August 18, 2025

Families of Alliance High School,

I can not believe that the new year starts on August 26. My name is Dawn Joella Jackson, and I am the new principal at Alliance High School. I am joining Alliance after being a Director in Gresham-Barlow School District. Before that I was a principal for many years at Helensview and Donald E. Long Detention. I made the decision to return to being a principal because it is a role I love. I am inspired by being with students every day, working with staff to look at systems differently so that we can find new and rich ways to get every student what they need.

Families, you are a big part of our school. This year we will launch a Site Council for families of Alliance High School. This group will meet once a term to look at academics, safety, enrichment and opportunities for family involvement and volunteering. The application for the Site Council will be sent out to all of you in mid-September, so if you are interested please stay tuned.

Feel free to reach out to me at any time by email dajackson@pps.net or by calling the office at Alliance High School at 503-916-6486. Please note that I make being in classrooms and with students a priority every day, so please be patient and give me 48 hours to respond to communication that is not identified as Urgent or Safety Related. 

Con respeto/ With respect,

Dawn Joella Jackson

FIRST DAY BACK:

Our first day back to school will be August 26, 2025. This day is different depending on what program you are in.

• 4 day/ Self Paced Program
• Please come for your normally scheduled classes
• Meet with Camille, your counselor, to get your class schedule for the term

• 5 Day Program
• Arrive between 8:30-12:00
• Meet with your advisors to look at your transcripts and schedule classes
• Grab lunch and head home
• Return on Wednesday August 27 for your first full day

Important Dates:

• 8/26/25 - First day of School for all students
• 9/1/25  -  Labor Day Holiday - School Closed
• 9/23/25 - Open House (5 PM - 7 PM)
• 10/2/25 - End of Term 1 -  Early Release for Students / Registration & Grading in Afternoon
• 10/3/25 - School Closed - Teacher PD
• 10/6/25 - First day of Term 2 
• 10/10/25 - Teacher PD - No school for students
• 10/29/25 - Cedar (4-day) Students - No School - Grading day
• 10/30/25 - Alder (5-day) Students - No School - Grading day
• 10/31/25 - School Closed - Teacher PD

Calendar and Bell Schedule:

Alliance Bell Schedule

Calendars for 4 and 5 Day Programs

Open House:

ALL ALLIANCE students and families are invited to our Open House which will be held on 9/23/25 - Open House (5 PM - 7 PM). At this time you will be able to connect and talk to Alliance Staff and celebrate the work we have done so far in the 2025-2026 school. Please make every effort to join us that evening.

Attendance:

Attendance is a focus this year at Alliance. WE WANT AND NEED YOU AT SCHOOL! You need to be at school for your own progress. We are also a community and we are not as strong if we are not all here. This goes for all of us staff and students. 

Attendance is a joint effort between ALL staff, students and families AND we are lucky enough to have an Attendance Coach Mayra Escalera. In every newsletter she will share Attendance Awards, Challenges, Successes and Supports. 

Communication:

School Newsletters will come out every term and include an overview of important dates and events coming up for that term. We will also be highlighting student awards and work. 

Synergy For Parents: 

ParentVue:

IMPORTANT - Annual Verification of Student/Family Information It is required for parents/guardians to complete your annual verification form to update student and family information. This is now done online (available in multiple languages) in ParentVue. If you have multiple students in different PPS schools, you only need to do annual verification once. 

ParentVue is your application to see your student's schedule, grades, and attendance. As of last year, progress reports and report cards are available on ParentVue and are not mailed. You can also report full day absences on ParentVue (but not late arrivals or early dismissals). Please do the annual verification to make sure we have your current address and contact information. If you have moved and need to update your address, please upload the proof of address change as requested or bring a hard copy to the office. The annual verification is necessary to maintain access to ParentVue. If you have any questions or need assistance, please contact the main office

Trivory:

We use Trivory to communicate with families and students about school events, information and district news. Please make sure you have access to it. 

ParentSquare Resources for Parents & Guardian

ParentSquare will replace Remind as the key way we will communicate with families. Please make sure you have access to it. ParentSquare will be sent out in the language you have marked in Synergy.

ParentSquare Launch Page

2 Minute Tip: Notification Settings

Parents & Guardians Getting Started Guide

ParentSquare 3-Minute Overview

Cell Phone Policy Change:

With recent state-wide and district-wide changes in cell phone policy we are shifting our cell phone policy.  We will be sharing that policy with all of you on the afternoon of Friday August 22, 2025. Thank you for your patience as we collectively shift to a new practice. 

Free Meals Continue for 2025-2026

All students will be offered free breakfast and lunch for the 2025-2026 school year.