I found it unbelievable that Superintendent Smith would give principals extra time off with pay this summer while at the same time asking teachers to sacrifice.  Oh yeah, there was an update this afternoon saying that principals will work harder later.  I’m sure.

I calculated the cost of giving all principals 18 days off with pay.  My estimate is conservative because I used the bottom end of the administrator salary schedule and most administrators are experienced and at higher steps.  The district’s About PPS page says there are:

• 15 high schools
• 10 middle school
• 31 K-8s
• 27 elementary schools
• one K-12
• one 6-11

The total cost of the paid days off just for principals alone is $479,392.  (Vice principals and assistant principals would also be getting time off with pay.) 

How is PPS leadership going to be able lobby legislators for additional funding when they continue to make thoughtless decisions?

Better yet, how can Superintendent Smith justify closing schools to save money when the savings would amount to less than the cost of giving principals a break?

Trudy should never have been able to run unopposed during the last election.  She rubber stamps everything and turns her back on the people she’s supposed to represent.  What has she accomplished since 2005?

The statement below is from the 2009 Voter’s Pamphlet:

TRUDY SARGENT…ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE FOR ALL
Trudy always seeks evidence that programs and initiatives benefit kids, improve achievement and increase opportunities. Now more than ever, schools must focus on identifying and replicating success.

Trudy’s leadership supports:

• setting rigorous academic goals for all students
• improving student achievement for all and closing the achievement gap
• improving the graduation rate

Dear Voter,
     Four years ago I asked for your support in delivering a world-class education to our kids. I renew my commitment to providing every child in every neighborhood with a high quality education AND to ensuring that taxpayers get maximum value out of our limited resources.

I hope I have earned your vote,

Trudy Sargent 

Every neighborhood?  It’s no wonder that Trudy doesn’t support a comprehensive high school in the Marshall neighborhood.  She didn’t send her own kids to their neighborhood high school.  Trudy’s house is 4 minutes from Franklin but her sons attended Cleveland.

At last Monday’s meeting Trudy talked about her unwillingness to support comprehensive neighborhood high schools where large numbers of neighborhood students transfer out.  How much thought could she possibly have put into that view?  Students have been transferring out of Marshall, Roosevelt and Jefferson because of decades of neglect by Trudy and her colleagues.    

Trudy hasn’t earned my vote.  But then again, I may be living in the David Douglas district next school board election. 

 The Redesign Team is moving forward on Marshall’s closure prior to a board vote: 

  ———- Forwarded message ———-
From: ”PPS ppscomms” <ppscomms@pps.k12.or.us>
To: ”All PPS” <allpps@pps.k12.or.us>
Date: Tue, 18 May 2010 15:25:27 -0700
Subject: [Allpps] MEETING UPDATE: Marshall small school design Dear Teachers and Principals,  

 We have changed the meeting location and added an additional information session regarding the process to select a team of educators to design the new small school on the Marshall High School Campus.   

Educators who are passionate about teaching and learning in a small school environment and who are interested in finding out more about the selection and design process for the Marshall small school can attend an information meeting on:   

Monday, May 24 from 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm at the BESC, 501 N. Dixon Street, in the Windows Cafeteria on the 2nd Floor   

OR Wednesday, May 26th from 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm at the BESC, 501 N. Dixon Street, in the Mazama Room on the 2nd floor (go through the cafeteria, then left). 

 The meetings will be identical so there is no need to attend both. Thank you! 

The PPS superintendent and board may have wanted to avoid discussion about race in the high school redesign but we shouldn’t.  PPS has a long history of discriminating against students of color and poor students.  Now that the district has invested some money into Courageous Conversations, let’s see if they can have one. 

 Here’s another link to a report on PPS ugly history:

Detailed report on the history of PPS and the Black United Front

How sad that Portland is being touted as a national model.  PPS must have taken their show on the road since people here aren’t buyig it.  Read and comment on the Portland Observer story.

Portland’s High School Overhaul Makes Los Angeles Times

Carole Smith  must think we’re fools.  This is what she said 0n September 26, 2008 when talking about the challenges of PPS high schools:

We’re taking steps to change those statistics. In my speech to the City Club of Portland earlier this month, I pledged to engage the city in a serious conversation about high school reform. I also pledged not to close a high school campus. Let me tell you why.

This is what Carole said on April 26, 2010 “Marshall Campus schools – Renaissance Arts, BizTech and Pauling – would close in fall 2011.”

She can play with words and say she’s not closing a “campus” but by closing the schools on the Marshall campus….she’s closing the campus.

