Tag: Harrison Park School

Community, Demolition

Jade District Community Garden Threatened by PPS

On Tuesday, June 13th, at 6 p.m., the Portland Public Schools (PPS) Board will hear public comment and consider the permanent closure of the Harrison Park Community Garden. Community gardeners and Jade District residents who rely on the public green space have initiated a petition urging PPS to reconsider their decision. Removing this urban micro-farming location will severely limit garden access for the culturally diverse population in the community and hamper district initiatives to expand green spaces.

In 2015, the Jade District group initiated the Harrison Park Community Garden‘s creation. It filled a gap in green space for area residents and made urban farming more accessible with multilingual sign-up sheets and instructions. The City of Portland has a long history with community gardens dating back to 1975. Portland Parks and Recreation (PP&R) operates 60 Community Gardens located throughout Portland. However, those facilities are not always reasonably accessible to every Portlander. The closest alternative to the Jade District location is the Berrydale Community Garden, whose limited space may not support the displaced gardeners.

The community garden supporters sent a letter to the PPS Board outlining the importance of the space and suggesting alternatives to a full closure and removal of the public green space. In the public letter, the authors explain that “many residents who utilize the garden do so to grow culturally specific varieties [of produce] that they are otherwise unable to find in Portland. It allows lower-income residents, renters, and those living in apartments to be able to access healthy nutritious foods at a lower cost than grocery stores.” They ask that people support the petition and come to the School Board Meeting held at 501 N Dixon Street or email letters to publiccomment@pps.net.

PPS is removing the garden to make way for expanded education space. If the board does not overturn the PPS staff’s decision, demolition of the now overgrown garden will occur sometime next month. People interested in providing comments should do so before Tuesday at 6 p.m. and look for updates regarding this community garden in the coming weeks.

PortlandMaps Image with Montavilla News illustration showing garden boundary

By

Jacob Loeb

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Community

PPS SE School Rebalancing Plan Approved

Starting in Fall 2023, many Montavilla schools will shift enrollment criteria as part of the SE Enrollment & Program Balancing intuitive. The approved plan adjusts school attendance boundaries, relocates language immersion programs, and redefines grade levels served at each location. Although potentially disruptive, these changes intend to create predictable enrollment within these schools and better serve a changing community demographic. Vestal is the only neighborhood School unaffected by these changes.

On May 24th, the Portland Public Schools (PPS) Board of Education voted unanimously to adopt the Deputy Superintendent’s recommendations. That proposal resulted from a multi-year planning process by the Southeast Guiding Coalition and community members. Harrison Park will convert to a middle school at the beginning of the 2023-24 school year, and its Kindergarten through 5th Grade students will move into the Clark campus on SE 92nd Avenue, which currently houses Creative Science School. The Harrison Park Chinese Immersion program will also relocate to Clark for younger students. Children will feed into Harrison Park Middle School from Vestal and Atkinson attendance areas.

PPS SEGC – FLO- Overview Map

PPS will relocate the Creative Science School from the Clark campus to Bridger at 7910 SE Market Street. Those students will join the neighborhood program at the school, creating an additional curriculum strand and helping stabilize enrollment. The Spanish Immersion program currently at Bridger will relocate to Lent Elementary School at 5105 SE 97th Avenue. Bridger staff created a Powerpoint presentation outlining the expected adjustments to the school and providing greater context to why these changes were necessary.

PPS staff will send parents information about the rebalancing in early June. Over the next year, a detailed migration plan will provide a roadmap to the new school boundaries and school options. PPS will work to accommodate families during the transition. In some cases, allowing families already enrolled to choose when to transition to a new school. Parents and guardians should receive information about options and what these changes mean for their students within the coming months.

By

Jacob Loeb

Promotion: Montavilla News has a Patreon account. We invite those who can contribute to this local news source to please consider becoming a paid subscriber or sponsor. We will always remain free to read regardless of subscription.

Construction, Renovation

Harrison Park School Remodel

This week, Portland Public Schools (PPS) released an Invitation to Bid for Harrison Park’s conversion into a Middle School. Staff submitted building Permit applications for updates to the 70-year-old education facility. Work will change interior and exterior elements of the property as it removes features constructed during its elementary school past.

