but notice that the organizations represent low income people and communities of color.  How have these contracts benefited those communities?  Why couldn’t district staff engage the same communities?

The state just released the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) reports and 3 of the 5 PPS high schools making AYP are at Marshall.  Superintendent Smith’s poorly thought out plan to create equity and improve high schools would close all 3 Marshall schools.

Now the district has the opportunity to learn from Marshall’s success but will anyone from management be smart enough to do that or will the superintendent push on with her school closure agenda. 

All 3 schools at Roosevelt failed to make AYP but they get $7.7 million for improvement.  In order to get the school improvement grant, Roosevelt had to get rid of the school principal and replace some staff.  The principal booted from Roosevelt has now been placed at Marshall.  There wasn’t even a principal selection process. 

The district sent out an email spinning the AYP results story as 8 out of 10 schools made AYP but REALLY only K-5s met federal standards district wide.  Middle and high schools failed to meet AYP. 

Limited English Proficient student performance declined in both math and reading at the high school level and only about 1 in 4 limited English students graduated in the class of 2009.  Didn’t the superintendent and board just agree to cut services to those students? 

At the high school level, the district failed to meet AYP for economically disadvantaged, limited English proficient, students with disabilities, Black, Hispanic, and American Indian/Alaskan Native students.

Sadly, the criteria for meeting AYP is pretty low, “subgroups are only required to meet attendance (or graduation for high schools) when the academic status target is not met.”  Even so the district failed to meet AYP.  Superintendent Smith needs to be booted.