Pop Quiz

Which high school promised this? 

• A small, personalized learning environment 
• Self-esteem and leadership skills development
• Rigorous college-preparatory curriculum
• Focus on business entrepreneurship, sports/entertainment management, and law enforcement/forensics
• Purposeful involvement in community service to develop life and leadership skills
• After-school, Saturday & summer enrichment opportunities
• Support for academic and non-academic needs

Answer: Jefferson Young Men’s Academy 

How did that turn out? 

After one year and spending at least $30,000 in grant money on student recruiting efforts and planning, Jefferson High’s Young Men’s Academy has enrolled 42 students in grades six through nine. Doesn’t seem like much compared with Portland Public Schools’ 2005 goal of eventually attracting 400 Academy students in grades seven through 12. But it is a fivefold increase from last year’s recruitment of eight students—numbers so low that the district delayed the school’s opening from fall 2006 until fall 2007. This year’s enrollment of 42 is apparently enough to open what’s now being called the John H. Johnson Leadership Academy for Young Men, named after the late magazine publisher from Chicago. 

But there were more problems….. 

Carole Smith,the newly hired superintendent who often said the academies at Jeff would be “great,” later said administrators were doing what they could, but she avoided talking about “details.” (sound familiar?) 

And then the Young Men’s Academy closed after struggling for 2 years….. 

Low enrollment prevented the school from fulfilling its mission,” said Toni Hunter, Portland Public Schools assistant superintendent of high schools. “The Young Men’s Academy never exceeded 55 students and continues to decline. 

 So district administrators promised Advanced Placement classes at the new, new Jefferson but implementation was postponed for one year and then another year and now the superintendent is promising AP or IB classes for 2011. 

All of the broken promises have prompted parents to ask  whether anyone would be held accountable for making sure this never happens again.

What do you think?

Marshall small school principal Fred Locke showed up at last night’s community meeting to plead with the community to please, please support his dream of a focus school at Marshall.  The crowd overwhelmingly said NO.  They don’t want a small school at Marshall.

Give it up Fred.  Your dream is Marshall’s nightmare. 

If you want to be king of a small focus school, start your search here.

 Superintendent Smith’s recent recommendation to cut paraeducator and bilingual educational assistant staff is certainly consistent with PPS history.  Like a playground bully, Smith picks on the weakest members.

Her recommendation to close Marshall is just one more example of that.  She doesn’t have the courage to stand up to Grant or Lincoln or Wilson so she took the easy route.  She doesn’t expect resistance from the Marshall community. 

Her high school redesign plan closes Marshall without giving parents or students the opportunity to be on the focus school redesign team.  I’m sure that’s because the “redesign” will be the old design, certain to fail. 

The small focus school at Marshall isn’t going to open.  There isn’t any student or parent interest in it.  Remember the Young Men’s Academy?  The high school redesign plan says a representative from Marshall (staff member) wanted a small school at the campus.  One person wants it so the community suffers?

The parents and students in the Marshall area have been saying for years that they’ve been cheated by the small schools concept.  They weren’t happy with the small schools because they didn’t offer anything. 

The high school redesign is our chance to FINALLY get a decent shot at a public education. 

The superintendent couldn’t justify her recommendation to close Marshall based on the SEER data so she added bullshit criteria and lies.  One of the essential factors that informed decision-making was “local understanding of the city’s topography, neighborhood’s sense of community, and travel routes.”  How does she measure the neighborhood’s sense of community?  Do they complain about paying premiums for their homes?

Another essential factorinforming Smith’s decision-making is the opportunity for unique partnerships.  David Douglas isn’t going to lease Marshall.  The letter from David Douglas superintendent Rommell (Smith’s friend) says she’s encouraged by the possibility of providing opportunities for David Douglas and Marshall students.  How encouraged?  Has David Douglas made a commitment to lease Marshall?  Or does Smith expect the PPS board and community to assume David Douglas will be leasing Marshall when closing the school?  Has Smith seen David Douglas’ proposed budget?   

New homes are cropping up everywhere in the Marshall cluster and enrollment at Marshall has increased since 2004.  One issue Smith said she plans to address in the high school redesign is “very large enrollment at Harrison Park”.  That would be our multiple award winning Clark Elementary which was merged with Binnsmead Middle School illegally.  Harrison Park’s enrollment is very large because of the district’s decision to close Clark while the area was seeing significant growth. 

Here’s a profile of Marshall High School now:

How does closing a school that serves a higher than average percentage of students who are poor, minorities, and/or have disabilities promote equity?  It doesn’t but it does make them an easy target.