
Richard Smith Will Lead Re-Opening Kellogg Middle School as Principal
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When Kellogg Middle School re-opens in the fall, veteran educator Richard Smith will lead the effort as principal. Smith, who has been principal of Lent K-8 School since 2018, assumes his new position immediately to get a jump on the myriad of details involved in the opening of the fully modernized campus.
The opening the Kellogg is the driving force behind the current Enrollment and Program Balancing work being done for schools in Southeast Portland. Details of that work are available on this page.
Enrollment and Program Balancing Recommendation To Be Presented To Board
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Dear PPS Community,
As we begin 2021, we want to update you on the work that has been completed in the enrollment and program balancing process. On December 17, the Southeast Guiding Coalition (SEGC) held the final meeting of Phase 1 work that focused on middle school grades and finalized its recommendations.
BOARD MATERIALS
These materials will be part of the presentation to the Board of Education on January 12:
These recommendations will be presented by Deputy Superintendent Claire Hertz to the Board of Education at its January 12 meeting. The recommendations include an attendance boundary and dual immersion program assignment for Kellogg Middle School, which is set to re-open in fall 2021. Among the key points:
- The neighborhood programs at Arleta, Marysville and Lent will convert from their current kindergarten-to-8th grade (K-8) structure to a kindergarten-to-5th grade (K-5) structure. Students in grades 6-8 in those schools will move to Kellogg Middle School starting in the 2021-22 school year. The K-5 programs at these schools will become feeder elementary schools to Kellogg.
- The Spanish dual language immersion (DLI) programs at Lent and Bridger will convert from K-8 to K-5. Students in grades 6-8 in those programs will transfer to the Kellogg DLI program starting in 2021-22. The K-5 programs will feed into Kellogg.
- The Spanish DLI program at Tabor Middle School will move to Kellogg in 2021-22.
After the Board of Education is presented with these recommendations, the SEGC will meet, if needed, on January 14 to respond to any Board requests. The Board will then vote on whether to approve the recommendations at its January 26 meeting.
Several existing enrollment and feeder patterns in Southeast Portland will remain in place in 2021-22. Changes for those schools and programs will be undertaken in Phase 2 of the SEGC work that will begin this February and focus on PK-5 feeder patterns. Phase 2 scope will include:
- Harrison Park K-8, which will be converted to a middle school in 2022, and Creston K-8, which will convert to K-5 in 2022.
- Atkinson Elementary’s feeder path, which will remain assigned to Mt. Tabor Middle School in 2021-22.
- All K-5 attendance boundaries, along with K-5 DLI program locations and configurations, will be considered – but please note that they will be unchanged for 2021-22.
Because Creston will remain a K-8 until 2022, the SEGC asked that district officials make a focused effort to support Creston’s 6-8 students to ensure a robust experience until its middle school location is established in 2022. Also, the SEGC noted that moving Bridger’s Spanish 6-8 DLI program to Kellogg in fall 2021 will require temporary relocation of the school’s 6-8 neighborhood program as it will be too small to exist by itself. Coalition members suggested Harrison Park K-8 and Kellogg as possible short-term locations for Bridger 6-8 students. They asked that PPS engage with Bridger middle school families to find a solution.
A full archive of SEGC meeting notes, presentations, meeting videos and links to give feedback are available on the PPS Enrollment and Program Balancing website. You may also give feedback via the SEGC Community Feedback form.
Thank you.
Southeast Guiding Coalition Meetings
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Meetings will start at 6 p.m., will be held online and be live-streamed.
Phase 1, Middle Grades Focus
Phase 2, PK-5 Focus
Archive of Materials from Completed Meetings
Orientation & Data 101 Meetings
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September 10 Meeting Materials
Orientation to virtual meeting platform
Introduction to the enrollment and program balancing processClick to see:
Meeting details and agenda
Virtual Orientation Slideshow presentation
Video of meeting
Meeting minutes -
September 24 Meeting Materials
Introduction to data, maps, and the Phase 1 springboard option
Click to see:
Meeting agenda
Data packet
Springboard Proposal first draft
Slideshow presentation
Video of meeting
Notes from breakout sessions
Final Springboard Proposal
Meeting minutes -
September 17 Meeting Materials
Racial Equity and Social Justice
Click to see:
Meeting details and agenda
Notes, maps, comments, materials from meeting
Video of meeting
Meeting minutes
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Overview
Portland Public Schools has launched a multi-year process to develop a plan to balance student enrollment and programs across our district, which serves nearly 50,000 students in 81 schools. Enrollment and Program Balancing uses both a data-driven analysis process and community input to address needs such as equity and inclusion, transportation, facilities constraints, and much more.
