Skip to main content
The teachers’ union has given Portland Public Schools a grim choice: Reduce in-person instructional time for students to give frazzled teachers a break, or face debilitating staff shortages.
On Nov. 29, the Portland Association of Teachers proposed to cut in-class learning for high schoolers by 20 days and cut in-school time for middle and elementary schoolers by the equivalent of 10 days for the remainder of the school year.
It would be a big change. For high schools, the proposal would convert Fridays into three hours of virtual office hours for students. The remainder of the day would be “educator directed”—in other words, up to individual teachers to assign homework.
As it stands, Friday is a busy day for high school students. At most schools, students attend all of their eight classes for 40 minutes. All other days, they go to just four classes for 90 minutes each.
At pre-kindergarten, elementary, and middle schools, the union wants to cut kids loose two hours early, or have them show up two hours late, once a week. They also want six additional no-school days from winter break to the end of the year.
The union, one of the most powerful in the state, caught immediate flak—first from the school district, then from harried parents, and eventually from several candidates for Oregon governor.
Who hasn’t gotten a say? Students. So we asked them.
WW spoke to students at nine schools. Some said Thursday would be the new Friday. Others said that going online for a day after a year of virtual school would be detrimental to their well-being and learning experience. Responses have been edited for clarity.
Leah Richman, 11
Winterhaven K-8 School
What do you think of the proposal?
I don’t want it to happen because all of last year a lot of the kids in my class didn’t get to do school as much. So this year we are doing a lot of what we did last year. And if we didn’t have as many school days, we wouldn’t get to do as much stuff.
Freya Matthiessen, 14
Franklin High School
What do you think of the proposal?
I think it’s a good idea. A lot of my teachers come into class and tell us, “I’m just really tired, I’m behind on grading,” and I think when the teachers are given the proper time to do their job, they can come into class ready to teach better.
Do you think one remote day a week would be good for your mental health?
I do because school is really overwhelming and stressful, and it’s been a huge, huge change from online to in person. I think Fridays off would give kids time to have to themselves and get caught up on work.
Xander Levine, 17
Lincoln High School
What do you think of the proposal?
I think it is a terrible idea to significantly reduce classroom hours. I think that students are stressed, teachers are stressed, but the answer to that is not to simply go remote for one day a week, especially after a year and a half of going online.
How will you spend your Fridays?
I think I would look at it as a three-day weekend. I don’t think I would use a whole day for school time. I would spend more time with my family and hang out around the house and, as good as that sounds, it would be better to be at school socializing and interacting with other people.
Do you think one remote day a week would be good for your mental health?
I think it would overall be worse because I would find myself sitting at home. What would be better for my mental health and the mental health of all students would be to give us reduced workloads.
Keenan Gray, 17
Roosevelt High School
What do you think of the proposal?
I think it’s a great idea. Eight-period Fridays are absolute chaos for teachers and students. I think it would definitely help teachers. They have a huge workload and there is so much going on this year. And also, I always support unions, and teachers deserve better.
How would you spend your Fridays?
I think I would use it to just do homework. School’s mostly homework, so it’s really helpful to have a time that’s designated as being able to do work and also be able to relax, because this year is really stressful.
Do you think one remote day a week would be good for your mental health?
I think so, yeah. I work, a ton of other students work. It’s a lot to work and go to school. It would be super nice to have a day to catch up and relax, and I think that would really help mental health.
Liam Luzania, 12
Winterhaven K-8 School
What do you think of the proposal?
I think with COVID-19 and everything, PPS education and stuff is just picking up, and this is kind of stopping that progress. I really feel like this is going to hurt a lot of kids’ education. You know, a lot of kids are probably gonna fall behind with less days. Ten less days is a lot.