Today’s Quote –   “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” 

Martin Luther King, Jr.

To Portland’s Black leaders: 

Is it only racist if it happens within the Jefferson attendance area?  What about Black students in SE Portland?  Do they have any civil rights? 

The superintendent’s recommendation to close Marshall comes with a two week deadline before the board vote.  A public meeting is being held this Wednesday, October 6th at Marshall.

You would think that given PPS long history of civil rights violations of ESL students, that the district would have provided notice of the meeting in several languages. 

ESL students make up 16% of Marshall’s population but the notices went home in English only.  A staff member called the central office to ask if the notices were available in other languages but they were not.

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.