Outside the school building at 2225 SE 87th Avenue, PPS plans to construct a new freestanding trash enclosure and a covered bike parking shelter. Improvements to the front entrance include new landscaping and possible hardscape changes. Other exterior work will replace sidewalks and driveways around the property.

Inside the soon-to-be Middle School, crews will perform minor demolition while remaking the school’s main entry and office area. The updates to the Cafeteria will better accommodate the older student’s needs during their mealtime. Workers will refresh ceilings, flooring, plumbing, and electrical systems throughout the facility. In a separate permit application, PPS proposes to update the school’s heating and AC ventilation systems. Restrooms will become more ADA compliant, and some bathroom facilities will convert to single-user gender-neutral spaces. Crews will create a dance studio by installing a wood floor, sound system, mirrors and replacing the partition system with a permanent wall.

This renovation work accommodates phase 2 of the current Enrollment & Program Balancing efforts within PPS’s southeast schools. In the current plans, Harrison Park will convert from a K-8 school to a middle school, and its Kindergarten through 5th Grade students will move into the Clark campus on SE 92nd Avenue, which currently houses Creative Science School.

Contractors will perform these building upgrades without closing the school for additional days, making for a tight summer construction timeline. School staff prepared a comprehensive list of planned updates occurring during the multi-phase renovation project. Look for exterior work to begin when City staff approve permits and increased activity at the site during the summer months.

By

Jacob Loeb

Promotion: Montavilla News has a Patreon account. We invite those who can contribute to this local news source to please consider becoming a paid subscriber or sponsor. We will always remain free to read regardless of subscription.

Construction, Infrastructure

Curb Ramps at SE 87th and Lincoln

New curb ramps and pedestrian crossing improvements are planned near Harrison Park School. Funding from the Safe Routes to School project will bring a marked crosswalk and new ADA ramps to SE 87th Ave and Lincoln Street. Multiple curb ramps are coming to the sidewalk bordering the school, providing accessible access onto the school grounds. Initially planned for 2020, this project will begin soon, with traffic control devices already onsite.

Community, Infrastructure

Countdown to School Changes

Portland Public Schools (PPS) has one year to redraw school boundaries across Southeast Portland. With a new middle school opening and the depreciation of k-8 schools in the district, the countdown to student reorganization is underway. This month, PPS released the first draft proposal for grade configuration changes, boundary adjustments, and program movement.

Under the proposed plans, Harrison Park will convert from teaching K-8 to only accommodating grades 6-8. Students entering grades 6-8 will remain at the school. Harrison Park’s attendance zone will expand into Bridger and Vestal areas, accepting students moving up from those schools. K-5 students at Harrison Park will transfer to Bridger and Vestal. Grade 6-8 students from Bridger and Vestal will move to Harrison Park.

Additionally, Bridger students living north of Woodward Street will now feed into Madison High School if the plan remains as proposed. Many other dual-language based classes will also move around to other schools. However, all these changes are still in the planning phase. The proposal is currently up for discussion and changes.

The Southeast Guiding Coalition Meetings are still underway and will not complete phase one until December 17th of this year. PPS has set up a Google form to solicit comments regarding the proposed changes. That is just one way to provide feedback about their plan to balance student enrollment and programs across the district. PPS has made efforts to be transparent about the process, providing resource materials and videos of the meetings. On October 29th at 6 PM, the Coalition will hold an Open House to interact with the public regarding this process.

Changes regarding school assignments are always complicated and could be challenging as students get back to the classroom from distance learning. These changes are necessary to make way for work that is already in progress and adapt to modifications to k-8 schools. Hopefully, community involvement will lead to positive results as this process continues.

Discloser: The author has a child attending a Portland Public School

Construction

Harrison Park School Projects

Harrison Park School is coming to the end of an usual school year. School construction projects often wait for the summer months and in that way, this year is no different. The building, located at 2225 SE 87th Ave, has a few projects planned for it this season.

Application 20-148819 outlines the work needed at the school. Most of the work centers around a reroof of the entire building. To support safe work, they will need to install new ladders and fall protection devices. On the roof there will be new guardrails and access hatches added to the rooftop. General ceiling electrical work will be performed during that time as well.

Inside the school building, some bathrooms will be remodeled. They also will install new stairway guardrails for the mezzanine.

Although the repairs are not overly exciting, they are a welcomed part of keeping our schools productive. Whenever the Kindergarten through eighth grade students return, they should have a better school to comeback to.