Category — Equity

David Wynde’s Report to the Board Concerning School Modernization

Emphasis and words added – mine. 

October 25, 2010

In more than seven years on the School Board – and even before that as a parent – I have visited many of the schools in our district.

Our custodians do their best to keep our schools clean and functional for our students and staff – and we have a central facilities team who do as much as they can with the paltry budget that is left to them.  But it’s been a long while since we’ve had the funding for facilities work to truly do what needs to be done for our students and teachers.

To be blunt: Our school buildings are out of date and need a lot of work.

• The average age of our school buildings is 65 – and many of the oldest have never really been renovated.  Marshall High School is our newest high school (built in 1960) and requires little work so we voted to close it.
• Only two schools built in the last 30 years.

Standards and building codes have changed…take Kellogg for example….we closed it in 2007 claiming that we would save money.  Now we can’t re-open it without bringing it up to code.  Superintendent Smith reported at the October 12^th meeting that it will cost $1.5 million to re-open the school.  The building houses our crap now.  Important things like copy paper and toilet paper which we plan to sale at wholesale prices… (for the better) since our schools were built, and education has changed, too. There’s been a technological revolution – and our students need to keep up.

As I visit schools, I see the need everywhere: 

• We need up-to-date systems in our schools to keep students and staff safe in case of fire and we need secure entry and access to our schools.
• Classrooms are too hot, or too cold, as ancient and inefficient boilers struggle to keep up in buildings not designed for energy-efficiency.
• Students in many of our schools conduct science experiments at military bases where they are targeted for future recruitment because their classrooms don’t have the lab equipment and set up – no sinks, eyewash stations, outlets, gas jets or lab tables.
• Students sit on the floor in hallways for reading instruction or for high school group projects – because we have no other space. 
• School computers and equipment are out-of-date and inadequate – and too often unavailable when students need them.
• Our libraries are not the modern media centers our students need for research and learning in today’s world.

Portland Public Schools must enact a comprehensive plan to address our long-term facilities needs and bring these schools up to date.

 We are ready – we’ve done our homework.

Over the last three years, we have conducted extensive analysis of our school buildings – the state of their plumbing, electrical, heating and ventilation, their roofs, their seismic safety and their accessibility to students and staff with disabilities. The analysts reported that all of our schools have urgent needs – and that it would cost us less to fully renovate our buildings than to address each problem independently.

 School buildings are the anchors of our local neighborhoods (except high poverty neighborhoods where we’ve repeatedly cheated poor kids by closing and consolidating their schools) – they provide a community focus, they help property values and they can continue to attract families to raise their children throughout Portland.

 The quality of our school buildings matters – to students, teachers and staff, families, neighbors and the greater city. We need to do something new like tackle this work in a deliberate, systematic and thoughtful way. And we need to tackle it now.  Not twenty years from now.  That’s when we plan to tackle the  English Language Learner issue.

Over the last three years, members of our community have been engaged in this discussion – helping to share the vision and principles that the board adopted for a long-range facilities plan. We then put those conversations on hold, while we engaged in planning our High School System.  Then again when we re-planned our high school system.  And it was delayed again when we gave up on a high school system redesign and did what we really planned to do which was to close a school.

The questions about use of our high school campuses are decided. The ink isn’t even dry and we’re moving on.  We haven’t learned from our failed K-8 redesign so we’re just going to hope that the Marshall transition works itself out now.  Our enrollment has stabilized and, after years of decline, has been rising two years in a row. How ironic that the report came out only days after we decided to close the high school in our largest catchment area.  We have demonstrated our commitment to sound budgeting and project management.  

It is now time to resume our conversation about how we can provide safer, smarter school buildings for our students – and for us to take action.

As chair of the Finance, Audit and Operations Committee of the school board, I am asking Superintendent Carole Smith and her operations and school modernization staff to go deep and hit that sweet spot then return to us with a proposal for improving our school buildings.  We will organize the best damned blue ribbon panel Portland has ever seen. 

