Portland Public Schools wants every high school student to have access to band, choir, career pathways and at least 10 college credit courses. Those opportunities don't exist for all students today.
But to implement this new core program, the state's largest school district is going big, making a 180-degree turn from the small school programs it began just five years ago.
Portland proposed this model after gathering feedback from community forums this fall and during the past 18 months. Parents and students overwhelmingly favored the idea of bigger schools where students would have access to a wider variety of courses and opportunities. And Portland's small schools have struggled to meet academic achievement benchmarks and received mixed reviews from students, who say they want more electives and advanced courses.
The district has tried to redesign individual schools before, but this is the first time the district has tried to change its entire system, a move prompted in part by the results of a study that revealed that only 54 percent of students in the class of 2004 graduated within four years. The statewide graduation rate, measured differently, was 68 percent in 2008.
Portland's new model of a neighborhood high school requires each campus have 1,200 to 1,350 students. Bigger schools means fewer schools -- likely six to seven high schools, not the 10 campuses in the district now.
The overall goal is to improve the graduation rate, narrow the achievement gap and eliminate inequities within the system.