Comments on: High schools: open letter to the Superintendent’s team

By: Nicole Leggett

Nicole Leggett — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 20:55:30 +0000

Here is Carole Smith’s response:

Nicole,

Thank you for writing. Some of the thoughts and concerns you express so eloquently came through loud and clear at the meetings — particularly at the Jefferson meeting. I look forward to your on-going participation as we move forward toward a plan and its implementation (including, perhaps, conversations about new high school boundaries, as you suggest).

Carole

By: Val Gogoleski

Val Gogoleski — Sun, 31 May 2009 20:14:28 +0000

As a product of the Detroit Public Schools (yes, in Michigan!), and having lived with the hatred and disruption of forced cross-district bussing, I don’t want to go there again. The racial divide was amplified to the point of a riot in my school during the instructional day and closing for a week. Thank goodness I was outta there in’71 and off to college. Seen and lived that–trust me, bussing creates more far more problems than it solves.

So, what causes such inequities? Madison High has lost 53% of the kids in our attendance area that it SHOULD be getting (recent statistics from ’06 or so?).

Why? Because we have such few course offerings, kids go to other schools (Grant, etc) where there is a wider range of courses to choose from. Every spring since Measure 5 in 1990, principals have the power to cut, which in itself has made for quite an uneven and less than equitable situation, in my opinion. The PPS way of cutting costs at the building level has set Madison and other HS on a path to decline….especially evident in enrollment numbers.

So, what DOESN’T Madison have? Business Dept. completely cut more than a few years ago. Not even one basic keyboarding class offered (no wonder our kids hunt-and-peck!!!). No industrial arts (woods, metals, integrated tech, drafting, etc). No Home Ec for over a decade (what’s that, you ask? Oh, parenting and child care classes, how to COOK, run a house, balance a budget, just a few MAJOR LIFE SKILLS!). Watching the Starlight Parade last night—no band (we have a fabulous music teacher, but used to have TWO). Cuts to art and PE coming…..and let’s not talk about Health Services going to half time….

My MOTHER WAS RIGHT. She FORCED ME to take keyboarding in HS (“If you don’t become a teacher, at least you’ll be able to get a job as a secretary!”). She also insisted I take clases “Clothing”, and some basic life skills courses ALONG with all my college prep classes. It’s called PREPARATION FOR LIFE FOLKS! Electives, things that teens want to know, enjoy doing, are lifetime skills and can and do lead to career choices.

My child would go to a school where they would be exposed to many, many offerings. He or she would not go to a school woefully indequate in course offerings. Unfortunately, compare a forecast guide from a Lincoln or Grant to Madison, Roosevelt, Jefferson, and the racial, cultural and economic divide is glaringly obvious.

MY MOTHER WAS RIGHT. Thanks to her, I can type well enough to get a job doing it…sew and repair things without a machine, know how to boil water…..use an electric drill….

Madison is a GREAT SCHOOL with great teachers, hopefully turning the corner on horrible time?? I have the hope that equity will come our way…..and Jefferson’s….and Roosevelt’s….

Val Gogoleski

By: lauralye

lauralye — Sun, 31 May 2009 16:08:37 +0000

Redrawing boundaries and limiting transfers would be far more effective than busing. Busing is costly and is bad for the environment. It also takes hours from kids that could be better spent.

By: David

David — Sun, 31 May 2009 01:07:39 +0000

Nicole, you are right on the mark. I attended the early meetings of the high school reform group and presented an article from the NY Times about Raleigh, NC schools. They bussed kids based on who had free and reduced lunch so that no one school had more then 40% below that poverty mark. Success. Please seek out the article as it talks about schools meeting benchmarks and the parents and communities happiness with the system. There will never be equity in Portland Schools as long as we have Lincolns and Grants and other schools from zip codes of affluence. There always needs to be a critical mass in any school that can help create a culture and climate of learning along with the teachers and administrators because they have the luxury of being able to be present in the sustained day by day evolution of that school culture. Working class parents are exhausted and just barely surviving and the parents of our immigrant children have not acquired the tool set to be there and build that culture of learning. The luxury of time for so many of our families in this city is just that: a luxury. Madison High School where I work is a fabulous place for the richness of the culture and the way our diverse groups learn and play together is brilliant to witness. But……..our resources are being driven by what the schools of wealth provide without the recognition that Advanced Placement alone is not going to cut it. Our Health Services program was recently cut in half…..go figure when the jobs in 5-10 years will overwhelmingly fall into the health services arena……..anyway….bus those Lincoln kids to the east side……..They will succeed in any school given the privileges they were born to. My Somalian girls are going to need a little bit of a boost and certainly more then what this district is currently providing. There is no equity without equality and separate but equal never worked.

By: Nicole Leggett

Nicole Leggett — Sat, 30 May 2009 00:53:56 +0000

Thanks for the invite. I think I will attend.

By: Ty

Ty — Fri, 29 May 2009 21:58:44 +0000

Please bring your opinions and concerns to the Black Parent Initiative Forum. May 30th 11am-12:30pm Community education Center located in New Columbia, 4625 N Trenton, Portland.

I hope to lead a discussion of the High School redesign issue and talk about a united effort to communicate to the school district.