PPS Head Start is now accepting applications for children who will be 3 or 4 by September 1, 2021!

Head Start is a free preschool program that promotes the school readiness of children ages 3 to 5 from low-income families by enhancing their cognitive, social, and emotional development.

Click here to enroll online.

State Program Offers Families Help to Pay for Food

It is Head Start’s goal to ensure a safe, positive learning environment for all children. Positive classroom climate contributes to positive behavior.  Head Start’s discipline philosophy approach consists of five basic components:

• High expectations for student behavior that are age appropriate;

• Supportive, secure relationships with adults;

• Clear, understandable, and predictable routines;

• Instruction focused on developing skills for self-regulation  and dealing with intense feelings; and

• Consistent response to student behavior.

In support of this philosophy and to ensure a safe and positive classroom environment, teachers will design and implement Positive Behavioral Interventions & Supports (PBIS), Tier 1 strategies that set clear limits, model appropriate behavior, redirect inappropriate behavior, and work with families to solve unique problems.

All discipline procedures will adhere to Head Start guidelines and Portland Public Schools policies. Teachers will teach expectations and routines that support students in ways to Be Safe, Be Friendly, and Be Ready to Learn. These expectations and routines will be retaught throughout the year.

Parents will be informed of classroom expectations and routines. They will be engaged as partners in developing additional supports as needed.

Dear PPS Community,

Today we want to offer you an update on the protocols we are using. We are regularly evaluating and revising these protocols to minimize risk for our students and staff as we deal with the rapid changes driven by the omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus.

Dear Community,

After careful consideration and in consultation with school principals, we are extending the temporary distance learning return date until Tuesday, February 1 for the following three middle schools: George, Harriet Tubman and Kellogg.

On Thursday, the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) released graduation rates for the 2020-21 school year, with 84.4% of Portland Public Schools  students earning a high school diploma within four years, an impressive result and a steady increase for the 12th year in a row.

Dear Community,

We are so pleased to inform you that your school (see chart below) will return to in-person classes early next week. We realize that closing the campus and moving to temporary distance learning created challenges for families, but the dramatic rise in absences of staff and students fueled by the omicron variant of COVID-19 made it too difficult to keep the campus open safely.