Schools

The U.S. Department of Education on Tuesday opened an investigation into Portland Public Schools’ Center for Black Student Excellence, following a December complaint to the department’s Office of Civil Rights from a conservative advocacy group.

The letter argues that PPS has deprived many affected community members of the opportunity to participate in the seismic discussion.

Parents say the decision, which PPS attributes to low enrollment, came with no community engagement. And students are pushing back.

As the federal government axes Grad PLUS loans, the college is trying to keep graduate school accessible for students pursuing at-need education careers.

It appears multiple county commissioners are already opposed to potential reductions.

The project comes to a part of town with little access to parks or green space.

As Multnomah County tries to map out Preschool for All’s financial future, it will spend $200,000 on a computer model that can calculate how much operating a preschool will cost in the coming decades.

If decision makers look at where staff growth took place since 2020–21, they will find increases in instructional assistants, administrative staff, special education and student support roles. The number of teachers during that period barely budged.

The call for more money comes during a delicate short session in the Oregon Legislature.

The same 1929 building that poses safety concerns to students also, in Alex Krach’s view, poses immense historical significance and merits preservation.

As Multnomah County officials try to plot out the next decade of Preschool for All, the rates reimbursed to providers have come back into the spotlight.

Unlike other states, Oregon funds its 197 school districts but does little to hold them to account for their outcomes.