Board to hear first high school redesign recommendations

Monday night’s meeting won’t discuss plans for specific schools

By Jennifer Anderson

The Portland Tribune, Feb 8, 2010, Updated Feb 9, 2010 (3 Reader comments)

The Portland School Board will run into some strong opposition tonight by parents and community members who think the high school redesign is a bad idea.

At its Monday evening board meeting, the board is set to hear its first formal recommendations from Superintendent Carole Smith on the redesign effort, under way for 18 months and set to wrap up this summer.

The school board meeting is set for 7 p.m. Monday at the Blanchard Education Service District, 501 N. Dixon.

It will also be telecast on PPS Channel 28 and streamed live. To watch online, visit www.pps.k12.or.us and click on “Now on PPS 28.”

Smith’s resolution will include her recommendation on how many high schools should be kept in their current form, how many to convert to focus option schools, and just how big each of those schools should be.

There won’t be any schools discussed by name, leaving those decisions to be made in June. There also won’t be any decisions made tonight – that vote will occur next month, after the board takes public input.

But Smith’s resolution will include a rationale for the redesign and explain the “core principles and values driving the development of a new system.”

The resolution may discuss restricting neighborhood-to-neighborhood student transfers, in hopes of creating a more equitable high school system. The redesign is also aimed at boosting graduation rates and opportunities for all students.

Online petitions

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