Three of Portland's Neighborhood Schools Might Become Spanish Immersion Programs

Rigler, Scott and Beach would no longer be neighborhood schools under one plan.

Earlier this spring, tensions roiled over the extra resources given to an elite Spanish immersion program at Ainsworth Elementary School as Portland Public Schools officials weighted how to re-draw its boundaries on the westside of the school district.

The contemplated move for Ainsworth's immersion program didn't happen. But Portland Public Schools is now pursuing the idea of creating schools entirely dedicated to Spanish immersion classes, this time on the eastside.

PPS is weighing whether Rigler and Scott elementary schools as well as Beach could serve only as Spanish immersion programs. Neighboring schools would take neighborhood kids.

At Ainsworth, the tension over resources came in part from the extra private fundraising that went to kids learning Spanish.

The tension over resources on the eastside results from too few kids enrolled in some neighborhood programs, PPS officials say.

In education, funding follows kids; more kids mean more money.

In some neighborhood schools, splitting up the classes between neighborhood programs and Spanish immersion programs has meant the neighborhood programs are so small that if even a few kids leave, not enough students will be left to support teachers' salaries and other costs.

By concentrating Spanish immersion programs in three schools, district officials hope they can stabilize class sizes and funding.

"We have some places such as Beach and Rigler where this has created inequities between the two programs that are not easy to mitigate," a document from June 3 reads, quoting a statement form Dual Language Instruction Director Debbie Armendariz.

A memo sent Thursday to Superintendent Carole Smith from the committee advising her on boundaries, says, "sees strong potential to increase equitable program access for all students through major reconfiguration of DLI programs." Translation: they're looking seriously at the idea.

It may prove controversial. PPS held a meeting earlier this spring to discuss a variation of the concept: to consolidate the Spanish immersion program at Scott or Rigler into one building and have the other school serve neighborhood kids. That concept was rejected at the time.

As late as April 27, spokeswoman Christine Miles told WW that PPS was not going forward with that idea.

"PPS is not considering consolidating Spanish immersion program at Rigler and Scott," she said. "There are no current plans to consolidate Spanish immersion at other schools."

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