The Visions and Voices program develops the work of high-school students, giving them the venue to write their own plays. Tonight Portland Center Stage hosts an evening of staged readings of the best student-written plays an monologues of the 2009-2010 series, and it’s totally free. I wrote a play in high school. It was called […]
Schools
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High School Changes Announced
Portland Public Schools (PPS) is plowing ahead with its plan to overhaul the city’s high school system. Tonight Superintendent Carole Smith revealed the general plan: Marshall High School will become a magnet-style “focus option” school. The rest will get a makeover, becoming “community comprehensive” schools with a wide range of offerings. The new plan will […]
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BREAKING: Portland Public Schools Reveals Terms of Teachers’ Contract, Votes to Ratify
Highlights of how some key disputes were resolved are after the jump. After more than 19 months without a deal, Portland Public Schools (PPS) and its teachers’ union, the Portland Association of Teachers (PAT), appear set to agree have agreed on a contract that covers last year, this year and the next. The school board […]
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Did You Know?
63% of white students and 35% of black students finishing ninth grade in Portland Public Schools are considered likely to graduate from high school. Featuring district officials, board members, parents, teachers, and students. A fast-paced “high-school debate”-style challenge, replete with audience votes and one-minute stump speeches. Come on down!
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Naughty Korean Schoolgirls
What follows is a possible scene from Korean Breakfast Club: A classroom of mischievous Korean schoolgirls orchestrate some hilarious disobedience behind the dickhead teacher’s back. This is one that gets funnier as it goes along! (And dude! What’s up with those punishments?)
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Don’t Miss the Brewhaha Next Week!!
School. It’s a problem affecting many of today’s youth. If you or someone you know has experienced school, you know the importance of a school system that is not a hellhole of inequality and missed opportunities. We’ve got six expert panelists who have big ideas about how to make Portland’s high schools better. Come tell […]
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Smackdown!! School Board on HS Redesign
The audience at Monday’s school board meeting witnessed a rare occurrence: board members disagreeing with one another. Usually, by the time a meeting is called, all the rough spots between directors have been ironed out in private. Well, there’s a talking point. On Monday the directors revised—often line-by-line—Superintendent Carole Smith’s “resolution” that lays down vague […]
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School + Alcohol + You = Next Week
It’s that time again… the Mercury and the Bus Project are hosting another BREWHAHA: Democracy and Drinks event!!! This time: How do we fix Portland Public Schools? In the midst of a bitter debate about whether or not to close high schools, and how to run the ones we keep, the Mercury invites you to […]
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Students Discuss High School Redesign
Dozens of students shared their views on the upcoming high school redesign at a meeting last night hosted by Portland Public Schools. The event attracted middle school and high school students from across the district—most of whom were concerned that the proposed changes would leave them with fewer choices. The district is planning to turn […]
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Starbase Contract Pulled from Board Agenda
I was expecting a pretty contentious Board of Education meeting last night—teacher contract woes, High School Redesign anxiety—but one controversial item was pulled from the agenda just hours before the meeting. The STARBASE program (yes, all caps, it’s one of those weird military acronyms) uses money from the Department of Defense’s recruiting budget to send […]
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Contract May Signal High School Closures
Portland’s Board of Education is scheduled to approve a $75,000 contract tonight to look at drawing new boundaries for the city’s high schools. The move, which comes before Portland Public Schools has officially announced plans to close any schools, has led some to ask whether closures are a foregone conclusion. For months, the school district […]
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Why Vancouver’s College Walkout Matters
Yesterday around 300 students walked out of afternoon classes at Washington State University in Vancouver, as part of a statewide protest against higher tuition. Their actions could serve as a warning to administrators at Portland State University (PSU), where students are speaking out against a plan to give individual universities more control over tuition and […]