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ACCESS Academy Alternative Program
An Accelerated Program
for Highly Gifted Students

Vestal • Grades 1-5: 161 NE 82nd Ave•Portland, OR 97220•Ph (503) 916-6483•Fx (503) 916-****

Lane • Grades 6-8: 7200 SE 60th Ave•Portland, OR 97206•Ph (503) 916-6482 •Fx (503) 916-****

••Ph •Fx

School
News

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  • New bell schedule for ACCESS students @ Lane MS- August 9,2018

    8/10/2018
    Dear ACCESS families and staff,
    We are pleased to announce a new bell schedule for ACCESS Academy 6-8 at Lane Middle School. The new bell schedule for the 2018-19 school year will be 8:36 a.m.-3:06 p.m. Lane Middle School will keep its 9:15 a.m.-3:45 p.m. schedule.
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  • ACCESS at Vestal bus drop-off and pick-up - August 7, 2018

    8/10/2018
    Dear ACCESS and Vestal Communities,
    Some of you have expressed concerns about bus drop-off and loading of ACCESS students at Vestal. We’re pleased to let you know that we have developed a plan that will allow safe unloading of students in the morning and pick-up in the afternoon.
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  • ACCESS Academy Summer Update – August 2, 2018

    8/3/2018
    ACCESS Academy 1-5 @ Vestal, 161 NE 82nd Avenue
    Assistant Principal David Jamieson, djamieson@pps.net
    ACCESS Academy 6-8 @ Lane, 7200 SE 60th Avenue
    Principal Krista Blovad, kblovad@pps.net

    Transportation 

    • Bus schedules will be announced districtwide August 10.
    • Vestal campus- there will be no school buses on the playground. A plan is being developed to use the adjacent parking lot. Student safety is a priority.
    • Drop off and pick up procedures will be shared before the first day of school. 

    Physical Education @ Vestal

    • ACCESS and Vestal students will have PE in the gym twice a week.
    • ACCESS and Vestal students will have yoga once a week in the play court. Yoga curriculum and mats will be in place.

    Science classes @ Lane

    • One science classroom is ready and a second class will be upgraded by Facilities to include: electrical outlet drops, eye wash station and a sink.

    Childcare 

    • The YMCA has expanded opportunities for childcare at Vestal for ACCESS students. The Y needs to fill just 5 more slots to add an extra space at Vestal, so please sign-up soon! To register for Y childcare, go to https://www.ymcacw.org/after-school-enrichment-registration. 
    • In the meantime or in case those 5 slots are not filled, the Y has space available at their nearby Y’s Choice program at Tabor Heights United Methodist Church, 6161 SE Stark Street. Transportation will be provided to the Y’s Choice.
    • The Y is also excited to convene an ACCESS/Vestal Child Care Parent Advisory for registered families. Contact Kenny Hallquist for more info at khallquist@ymcacw.org. 
    • If you don’t need childcare near the 82nd Ave corridor, we have identified transportation routes for childcare at Hayhurst, Fernwood, Woodlawn, Whitman, and Rose City Park. To register for childcare with Camp Fire at the above locations, go to https://campfirecolumbia.org/bas-portland-public-school-sites/.
    • To register for childcare with Champions at Whitman, go to http://www.discoverchampions.com/our-locations/portland/or/001371.
    • In addition to registering, please inform the childcare registrar that your student is riding on a bus from another school. Camp Fire: registrar@campfirecolumbia.org; Champions: 800.246.2154.
    • Space is limited in programs. Rose City Park is currently full.

    Transition plans

    • Principal Krista Blovad will be sharing staffing updates. 
    • ACCESS, Vestal and Lane principals will meet this month with equity staff to work on a draft strategic plan for community co-location.
    • Parent input will help inform next steps for that strategic plan to ensure open dialogue, transparency and family partnerships. More details to come.
    • Thank you for your patience as we continue to work on the summer transition to prepare all PPS schools for the 2018-19 school year. 

  • Announcing ACCESS Academy’s new principal, Krista Blovad

    8/1/2018
    Español| Tiếng Việt|

    Dear ACCESS Community,

    I am pleased to announce that Krista Blovad will serve as principal of ACCESS Academy as our Talented & Gifted program moves to Vestal Elementary and Lane Middle School. Krista, along with Assistant Principal David Jamieson, will provide strong leadership to staff and students as we navigate the school year in new locations. Krista’s office will be located at Lane Middle School, David’s office will be located at Vestal Elementary.

