Jefferson PK-8 Cluster Enrollment Balancing

Beach School parents and supporters, please take a look at the following proposals and get your feedback in to PPS ASAP!

Please read to the end of this long post for the details, and send your answers to the three questions below.

Don’t forget the meetings TONIGHT and WEDNESDAY, being held to address this short-notice decision.

This pdf document has more details still!

Finding balance in the Jefferson Cluster

 

Jefferson PK-8 Cluster Enrollment Balancing Scenarios Feedback Sheet

After hearing from hundreds of community members and researching grade structures and enrollment trends, PPS has developed six scenarios for potential changes to the grade levels and programs at Jefferson PK-8 cluster schools. Each scenario has pros and cons, and is not a finished product.  We are seeking community feedback upon the proposals through December 12. Soon after, a smaller set of options will be sent to Superintendent, who will make a recommendation to the School Board. A vote on final changes is expected by February 2013.

You can comment on the proposals by attending a community forum December 4 or December 5 (details below), by e-mailing enrollment-office@pps.net, or by completing this form and returning it to the front office at Beach, Boise-Eliot/Humboldt, Chief Joseph, Faubion, King, Ockley Green, Vernon and Woodlawn schools, or the Enrollment & Transfer Center, 501 N Dixon, Portland 97227, fax 503-916-3699.

Community forum schedule:

· Dec. 4, 6-7:30 p.m., Beach School, 1710 N. Humboldt St. (presentation in Spanish with English translation)

· Dec. 5, 6-7:30 p.m., Faubion School, 3039 NE Rosa Parks Way

Questions for your response:
What strengths do you find in these scenarios, and why?

What challenges concern you, and why?

What suggestions do you have for recombining elements to make a stronger scenario?

 

For more information, call 503-916-3205 or go to www.pps.net and click on “enrollment balancing”

November 2012

Portland Public Schools
FAMILY ADVISORY

Balancing enrollment in Jefferson PK8 Cluster schools

PPS has developed six scenarios – based on community input and staff analysis – to balance enrollment and improve offerings for students. Scenarios range from no changes to a shift from K-8s to middle schools. Staff will use your feedback to shape recommendations. View the scenarios at pps.net, in the office of your child’s school or at a December meeting.

School specific changes could include:

ACCESS: Move to the King facility (adjoining King School) or join the merged Chief Joseph/Ockley Green School. (ACCESS is an alternative program currently housed at Sabin PK-8 School.)

Beach: Remain a K-8 school, change to a K-5 or combine with another school to form a combined campus school.  There is also a potential for Spanish Immersion to move to a separate site.

Boise-Eliot-Humboldt: Remain a K-8, possibly merging with Beach as a combined campus school and/or relocating to the Tubman campus; or change to a K-5.

Chief Joseph: Remain a K-5, or combine with Ockley Green into a K-8. If ACCESS is added to the K-8, the school could operate on both campuses.  There is also the potential to combine with Beach K-5, with one campus serving as the neighborhood school and one as an all-Immersion school.

Faubion: Temporarily change to a K-5, join Woodlawn to form a single K-8 on two campuses, or be a 1-8 with K students at the new Humboldt Early Learning Center.  Final structure for Faubion would be determined as part of the school modernization plan.

Humboldt: Reopens as an Early Childhood Center, providing a pre-kindergarten program for the entire cluster.

King: Remain a K-8, possibly adding the ACCESS program or merging with Beach as a combined campus school, or change to a K-5.

Ockley Green: Change to a middle school or merge with Chief Joseph into a K-8 program on one or (with ACCESS) two campuses.  End the all-choice K-5 Arts & Technology option.

Tubman: Reopen as a middle school or will be considered as the new site for the Boise-Eliot/Humboldt K-8 program.

Vernon: Remain a K-8, merge with King into a combined K-8 IB school operating on two campuses or convert to a K-5.

Woodlawn: Remain a K-8, merge with Faubion into a combined K-8 school operating on two campuses or convert to a K-5.

Community input forums

Childcare and interpretation will be provided. Call 503-916-3205 to sign up for childcare.  Presentation will be the same at both meetings. 

· Dec. 4, 6-7:30 pm, Beach School Gym, 1710 N. Humboldt St. (Presentation in Spanish; English translation)

· Dec. 5, 6-7:30 pm, Faubion School Cafeteria, 3039 NE Rosa Parks Way.

Feedback forms

Forms are available in Jefferson Cluster school offices and at www.pps.net, under “Enrollment Balancing.”

Next Steps

Mid-Winter: Staff uses feedback to refer several concrete options to Superintendent Carole Smith. Superintendent makes a final recommendation to the school board, which will vote on the plan.

Fall 2013: Begin implementing changes. With a boundary change, current students and younger siblings can stay at their current school. With a closure, students are assigned to another school.

Stay informed: Go to www.pps.net, scroll down and click on the “Enrollment Balancing” button. PPS Enrollment & Transfer Center, 503-916-3205, can answer questions.