Portland Public Schools
Here’s how Portland Public Schools is focusing its NSIF resources:
Kindergarten Academy
(Year 1: $250,000, Year 2: $350,000, Year 3: $200,000)
The Academy provides 365 Portland students with five weeks of summer school to help them enter first or second grade ready to succeed. Funded with a $200,000 grant from the NSIF and $200,000 in federal stimulus funds, the innovative program serves students from 54 PPS Elementary and K-8 schools that have been targeted for extra assistance.
In it’s third year, the Summer Academy is an accelerated intervention summer program for students entering the first and second grades. Students attend on of six schools spread geographically across the city, and receive instruction in writing, math and reading with a small student-to-teacher/educational assistant ratio of 8:1. Follow-up data from 2007 & 2008 has shown that Summer Academy students make important catch up gains over the summer ans sustain these gains throughout the following school year, increasing their prospects for long-term educational success.
Elementary and Middle Schools Leadership Teams
(Year 1: $500,000, Year 2: $500,000, Year 3: $500,000)
Developing & supporting school leadership teams to improve student writing. Teams of NIKE leaders are working with 12 Portland schools as part of the Portland Leadership Collaborative (PLC), a two-year leadership development program designed to help teacher and administrator teams improve writing instruction. Each school team receives intensive training and support in three areas: development and support of professional learning communities, use of data to lead school improvement, and effective writing instruction. The $500,000 Leadership Innovation Grant being awarded to Portland Public Schools this year will fund a third year of the PLC and support 30 schools. The new schools entering the program this year are Abernethy, Beach, Beaumont, da Vinci Arts, Duniway, Glencoe, Hayhurst, Kelly, Marysville, Rigler, Sellwood and Vernon.
High Schools: School Business Managers
(Year 1: $250,000)
This pilot program helped recruit and train school business managers who were placed in select high schools. The principals were able to utilize these individuals in administrative and operational activities. This in turn, enabled principals to dedicate more time to teacher mentoring, classroom support, and leadership.
Download the NSIF Year 1 report