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Why is PPS facilitating an enrollment balancing process?
Update: Because of the coronavirus pandemic and its impacts on PPS and district communities, the process in 2020 will focus on:
- Enrolling Kellogg Middle School
- Identification of a second comprehensive middle school in Southeast
- Conversion of current K-8 schools to K-5
Original answer:
- To help support the eventual redesign of PPS Middle School programs that includes reconfiguration of identified K-8 neighborhood schools to K-5 elementary schools and 6-8 new comprehensive middle schools while maintaining regional K-8 school options to support program pathway continuity (for example: IB PYP to MYP and dual immersion language pathways).
- Optimize use of facilities at PK-12 to address under-enrollment and over enrollment, and to begin phasing out portable classrooms when possible to create connected, safer schools.
- Minimize program co-locations of facilities between co-located programs and neighborhood schools at K-5, K-8 and 6-8 schools.
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Read FLO Analytics' Baseline Assessment
The PPS Enrollment and Program Balancing Advisory Committee has been working with FLO Analytics to guide our enrollment and program balancing process. As part of the work, we asked FLO to conduct a baseline assessment of Portland Public Schools’ enrollment, programs, facilities, and student demographics. This information is the baseline data required to develop a district-wide framework to guide both short and long-term decision making, as it relates to enrollment and program balancing.
You can see the full report by clicking on the image above. This report provides an essential and comprehensive understanding of the District’s data so that recommendations can be done with thoughtful intent.
Previous Updates
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December 1 Report to the Board Summarizing Feedback from Open House, Focus Groups
On December 1, Portland Public Schools staff presented a report to the Board of Education on the progress of the district's Enrollment and Program Balancing project. The report summarized feedback received during the virtual open house held on November 19, and focus group sessions held November 17 and 18.
Enrollment and Program Balancing work is initially targeting schools in Southeast Portland. The current work is being conducted in two stages, with the currently ongoing first stage focused on middle school grades. The second stage, focused on pre-kindergarten to fifth grade, will commence in spring of 2021.
The report was presented during a Board work session by Claire Hertz, Deputy Superintendent; Dani Ledezma, Senior Advisor, Racial Equity and Social Justice; and Shanice Clarke, Director of Community Engagement. To read the report, click on the image to the right.
To see more material from the focus group sessions and virtual open house, scroll below to those dates. Notes, video recordings and transcripts are available for those sesssions.
View the summary report presentation at the Board work session:
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November 10 Update: Open House and Focus Group Virtual Meetings Next Week
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Dear PPS Families,
As we recently shared, we will be hosting a virtual Enrollment and Program Balancing (EPB) District-wide Open House and Focus Group Meetings next week. We want to make sure you mark your calendars for the upcoming events. These meetings will specifically focus on schools in Southeast Portland in anticipation of the reopening of Kellogg Middle School, and are designed to share information and gather your input.
District-wide Open House
Thursday, November 19 at 6:00 p.m.We want to ensure we are hearing from the different communities we support and to that extent, we will be leading community-specific meetings as follows:
Chinese (Cantonese-language) Focus Group Meeting
Tuesday, November 17 at 6:00 p.m.Chinese (Mandarin-language) Focus Group Meeting
Tuesday, November 17 at 7:00 p.m.Somali-language Focus Group Meeting
Wednesday, November 18 at 6:00 p.m.Spanish-language Focus Group Meeting
Wednesday, November 18 at 6:00 p.m.Vietnamese-language Focus Group Meeting
Wednesday, November 18 at 6:00 p.m.Black, Indigenous, People of Color Focus Group Meeting
Wednesday, November 18 at 5:00 p.m.We will share additional details, including links to the virtual meetings and the EPB District-wide Open House website, next week. To learn more about PPS Enrollment and Program Balancing, please visit the PPS Enrollment and Program Balancing website.
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October 27 Message to Families
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Dear PPS Families,
We want to update you on the Enrollment and Program Balancing (EPB) progress. As we’ve shared, the initial work focuses on schools in Southeast Portland in anticipation of the reopening of Kellogg Middle School. The Southeast Guiding Coalition has held six meetings aimed at creating a common understanding of the Coalition’s charge and the process for developing proposals and a final recommendation. The process is starting with a focus on grades 6-8 now, and will expand to grades PK-12 next spring.