We need a systematic, strategic and sensible plan to deliver the kinds of schools we need for our students (middle class white students) to be competitive in college and careers. Schools that support their education with the spaces, technology and environment that help students learn and provide exciting teaching opportunities (because teachers would much rather be in a nice building than be treated respectfully). 

Rosa Parks Elementary, which opened in 2006, offers a vision for what we should expect for all of our students.

It is an up-to-date educational environment. In addition to modern classrooms, students work together on projects and teachers work intensively with small groups in specially designed spaces. It’s a warm and inviting place, welcoming students and families. Natural light fills the school, which is designed for energy efficiency.

At Rosa Parks, students and teachers are set up to do their best work. And the Boys and Girls Club shares the space, bringing afterschool activities and supports for our students and inviting community participation in their education.

Rosa Parks is our only example of a school designed to help students learn in today’s world. We need smarter, safer schools across our district, and I look forward to your presenting a plan to begin that work. 

Portland School Board Regular Meeting

Report of Director David Wynde,

KEX radio reported this morning that the student population of PPS has increased for the second year in a row, including the addition of 400 new HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS. 

Is this really the right time to close a high school?

In case anyone has forgotten, the rash of closures of elementary and middle schools over the last 5 years was immediately followed by an enrollment increase at those levels, especially in the primary grades.  Those children will reach high school in less than a decade.  Right now, the schools serving them are woefully overcrowded, but rather than reopen any of the shuttered buildings, the PPS Board has decided to solve the problem by purchasing “portable” classrooms.  It has been reported elsewhere on this blog that over $11 million has been allocated for this purpose over the past two years.

It has been a while since PPS offered any figures on how much this high school “redesign” is gonna cost in the end, but the last figure I recall was $14 million.    

So, from where I am sitting, it appears that PPS has, or soon will have, spent $25 million on school closures.  Had all, or even most, of our schools stayed open, PPS would be $25 million ahead, and no schools would be overcrowded.  $25 million could have paid for music, art, and foreign language instruction for the entire district.  Or am I missing something?

So, I repeat: is this really the right time to close a high school?

Sam Adams has to be the sleaziest and worst mayor in Portland’s history.  I don’t know how he managed to escape being recalled twice. 

It’s not just because he’s a liar with questionable ethics and morals.  He’s silent on the most critical social justice issues (police shootings, excessive use of force, education, gang violence…) and spends all of his time on transportation and sustainability. 

The only form of transportation that I care to see him ride is the one that takes him the hell out of Portland permanently.

Adams failed to return calls to parents and community members in the Lents Urban Renewal Zone (a truly blighted area) while making plans for the wealthy.  Have you seen  this?  Marshall closes on one side of town while Lincoln prepare for a new school.  PPS presentation begins on p. 36.

PPS just released the most damning ESL report that I’ve ever seen.  It’s a must read for anyone interested in social justice.  How can PPS be found in noncompliance for 13 of the last 17 years and nobody has been held accountable? 

The audit results are reflective of the inability of Superintendent Smith and the school board to effectively lead the district as a whole.  District leadership wouldn’t know a system redesign if they saw one. 

Here are some highlights:

The PPS district has been out of compliance with federal and state rules governing the provision of services to ELL students for 13 of the past 17 years, approximately 80 percent of the time between 1994 and 2010. Investigations and reviews by the federal Department of Education and the Oregon Department of Education have found recurrent problems in a number of areas despite PPS promises of corrective action and multiple efforts to improve compliance. Recurrent problems include:

• Poor delivery of English language proficiency instruction
• Inadequate access to core academic classes
• Using unlicensed staff to provide instructional services and lack of appropriate professional development
• Inappropriate methods for identifying eligible students and exiting proficient students

LACK OF SUSTAINED COMMITMENT AND LEADERSHIP

PPS has not made a strong commitment to improving the district’s approach to ELL instruction. While the district has been both responsive and diligent in addressing compliance issues identified by the federal and state governments, these actions have been largely exercises in compliance rather than a systematic effort to develop a clear vision for change and a defined strategy to achieve it.

Lack of a defined strategy.

