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,

On Monday, January 31, Portland Public Schools teachers and staff will have a day to collaborate and plan for the start of the second semester, with no classes held for students on that day. This comes after the PPS Board of Education, at a special meeting on Tuesday, unanimously voted to turn January 31 into a staff collaboration and planning day for school-based staff, creating an opportunity for school staff to work on campus-specific school climate plans and instructional practices to support the diverse needs of our students. 

The recent surge in cases due to the Omicron variant, compounded by the unrelenting and continued stress from this pandemic, has impacted all of us as individuals and as a collective society. Every sector continues to face challenges, and Portland Public Schools (PPS) is no exception. We know firsthand that navigating this pandemic is taxing, especially for our students who desperately need and deserve consistency, stability and access to in-person learning experiences. 

Dear Jefferson Community,

We are so pleased to inform you that Jefferson will return to in-person classes on Monday, January 24. 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.

Dear PPS Community,

The PPS Board of Education will consider a resolution at an upcoming meeting to make Monday, January 31 into a school climate work day for school staff, with no classes held for students.