Wilson Cluster

Excellent opinion piece by David Sarasohn of the Oregonian:

PORTLAND SCHOOL FIGHTS

Sunday, May 07, 2006

David Sarasohn

Down by the river where Portland got started, on a fountain where hardly any carriage horses drink anymore, is engraved a century-old motto that keeps popping up here when we've run out of other clues:

"Good Citizens Are The Riches Of A City."

Maybe everybody involved in the current episode of the Portland Public Schools soap opera should go down there for a drink.

Active parents are not only the district's core constituency. They're also its ground troops, its voting support and, increasingly, its capital assets. And any budget has to consider its effect on your assets.
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Consolidated List of Questions from the Stephenson Elementary School Community relating to the possible reconfiguration into K-8 model at Jackson Middle School

Policy/philosophy

1. With various budget reduction options and the perceived need to make $24 million/year in sustainable cuts, does the district favor closing schools? Why?

2. Why does PPS favor a k-8 model to the one used now?

Upon what does it base its preference (i.e., research, examples of success, cost, etc.)?

3. When Superintendent Phillips was hired, did she advocate for a k-8 curriculum?

4. To what extent does the need for immediate budget reduction exacerbate the proposed implementation of k-8 curriculum?
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