Establish a reasonable school size policy

I've been working on this issue for some time and I will make it a priority on the School Board. Are schools of 400-600 the best or only size of school we can have in Portland Public Schools? I think not. Should we continue to sell off our historic school buildings, the heart of our neighborhoods? Not without a compelling reason to do so, and significant community input.

We need a community-based, long-term plan for our school buildings--maintaining and preserving our historic buildings, remodeling or building new ones where needed, creating new partnerships with the community to strengthen our schools. Let's not destroy our proud heritage of neighborhood schools.

For more detail on the school size issue, see below for the online petition I recently circulated and a letter I wrote to the Oregonian in 2004.

Letter to Oregonian on school size

Here is a letter I wrote to the Oregonian in February 2004:

Thanks very much for your article on Deborah Meier and small schools. While the article focused on creating smaller high schools, it's important to note that the benefits of small schools are equally evident at the elementary and middle school levels.

The State of Oregon's research on small schools has shown that elementary schools in the 200-300 size range not only tend to have better educational outcomes for kids, they do not cost any more to operate than larger schools. And, as Ms. Meier pointed out, the total long-term cost is actually lower, since kids who have benefited from a smaller learning environment are significantly more likely to end up graduating from high school.

At a time when PPS is considering closing smaller elementary schools for the sake of "efficiency" -- despite their outstanding achievement and strong community support -- we must not lose sight of the compelling educational and fiscal reasons for keeping these nurturing, successful, community-based programs open in our Portland neighborhoods. Closing neighborhood schools and busing kids to consolidated "mega-schools" is not a viable strategy if PPS wishes to increase achievement, spend its money wisely, and keep families in the public system.

Smaller schools located in smaller buildings are efficient and "right-sized" -- they should be left alone so that staff and parents can focus on education rather than having to constantly fight for their existence. In larger buildings, the district can "co-locate" administrative staff or rent extra space to community programs. Smaller schools work for Portland's children. They should be nurtured and celebrated, not threatened.

Sincerely,

Ruth Adkins

Petition on school size policy

http://www.petitiononline.com/smallsch/petition.html

To:  Portland Public Schools

We, the undersigned residents of Portland, call upon the School Board and Superintendent Vicki Phillips to put a temporary halt on the Portland Public Schools (PPS) 400-600 school size “policy” for elementary school programs.

• Both neighborhood schools and focus options are being forced to conform to a size requirement that often makes little sense in terms of the size or location of our school buildings, educational programs, enrollment area, or what many "customers" (parents) are looking for in a school. One size does not fit all.
• Many parents are opting for charter and private schools specifically because of their small size. If the 400-600 "policy" is fully carried out, the only smaller school options in Portland will be charters and private schools. This will severely undermine PPS, as parents seeking a smaller school environment will go elsewhere.
• Currently there are nearly 20 elementary schools in Portland below 400 in size, averaging about 320 students. What is the plan for each of these schools? How many will be closed?
• Focus option programs, including Winterhaven and Creative Science School, are being told they must grow to 400-600 students. They are facing upheaval and uncertainty created by the size requirement. Will other focus option programs soon be thrown into similar disarray because they are not “big enough”?
• Because no citywide, specific, long-range plan has been disclosed for bringing all schools into compliance with the 400-600 size requirement, no one knows where the axe will fall next. This uncertainty undermines both schools and neighborhoods.
• Any short-term savings from closing, consolidating, and otherwise disrupting schools will only accelerate a downward spiral in enrollment, and at $7,000 per student, each family lost to poor decisions and instability further undermines PPS.
• Requiring families to travel longer distances to larger schools also has a negative impact on our community: decreased ability for parents and community members to volunteer at schools; increased transportation costs; and increased pollution, fuel consumption, and traffic congestion.
• Many children do well in larger learning environments; others do not. While excellent learning can certainly take place in 400-600 student schools, much research supports the short-term and long-term benefits of smaller learning environments.
• The official justification for forcing schools to conform to a 400-600 size is that this will enable PPS to consistently provide smaller class sizes and “extras” like PE, art, and music. Theoretical economies of scale may be possible in a larger elementary school, but in fact are rarely achieved. In reality, the only thing that will make it possible for PPS to provide a high-quality program and smaller class sizes in every school is to restore adequate school funding from Salem.

The elected School Board must call a time-out on the 400-600 size policy. We need a full, public policy discussion of school size, and a long-term plan for stable, quality public schools in every neighborhood of this city.