Over the past few weeks, the Coalition has used data-driven analysis and multiple means of community input to evaluate and discuss several scenarios. Members worked toward developing a more refined proposal to share with the broader community. Next week they will receive results from more than 800 responses to online and telephone surveys. The survey results will further inform the development of scenarios, and be posted at the Enrollment and Program Balancing website.
The District is hosting an online open house on Thursday, November 19, to share information about the coalition proposal(s) and gather your input. The district also will engage other important stakeholders in a variety of intentional focus groups and in many languages that same week. The open house and the focus groups will include background information about the process, visuals to help illustrate the proposal(s), and opportunities to provide feedback.
The online open house will include a standing web page that you can visit for information throughout this process and a live Zoom meeting where you can hear from Southeast Guiding Coalition members and the District Advisory Team. We will share more information about the open house next week. Links to the open house web page and Zoom meeting will be sent out just before the event.
All community members are welcome to attend the open house. We especially encourage our Southeast families to provide feedback that will support PPS optimizing the use of our facilities. Your feedback will help us weave the perspectives of students and families in our final recommendation.
More About the Guiding Coalition and EPB Process
The Guiding Coalition is made up of students, parents and principals representing Southeast schools (see the member roster). The coalition is currently holding a series of meetings focused on the middle school grades, including the open house on November 12 and focus groups that week.This process has two phases: Phase 1 concludes with a recommendation in mid-December. Phase 2, scheduled to begin in spring 2021, will focus on PK-5 grades.
Enrollment and Program Balancing uses both a data-driven analysis process and community input to address needs such as equity and inclusion, transportation, facilities constraints, and much more. Meeting agendas, materials, minutes, and videos are posted at the Enrollment and Program Balancing website.
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September 29 Message to Families
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Dear PPS Families,
We want to update you on our progress on the Enrollment and Program Balancing project we have undertaken. As we have previously announced, our initial work is focused on schools in Southeast Portland in advance of the reopening of Kellogg Middle School.
The Southeast Guiding Coalition has held three meetings this month (all virtual because of the pandemic) that focused on orientation to the material and data. They concluded last week with the introduction of a first draft, also called a springboard, proposal. Key highlights of the proposal:
- Kellogg Middle School would reopen, with the Spanish Dual Language Immersion program that is currently at Mt. Tabor Middle School moving there.
- Harrison Park, which is currently a K-8 school, would become a middle school.
- Other K-8 schools (Arleta, Bridger, Creston, Lent and Marysville) will be converted into K-5 schools.
Feeder patterns, boundaries and shifts to DLI programs were also proposed. Details can be seen in the first draft document. This is a starting point of possible options for the Southeast Guiding Coalition to think about, and they will continue to work together in October to ask questions and develop additional versions of a possible plan.
The Guiding Coalition is made up of parents and principals representing Southeast schools. Starting October 8, its work will shift into Phase 1, a series of nine Thursday meetings focused on the middle school grades. The series will include a virtual open house on November 12 that will be open to all, a community survey, and will conclude with a final Phase 1 recommendation on December 17.
Phase 2 will focus on PK-5 grades, with meetings in spring 2021.
Enrollment and Program Balancing uses both a data-driven analysis process and community input to address needs such as equity and inclusion, transportation, facilities constraints, and much more. Meeting agendas, materials, minutes and videos are posted at the Enrollment and Program Balancing website.
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March 2020 Update
Update After Coronavirus Pandemic
Enrollment and Program Balancing is still underway but is now starting with Southeast. This is because of the reopening and enrollment of Kellogg, and because we want to give the process the attention it needs as the District and PPS families continue to handle many challenges right now.
Original Update
With work about to start in Portland Public Schools’ effort to balance our boundaries and programs, we are seeking community members to serve on a committee to help guide the project in Southeast Portland – the first phase of the district-wide effort.
Family and community members with ties to our Southeast Portland schools are invited to apply for the Guiding Coalition that will review draft proposals, consider community input and make recommendations for new boundaries, school feeder patterns and special program locations.
Selected members will be asked to be available for meetings, open houses and other gatherings on Thursdays, from 6 to 8 p.m., through November 2020. The coalition will meet from April to June, then September to November, at locations in Southeast Portland. Childcare and interpreters will be available.