My discussions with district officials indicates that the district has not fundamentally altered the way instructional services are delivered to ELL students over the past decade. Although the district has prepared biannual ELL plans required by regulation and expended significant effort to administer programs in accordance with federal and state provisions, the district has not identified and communicated a clear vision and strategy on how ELL students will achieve English proficiency and increase achievement. School officials I talked to do not clearly understand their respective roles and disagree on the best strategy for improvement.

According to the ESL director, the biannual ELL District Plan prepared by the department and submitted to the Oregon Department of Education is the central document that should guide the delivery of services to ELL students. As required by ODE, the plan defines the goals and strategies of the program and describes practices for identification, assessment, placement, and scheduling of students. However, my discussions with Deputy Superintendents and school principals reveal little knowledge of this plan and its contents. Consequently, those officials with primary responsibility for improving the English language proficiency and academic achievement of ELL students have not participated in the development of the district plan to carry out the program nor understand the practices the district is committing them to.

Frequent leadership changes and no recognized internal advocate. During the 17 year period of compliance problems, the district has employed five different Superintendents, three different ESL directors, several permanent and interim academic officers, and a variety of different area directors and deputy superintendents. The current ESL director with a tenure of five years has more seniority than any central management level employee dealing with ELL at the PPS.

Organizational limitations. The ESL department at PPS is a central office staff organization with no direct authority over the delivery of ELL instructional services at schools or the supervision of ESL teachers in classrooms. The ESL department director and staff report to the Chief Academic Officer, while school administrators (principals) report to three different Deputy Superintendents. The ESL department establishes policy and practices for ELL instruction, provides professional development opportunities and a variety of support services to ESL teachers, and is the central point of contact for federal and state monitoring. However, the quality of teaching and instruction and the faithful implementation of district policies is the responsibility of principals and their direct superiors, the Deputy Superintendents.

While this organizational structure and reporting arrangement is common to other districts and other PPS academic programs, the oversight and assessment of teacher and school performance in improving ELL achievement is made more difficult, particularly if schools have a strong tradition of site-based management.

INADEQUATE MONITORING AND ACCOUNTABILITY SYSTEMS

PPS has not developed and implemented effective monitoring and accountability systems for the ELL program. I found little evidence of consistent and rigorous on-site monitoring at schools and few mechanisms to ensure schools are accountable for ELL performance results. (Huge understatement)

Do you think it’s possible that Bobbie Regan got Marshall and Rieke mixed up?

In 2006, Rieke parents, staff and community members were supposed to come up with a plan for increasing enrollment to 400 at Rieke.  Enrollment hasn’t hit 400 yet.  This is how the west side gets treated:

RESOLVED, That the School Board encourages the Rieke Elementary School community to present a plan to the Superintendent by October 15, 2006, outlining how it intends to increase enrollment at Rieke Elementary School. The community plan would include input from Mary Rieke Elementary stakeholders, including staff, current and future parents, and the Hillsdale Neighborhood Association, Hillsdale Business and Professional Association and other community residents. As a baseline, Rieke can continue to attract up to 20% of its enrollment on transfer from other Portland Public Schools.If a plan is presented that is satisfactory to the Superintendent, the Superintendent will work with the school community and the School Board to develop a plan arrangement for expansion of the available classroom space on the Rieke site. If no satisfactory plan is presented, the Superintendent may elect to recommend to close or reconfigure schools in the Wilson Cluster to take effect in the 2007-08 school year; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Board of Education expects that the plan will include the development and implementation of a long-term marketing strategy to increase overall School District enrollment within the Rieke attendance area to at least 400 students, on a schedule to be determined, and including regular analysis and implementation milestones, which would serve as a prototype for encouraging families to move into and remain in the School District, and thereby offset enrollment declines within the School District; and be it further RESOLVED, That, concurrently, and as Rieke’s enrollment grows, the School District will collaborate by increasing resources and available space proportionate to its enrollment and consistent with School District practice to grow Mary Rieke Elementary into a facility consistent with the agreed upon plan; and be it further RESOLVED, If an agreement is reached, that Board directs the Superintendent to establish an implementation plan consistent with the agreed upon Rieke Elementary School growth plan.

