Education

Why the Student Success Act Is Only Half the Battle

We wrote last week that rising pension costs could “gobble up” much of the Student Success Act’s new revenue, but that’s not quite right. If passed, HB 3427 will invest $1 billion a year in public education. What it won’t do is solve the bigger fiscal crisis that’s threatening all public services, from filling potholes […]

/ May 6, 2019

PDXplained: Here’s What Makes the Sunnyside School Special, And Controversial

📸: Whitney Gomes “What makes the Sunnyside Environmental School different? Is it still a PPS magnet school?” Reader Olivia Dwinell asked us that question for our Sunnyside edition of PDXplained. Here’s what we found out: THE SCHOOL The Sunnyside Environmental School opened in 1994 as a magnet school (or “focus school”) that specializes in giving […]

/ January 15, 2019

Want to Improve Graduation Rates? Focus on the Little Ones.

We’ve been talking this month about Oregon’s lowly high school graduation rate — and mostly focusing on what happens after kids start ninth grade. But Mark Holloway, CEO of Social Venture Partners Portland, says what happens before kindergarten might be just as important. Here’s what Mark told us about SVP’s goal to help all children in the […]

/ September 19, 2018