    More

  • Summer Potluck Picnic

    6/14/2018
    The annual ACCESS Summer Potluck Picnic is scheduled for Sunday, August 19 from 4-7pm at Normandale Park (5700 NE Halsey St., Portland). This event is a wonderful opportunity to reconnect with current families and welcome new families to ACCESS before the start of the school year. Please bring a dish to share as well as beverages for your own family.

Principal's
Message

  •  

    August  13, 2018

    Welcome to the 2018-19 school year families and students!

    It is our absolute pleasure to welcome everyone to the start of what we deeply believe will be an incredible school year for us all. We know it is a year of significant change and apprehension as to the future of the program and school. We understand many of the complexities and emotions involved, due to so many of you reaching out to us and sharing your experiences. We also know that the driving force behind everything is the success and growth of the children who attend and depend on ACCESS to serve their unique talents and learning pathways. Individualized education that accounts for who each student is, what they are passionate about, where they come from, and who they want to be- is what we want to be a part of together.

    We are co-located in 2 spaces, but often barriers provide opportunities for us to overcome them and become even stronger in spite of them. We also have a unique opportunity to grow skills around collaboration and learn from communities that are new and may be very different from us. My hope is that we find those things that unite us are as strong as those that define us individually. Knowing that there will be challenges has us embracing the belief that the only way we will address them is together, which includes student involvement and input.

    David and I are thrilled to be in this with you. We will be the ACCESS Community's supporters, advocates, leaders, learners, and thought partners in the journey. When Dr. Curtis called me to offer me the opportunity and privilege to come to ACCESS, my response was, “Absolutely. Let’s do this!”

    That is how David and I have been diving into it all, along with everyone else we have been working with since we came on board. We ask you to adopt this “Let’s do this”, mindset alongside us and the ACCESS staff. We know and honor that there is a special history and culture that comes with you. Most of all, we want work with you to make the ACCESS Community even stronger as it moves forward.

    Thank you for allowing us into your community. It is truly an honor!

    -Krista & David

     

    July 3, 2018

    Hello ACCESS families of 1st through 5th graders and welcome to the Vestal Campus! We are excited to have you join us at our amazing school.

    David Jamieson has been named the Assistant Principal for ACCESS. He will have an office here at Vestal.  Many of you got a letter from me in May sharing some of what we knew then about our co-locating plans. David and I have spent some time meeting and we are able to share more of what we now know. Our intention is to share another letter in August. Once the school year begins, our intent is for David to share a weekly newsletter with ACCESS families and I will send a weekly newsletter to Vestal families.

    Here are a few more things we can share as of July 3rd:

    • ACCESS and Vestal will have different start/end times to allow for a smoother entry and exit.
    • We are working with transportation on our bus/car drop off/pick-up plan. The specific details will be shared in August. It seems hopeful that the buses will NOT be on the playground. ACCESS and Vestal students will wait outside until the doors open and students are greeted by staff. Please note- there is not an outdoor covered area for waiting in the morning. There are not staff available to be supervising students before school.
    • ALL school doors remain locked during the school day. The door facing Everett has a buzzer for families (for both ACCESS and Vestal) to be let in during the school day.
    • Vestal office in on the main floor.
    • ACCESS at Vestal will have a separate office, on the 2nd floor.
    • All safety drills (Fire, Lock down, Earthquake, etc.) will happen for both ACCESS and Vestal at the same times. David and I will work together on safety/emergency planning and drills. We will teach and practice all drills with all students. We will share details in the Fall.
    • New information regarding the library/media teacher- we will share one library teacher, Ms. Melody Lang. She will be .50 Vestal and .50 ACCESS. The ACCESS library books are being integrated into the Vestal Library. Ms. Lang is working closely with head of the district library, Susan Stone.
    • ACCESS and Vestal specialists will be Library/Media, PE, Art.
    • We are moving forward with hiring a .60 Drama teacher. Details on scheduling to follow!
    • ACCESS students will be notified of homeroom teacher in August.
    • Recess and lunch times will be the same for both Vestal and ACCESS. We are currently working on our supervision schedules, which includes indoor recess procedures. All students will be taught recess/lunch procedures during the first week of school.
    • ACCESS at Vestal will have a student handbook/calendar that will go home with every student on the first day of school.
    • ACCESS at Vestal will be implementing the district EBBL (Equity Based Balanced Literacy) Writing Curriculum, Units of Study, in the Fall.
    • Just FYI-  ACCESS is currently in the process of hiring the following positions for ACCESS at Vestal- 1.0 School secretary, 1.0 Counselor, .50 School Climate Specialist, .60 PE, .50 Spanish, .50  Math
    • Vestal hosts weekly KICKBALL games every Wednesday during the summer on our playground, 6:30-7:30...please join us. No kickball on July 4th!
    • Community Clean Up day for both Vestal and ACCESS at Vestal is Aug. 18th, 9am-12pm. Please join us in sprucing up our campus!

    This is a lot of information and I know it doesn’t answer all of your questions, but again our plan is to share another similar letter in August.

    We hope everyone is having a fun summer! Know that we are working together to make the Fall welcoming and enjoyable!

    Sabrina Flamoe and David Jamieson

    June 22, 2018

    Dear ACCESS Community,

    I hope that this finds you enjoying your summer. I have been busy working hard with the district and the principals of Vestal and Lane on the transition of ACCESS to our new school campuses. More staffing information will be shared as it gets finalized, but I am happy to announce that Mr. David Jamieson will be the new Assistant Principal of ACCESS. He will have an office at the Vestal campus.

    Mr. Jamieson joins the ACCESS community having served as an Assistant Principal at both Beach K5 and Ockley Green. During that time he has enjoyed the opportunity to learn from many mentors, lead a co-located Spanish DLI school, open a middle school and get to know the people in PPS who serve as resources to school leaders.
     
    Before moving to Portland, Mr. Jamieson served as an administrator at a high-performing charter school in Los Angeles. While there he saw a 100% graduation rate for all students as well as the development of a school and instructional culture of acceleration, differentiation, creativity, and critical thinking.
     
    Born in Portland and an Oregon native, his love of travel and diverse culture began as a child while his father volunteered as a doctor in the Philippines and Hawaii. Traveling throughout Central America and living in Costa Rica while studying Spanish in college shaped his early career path which lead him to pursue his Teaching Certificate at San Diego State University. He then obtained a Masters of Education Teaching English as a Second Language as well as a Masters of Education in Leadership. Mr. Jamieson’s career experience spans sixteen years of working in private, public and charter schools at the elementary, middle and high school levels. He also has international teaching experience at an IB school in Xiamen, China.
     
    In his free time, he enjoys snowboarding, fly fishing, surfing, reading and spending time with his wife Sara, their son R.E and daughter Finley.
     
    Mr. Jamieson looks forward to getting to know the ACCESS community and being part of the school’s next chapter.

    Please join me in welcoming Mr. Jamieson.

    Sincerely,

    Anh Nguyen-Johnson, Principal

     

    Upcoming Events:

    • Back to School Picnic: Sunday, August 19 at Normandale Park (5700 NE Halsey Street) *More details to come
    • First Day for All ACCESS Students: Monday, August 27

     

    June 15, 2018

    Hello ACCESS families of 1st through 5th graders and welcome to the Vestal Campus! We are excited to have you join us at our amazing school. Vestal is one of the most ethnically and linguistically diverse schools in the city. We have about 68% of our students receiving free or reduced price lunch, which qualifies us as a Title 1 school. We have some unique programs due to our Title status. We also made the community wide decision to be a school that explicitly focuses on social justice starting in the Fall.

    My name is Sabrina Flamoe and I am just wrapping up my first year as principal of this wonderfully diverse and beautiful school. Previous to Vestal, I was the principal at Laurelhurst K-8, right down the street, and previous to Laurelhurst I was a teacher of grades 3rd through 8th, then an instructional coach.

    I wanted to share a few things we know for sure for Fall 2018:

    • ACCESS grades 1-5 will be co-located at Vestal; classrooms and the office will be in one wing. The ACCESS counselor and Learning Center will be in a different wing, but all on the 2nd floor.
    • Vestal and ACCESS will share a .6 DRAMA teacher which will be housed in our gorgeous auditorium.
    • ACCESS will have its own Assistant Principal, which will be the consistent administrator on campus. The ACCESS principal will be housed at Lane.
    • Recess and lunch times will be common times for both Vestal and ACCESS
    • We are hopeful to integrate the Playworks philosophy across both Vestal and ACCESS
    • Vestal and ACCESS will each have their own Art and Media Specialist teachers, but both will be teaching in the Art room and in the Library.
    • Vestal and ACCESS will each have their own PE teachers. ACCESS students will have PE in the Playcourt 2/week and in the gym 1/week…and hopefully outside lots!
    • Vestal partners with Earth/Art/Agriculture to bring a garden teacher in for all classes. We are hopeful that we can extend this partnership for ACCESS students
    • Vestal and ACCESS PTA’s have begun working together to schedule both evening and school day events that can be shared by all!
    • Vestal is hopeful that our focus on Social Justice and ACCESS focus on Service Learning can be an area of common ground and shared learning.
    • Vestal PTA hosts weekly KICKBALL games every Wednesday during the summer on our playground, 6:30-7:30. Please join us!
    • There will be staggered start time for Vestal and ACCESS in the Fall.
      • Vestal hours will be 8:00-2:15pm
      • ACCESS hours will be 8:20-2:35pm
    • PPS transportation dept. is working on logistics and will be communicating with families once decisions are made about transportation. Transportation decisions are not made by building administrators.

    While we can all agree co-locating comes with challenges, please know we believe we can do this well, even knowing there will be challenges! We invite you to join us in positive problem solving and assuming positive intent that this can be beneficial to all of our students, families, and staff!

    If you have ACCESS specific questions, please contact ACCESS administration. If you’d like to connect with Vestal’s PTA, please contact our PTA president Galen Gamble at galenblairg@gmail.com.

    Thank you so much, I wish all of you a very enjoyable summer,

    Sabrina Flamoe
    sflamoe@pps.net

    June 1, 2018 

    Dear ACCESS Community,

    The final five days of the school year are here! How did we get to the end of the year so quickly? Next week will fly by!

    On Wednesday we learned about our co-location sites and now the work of transitioning and preparing for the 2018-19 school year begins, as we also try to close out this year and finish strong. There is a lot to do and so I will be out of the building for some meetings next week to plan with the principals and the district for next school year.

    As I mentioned in this morning’s Principal’s Coffee, we have been on a wild roller coaster ride this year and I want to thank you all for staying on this ride with us. As our learning community expands onto two campuses and includes two other communities, we will be working on ways to help everyone with this transition.

    Our staff is still evolving as the year comes to a close. I have already shared the changes that we have so far in previous communications, but there is one more change that has come about in the last week. We also still have a few vacancies which we hope to fill by the end of June.

    • Ana Simantel has accepted a position outside of PPS

    Please also see the message below from Principal Lawler:

    Being principal for the day was a lot of fun.  It includes lots of learnings about being a principal today with Ms. Nguyen-Johnson.  It was really fun being able to be in her office, walk around the school and eat in the teacher’s lounge.  A principal's job takes a lot of responsibility.  It is to take care of a lot of things and a lot of people.  They help with activities, paperwork, meetings, answering questions, talking to people.  A principal has their own office and is very busy.   

    Have a wonderful weekend!

    Sincerely,
    Anh Nguyen-Johnson, Principal

    Upcoming Events:

    • Field Day: Tuesday, June 5
    • Jr. Rose Parade Early Release @RCP: Wednesday, June 6 - Students dismissed at 11:15am *No lunch served
    • 8th Grade Oaks Park Field Trip: Thursday, June 7
    • 8th Grade Promotion & 8th Grade picnic: Friday, June 8 

    Year End Cafeteria Account Balances
    Any remaining account balances (positive or negative) on students’ meal accounts at the end of the year will be automatically held for students at their current school or transferred to students’ new schools within the district.  If your student is leaving the district, then you may call Robin Cafeteria Lead at Access and BC@RCP to arrange for a refund. Donations are also accepted for helping cover owed money on student meal accounts.  Visit our department webpage www.pps.net/nutrition to make a donation.

    Lost & Found
    All Lost and Found items are on display at the main entrance of school until the end of the day on Monday, June 11th.  Please take a look for any items you may be missing.  All unclaimed items will be promptly donated to the PPS Clothes Closet the following morning.

    8th Grade Picnic
    Hello 8th grade families! Hopefully you’ve heard about the picnic following the 8th grade promotion.  Here are details:

    There will be an 8th grade potluck picnic at Rose City Park (the actual Park at NE 62nd Ave and Tillamook- we will set up on the 62nd side around the picnic tables) directly following the 8th Grade promotion ceremony on Friday, June 8th.  This is not a school sponsored event, so students will need to be signed out by a parent or guardian at the office before leaving (or have a note from home with permission to leave school and go to the park).  Students can return to school to catch their bus.

    We will provide meat and cheese deli trays, bread, and fixings for sandwiches as well as a vegetarian option.  Signup genius link is https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0d4aafaf2cabfb6-8thgrade. It includes spots to sign up to contribute $ toward party trays as well as set up and clean up.

    Hope you can come help celebrate the last day of eighth grade!

    May 11, 2018

    Dear ACCESS Community,

    This week also flew by! We have four weeks of school left. The last day of school for 2017-18 remains June 8 - please see the message from the district that was shared with the PPS community earlier this week.

    A huge thank you to the PTA and the families of ACCESS Academy for making the staff feel appreciated during Staff Appreciation Week this week! We were well fed, ready to go with morning beverages, and showered in notes and flowers. We also thank you all for the generous gift cards.

    The latest staffing updates:

    • Hans Weih, paraeducator, will be leaving PPS to explore other opportunities
    • Mandarin Teacher; a new Mandarin teacher will be placed with us for the 2018-19 school year

    Also, we still anxiously await a decision on our location(s) for next school year.

    Enjoy the sunshine this weekend!

    Sincerely,

    Anh Nguyen-Johnson, Principal

    Upcoming Events:

    • Science Night: Tuesday, May 15 from 6:00pm-8:00pm
    • Late Opening: Wednesday, May 16 - School begins at 10:45am  *Reminder that breakfast is not served on Late Opening since Lunch/Recess begins 40 minutes after arrival
    • PTA Meeting: Wednesday, May 16 from 7:00-8:30pm in the Library
    • Dine Out for ACCESS: Wednesday, May 23 from 11am-10pm at ¿Por Qué No? (3524 N. Mississippi Ave.)
    • ACCESS Choir Concert: Tuesday, May 29 in the Auditorium
    • Principal’s Coffee:  Friday, June 1 from 8:45am-9:45am in the Auditorium
    • Last Middle School Dance: Friday, June 1 - 5th graders are invited to attend
    • Field Day: Tuesday, June 5
    • Jr. Rose Parade Early Release @RCP: Wednesday, June 6 - Students dismissed at 11:15am *No lunch served
    • 8th Grade Oaks Park Field Trip: Thursday, June 7
    • 8th Grade Promotion & 8th Grade picnic: Friday, June 8 *Details to come

    May 4, 2018

    Dear ACCESS Community,

    It is hard to believe that May is already here...the time has been flying by!

    I will continue to share staffing updates as they become finalized. In addition to the ones that were shared last week, here are the latest:

    • Jeremy Johnson will be the Head Varsity Football Coach and Mathematics Teacher at Lincoln HS
    • Yinan Sun, Mandarin Teacher, will return to China as her 2-year contract will end
    • Ana Simantel will return as the Grade 1 / 2 Teacher
    • Michael Todd will be the Learning Center Teacher (.50FTE) replacing Christy LeeWehage

    Also, we still await a decision on our location(s) for next school year. There were two communications sent out this week from the district, and in case you did not receive them, I have linked to them below:

    Sincerely,

    Anh Nguyen-Johnson, Principal

    Upcoming Events:

    • Science Night: Tuesday, May 15 from 6:00pm-8:00pm
    • Late Opening: Wednesday, May 16 - School begins at 10:45am  *Reminder that breakfast is not served on Late Opening since Lunch/Recess begins 40 minutes after arrival
    • PTA Meeting: Wednesday, May 16 from 7:00-8:30pm in the Library
    • ACCESS Choir Concert: Tuesday, May 29 in the Auditorium
    • Principal’s Coffee:  Friday, June 1 from 8:45am-9:45am in the Auditorium
    • Last Middle School Dance: Friday, June 1 - 5th graders are invited to attend
    • Field Day: Tuesday, June 5
    • Jr. Rose Parade Early Release @RCP: Wednesday, June 6 - Students dismissed at 11:15am *No lunch served
    • 8th Grade Oaks Park Field Trip: Thursday, June 7
    • 8th Grade Promotion & 8th Grade picnic: Friday, June 8 *Details to come

    Safe Routes to School Bike Fairy Week
    The Bike Fairy will be visiting the Rose City Park Campus on Wednesday, May 9 and leave a small surprise on all the bikes parked on campus.

    Oregon Health Plan
    Starting Jan. 1, 2018, the Oregon Health Plan (OHP) is available to more children and teens younger than 19, regardless of immigration status. OHP is free health coverage for Oregonians who meet income and other criteria. It covers many health care services such as check-ups, tooth fillings, glasses and prescriptions. It also covers labs, x-rays and hospital care. It even pays for rides to and from the doctor’s office. Apply to see if you qualify. Help is free. A trusted and OHP-certified community partner nearby can help you apply. You can find one by calling 1-800-699-9075 or 711 (TTY). You can also go online at http://www.oregon.gov/oha/HSD/OHP/Pages/OHPcoversme.aspx

District News

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ACCESS Relocation

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  • UPDATED childcare info- ACCESS @Vestal/Lane summer update

    7/3/2018

    Dear ACCESS @Vestal/Lane families and staff,

    Even though school is out for summer recess, we are busy preparing for the new school year and look forward to welcoming returning students, new students and ACCESS Academy to Vestal and Lane. Here is some important information you’ll need to know about the school year, including bell schedules, UPDATED childcare info and opportunities to meet new community members.

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  • Tuesday, June 5, 2018: ACCESS Advisory Group Meeting

    6/21/2018

    Tuesday, June 5, 2018: ACCESS Advisory Group Meeting

    Click 'more' for meeting notes.

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  • ACCESS Academy FAQ June 8, 2018

    6/8/2018

    ACCESS Academy 1-5 @ Vestal, 161 NE 82nd Avenue
    ACCESS Academy 6-8 @ Lane, 7200 SE 60th Avenue

    Childcare

    • Details are being developed. Vestal has the YMCA as its childcare provider.  Lane has SUN school. We are exploring options for childcare at Vestal and Lane as well as busing ACCESS students to childcare options closer to their home communities. More details to come.  
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  • Next steps for ACCESS co-location

    6/14/2018
    Español| Tiếng Việt| 中文| Русский| Soomaali

    Dear PPS Communities,

    Yesterday, during a special meeting of the Portland Public Schools Board of Education, a resolution was approved to co-locate ACCESS Academy at Vestal Elementary and Lane Middle School.

    As many of you know, this decision comes after a long process to find the best solution in a challenging environment. Our district is faced with changes to enrollment, rapidly changing neighborhoods and limited available school facilities. We must provide for the needs of every student across the District, and this begins with providing all students a place for productive learning. We believe this decision helps us toward that goal. There was no perfect solution to siting the ACCESS program, and we must work together as one community to successfully implement this decision for the benefit of our students. Much of this work relies on the entire PPS community coming together to do what is best for our students.

    The need to move the ACCESS program stems from a Board decision last fall to provide 1,300 students in historically underserved communities in North and Northeast Portland with more equitable opportunities in a comprehensive middle school setting by opening Roseway Heights Middle School. That decision prompted the need to open Rose City Park as a neighborhood elementary school. We acknowledge the frustrations and concerns of many of our students, parents, teachers and administrators of these communities impacted by this decision. We are committed to improving the way we work with school communities affected by district-level decisions.

    In the meantime, we will work with principals and staff at Vestal, Lane and ACCESS to plan community integration events and to identify support needs. We will be posting additional information on school websites, including answers to the questions we have been receiving, and translated copies will be available at each school. Although we are heading into summer break, we will continue to be in touch with you about this important work.

    If you have additional questions, please send them to pubinfo@pps.net or share them directly with your school’s principal.

  • Continuing work on suitable ACCESS location

    5/21/2018

    Español | Tiếng Việt | 中文 | Русский | Soomaali

    Dear school communities,

    I wanted to provide you with an update on our progress in finding a home for ACCESS Academy for the 2018-19 school year. Please know, we have heard, and share your concerns regarding the very late date of this decision. We understand the challenging position this puts everyone in and we are working as fast as we can to finalize a decision. This past week has been spent working with administrators, senior directors and other logistical coordinators on floorplans, schedules and transportation for our remaining options. We have asked these teams to identify opportunities to benefit all students as well as challenges and proposed solutions. The Superintendent has asked to have this detailed information before sharing a final decision. Next week, we will ask school principals to convene groups of parent representatives from each school community, to discuss possibilities and hear concerns.

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  • ACCESS Update

    5/15/2018

    Dear ACCESS community,

    I wanted to update you on the process to find ACCESS Academy a new location. Superintendent Guadalupe Guerrero is currently reviewing my recommendation for co-location sites. As a next step, please know that Superintendent Guerrero is also touring potential school sites and speaking with school leaders as part of the decision-making process.

    Guadalupe and I look forward to announcing a decision soon. Thank you for your patience and understanding as district leadership takes the necessary time to make the best possible decision.

    We look forward to starting the work of unifying our new school communities once a decision has been announced.

    Sincerely,
    Yvonne Curtis
    Deputy Superintendent
    Portland Public Schools

  • Wednesday May 9, 2018: Access Advisory Group Meeting

    5/15/2018

    This is the agenda

    Click 'more' for meeting notes.

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  • ACCESS Decision Update

    5/7/2018

     May 4th 2018

    Dear ACCESS Community,

    We had planned to announce a decision today regarding a new location for ACCESS, however Superintendent Guerrero would like more time to consider the recommendation. We hope to have an announcement next week.

    Sincerely,
    PPS Communications

  • Update on ACCESS Decision Process

    5/4/2018
    Dear ACCESS Academy Community,

    I understand this has been an agonizing process for all of you while we explore options for a new home for ACCESS Academy. This is obviously not our intent and I am sure it is difficult to standby while a completely new leadership team gets up to speed about the evolution of this program and the complex issue we are currently faced with as a result of our middle school reconfiguration. Balancing the work of doing our research in time to meet critical deadlines while keeping you all informed along the way has been a great challenge. Stephanie Cameron, our Senior Director of Communications and Public Engagement, and I continue to work on improving our communications. Please know, we are committed to keeping you informed and we continue to welcome and value your feedback.

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  • Wednesday May 2, 2018: Access Advisory Group

    5/4/2018
    Click 'more' for meeting notes.
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  • Friday April 27, 2018: Access Advisory Group

    4/30/2018
    Click 'more' for meeting notes.
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  • ACCESS Community Update

    4/30/2018
    Dear ACCESS Academy families,

    My apologies for the length of time between our communications. We are actively working to find a home for ACCESS Academy and we have been doing a deep dive to get a better understanding of available resources and critical needs for this important program. We have an entirely new leadership team at the district and we bring a fresh perspective on how we approach this process. I recognize, and have learned from the many emails from ACCESS Academy community members, that in the past, this has not been done in a thoughtful, engaging or transparent manner. We are striving to do things differently.

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  • Wednesday April 18, ACCESS Advisory Group

    4/30/2018
    The more link below will launch a PDF of the notes from this meeting.
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  • ACCESS Advisory Group meeting: Wednesday, April 11 2018

    4/29/2018
    The more link below will launch a PDF of the notes from this meeting.
    More

  • Friday April 6, 2018: Access Advisory Group

    4/29/2018
    The more link below will launch a PDF of the notes from this meeting.
    More

  • Friday, April 6: Notes from Principal’s Coffee

    4/29/2018
    The more link below will launch a PDF of the notes from this meeting.
    More

  • Monday April 2, 2018: Access Advisory Group

    4/29/2018
    Here is the agenda
    More

  • ACCESS Academy Advisory Group Charter

    4/19/2018
    The more link below will open a PDF of the ACCESS Academy Advisory Group Charter.
    More

  • Update on our process for identifying a new location for ACCESS Academy

    4/17/2018

    The following message from Dr. Yvonne Curtis, Deputy Superintendent of Instruction and School Communities, was sent to ACCESS families April 9, 2018:

    Dear ACCESS Academy community,

    I would like to provide a brief update on our process for identifying a location for ACCESS Academy for next school year. We have assembled an Advisory Group to help inform our research and decision making. As many of you learned at the Principal’s coffee last Friday, this group is comprised of ACCESS Academy parents, teachers and district leaders involved in securing a home for ACCESS Academy.

    More

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