So what will happen with Marshall’s Voluntary School Choice grant funds now that the PPS board has approved the complete closure of Marshall High School?  Remember, the Voluntary School Choice grant is a $6 million grant that targets Marshall, Jefferson and Roosevelt.  Marshall students no longer have a choice to attend Marshall.  Among the Voluntary School Choice grant goals:

“Phase II of Portland’s Voluntary Public School Choice program will focus significant resources on ensuring equity in neighborhood choice by supporting less successful local high schools in their long-term plans to attract students (neighborhood and beyond) to innovative and rigorous focus options that include access to higher education.  Current choice options allow high school students in more prosperous areas to access colleges and universities, but these opportunities are limited at Jefferson, Roosevelt, and Marshall High Schools. 

Phase II will contribute to the increase in enrollment in higher education within one year of high school graduation by 5% across the district and 10% for the targeted high schools.  At the current time, there is a significant gap in the percentage of students from targeted district high schools who graduate from high school in the Spring and enter college in the Fall as compared to their fellow students in more affluent and academically successful high schools. Phase II of Portland’s Voluntary Public School Choice project will implement both programs and safeguards so that all students may select their home schools as credible options and that all of these schools operate on a level playing field, preparing their students for academic success through high school and into college.”   

Despite the fact that Marshall has been on the chopping block for quite some time, Kelley Duron (PPS Project Director) fails to mention that in her third year report to the federal government:

“During the ’09-10 school year, Superintendent Carole Smith launched a massive effort to engage the community in the district’s efforts to redesign the high school system to better serve all students in PPS. VPSC sponsored a series of phone surveys and in-person focus groups to shape the overarching “look” of the new system. In addition, we provided funding to facilitate more than a dozen community meetings which attracted hundreds of Portlanders to give their feedback in the early shaping of the proposal. VPSC provided support for research on succesful focus options, site visits to local vocational technical schools, and temporary clerical support for redesign staff.

The high school redesign proposal was submitted for consideration to the Board at its April 25th meeting. It includes recommendations for eight comprehensive community (neighborhood) high schools plus two focus option schools. The proposal under consideration by the Board includes some boundary changes and policy changes regarding the ability of students to transfer between neighborhood catchment schools. The Board is expected to vote on adoption of the high school system design plan at its June 21st meeting”.

Considering that Marshall was one of three schools targeted by the grant, don’t you think it would have been important for Kelley to have mentioned that Marshall High School was recommended for closure?

A couple of parents have tried calling the US Department of Education’s Voluntary School Choice Program Officer but she hasn’t returned our calls.  Parents in the Marshall community are due a “voluntary choice” or taxpayers are due a refund.  Maybe if a few more parents call and email her she will feel compelled to respond.  Here’s her contact info:

Jeanne Gilroy

US Department of Education Program Officer

(202) 205-5482 or via e-mail at jeanne.gilroy@ed.gov

Did you all catch what Smith said last night about why Kellogg cannot be re-opened?  It would cost $1.5 million to open the school because the district would have to bring the building up to code.

The Marshall area is one of the fastest growing neighborhoods in Portland.  What happens in a year when the buildings are overcrowded?  It happens at lightening speed.  Cleveland became overcrowded almost overnight once Smith announced plans to send Marshall students there.

Hi  Carrie, I didn’t run to close neighborhood schools, that is for sure. I also didn’t anticipate the worst recession in our lifetimes. (It doesn’t help that the Legislature continues to fail to reform the tax structure.) My job is to weigh the Supt’s proposals and all the input and make my best judgment for the well-being of the entire district. There aren’t any good choices here.

Best,
Ruth

>>> “Carrie Adams” 10/11/10 10:32 PM >>>

Last spring Tony Hopson pleaded with the superintendent and school board to “give us four years.”  Superintendent Smith has used that request to justify her school closure agenda for Marshall. 

Smith’s been meeting with members from the black community behind closed doors for over a year.  Who is “us”?  Who is willing to publicly sign off on the high school redesign?