Portland Public Schools

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. 

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 Mt. 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.