The application window, which opened Tuesday, March 3, will close March 17. Applicants will be notified if they are selected by March 20. The first Guiding Coalition meeting will be held on Thursday, April 2.
Enrollment and program balancing work will begin in Southeast Portland with a focus on setting attendance boundaries for the newly modernized Kellogg Middle School, which will open the fall of 2021. The final decision on boundaries and feeder patterns for Southeast schools will be made by the Board of Education in winter 2021, with changes taking effect in the 2021-22 school year. Balancing work on the rest of the district will follow.
At its meeting last week, the Board advanced the process by approving, by a 7-0 vote, a scope of work that established goals and approaches for the district-wide process.
“This work has been pending for a very long time, and I think it’s going to produce more efficient use of our facilities,” Board Director Rita Moore said at the meeting. “And that means we’re going to be able to provide better learning environments for all of our students.”
FLO Analytics, the contractor working with the district on the project, is conducting a district-wide analysis that will be released later this month.
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Letter to community on community feedback sessions on enrollment policy
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February 2020 Update: Board passes scope of work
At its Feb. 25 meeting, the PPS Board of Education unanimously passed a scope of work for enrollment and program balancing. The Board, by a 7-0 vote, passed Resolution 6059, which accepts a proposed scope that includes information on background, reasoning, values, outcome goals, and the approach and sequence of the work.
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February 2020: Policy Revisions
As Board undertakes policy changes to guide balancing work, we need your feedback
In order to make informed decisions on enrollment and program balancing, the PPS Board of Education is undertaking revisions to three policies that will guide the work.
To help inform the revisions, the district’s Community Engagement team is collecting feedback through a questionnaire.
To see a summary flyer on the changes being considered, click on the image to right.
The three policies that will be amended are (click on name to read the full policy):
- 10.045-P: “Student Assignment to Neighborhood Schools.” The policy establishes a process for assigning students to neighborhood schools, and provides consistent guidelines for changes to school boundaries.
- 10.051-P: “Student Enrollment and Transfers.” The policy intends to provide equal access to educational options for all resident students through an open, fair and accessible process and to promote equity and diversity in student transfers and admissions.
- 10.022-P: “Education Options Policy.” The policy seeks to implement goals by offering students and their families the support they need to make informed choices among a variety of educational options, and to provide consistent guidelines and procedures for educational options.
Timeline
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August 2020
FLO Analytics Baseline Assessment completed.
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April 2020
Guiding Coaltion for Enrollment and Program Balancing is formed.
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February 2020
Board of Education approves Resolution 6049.
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Early 2020
- Launch community surveys
- Workgroup design #1
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Fall/Winter 2019
- Continue stakeholder interviews with community organizations, school-affiliated groups, and public officials
- Establish guiding principles for Enrollment & Program Balancing
- Finalize data inputs
- Deliver draft Enrollment, Capacity and Program Analysis Report
- Update Board of Education
- Develop springboard proposals
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Summer 2019
- Refine key inputs for analysis, including information on students, programs, facilities, future enrollment, and District and Board of Education priorities
- Build communications and community engagement team, including District staff and FLO
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Spring 2019
- FLO presentation to Board of Education
- Launch Enrollment & Program Balancing Web page
- Board meetings, interviews and updates
- Initial stakeholder interviews (PPS equity, community engagement, communications staff)
- Initial data discovery
- Review historical processes
- Integrate student information and enrollment forecasting
- PPS Pulse update to community
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January 2019
- PPS Board of Education approves contract with FLO Analytics
Schools & Representatives
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Schools
These schools will participate in both Phase 1 (October 8 to December 1) and Phase 2 (Spring 2021):
- Arleta K-8
- Atkinson Elementary
- Bridger K-8
- Cleveland High
- Creative Science K-8
- Creston K-8
- Franklin High
- Harrison Park K-8
- Hosford Middle
- Lane Middle
- Lent K-8
- Madison High
- Marysville K-8
- Mt. Tabor Middle
- Sunnyside Environmental K-8
- Vestal Elementary
- Woodstock Elementary
These schools will join the process in Phase 2 (Spring 2021):
- Abernethy Elementary
- Glencoe Elementary
- Grout Elementary
- Kelly Elementary
- Lewis Elementary
- Whitman Elementary
- Woodmere Elementary
Representatives
Click on the image below to see the roster of school representatives in the SE Guiding Coalition: