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Julia Silverman @jrlsilverman.bsky.social · 2d

Now is a great time to subscribe to The Oregonian
and support local journalism work like this story and the other excellent coverage produced by my colleagues in these uncertain times. www.oregonlive.com/subscribe/?u...

OregonLive.com

www.oregonlive.com

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Julia Silverman @jrlsilverman.bsky.social · 2d

🔎The state does not track how long it takes to resolve the cases in its system, though it has the right to grant itself multiple extensions. @hborrud.bsky.social had to build a database of all outstanding cases and how long they have been awaiting resolution.

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Julia Silverman @jrlsilverman.bsky.social · 2d

🔎Lawmakers approved money to let ODE hire 2 new investigators in 2024, to chip away at the backlog. But ODE did not even begin advertising those jobs until early this September. Tellingly, that was just a week after @hborrud.bsky.social asked why the jobs had not yet been filled.

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Julia Silverman @jrlsilverman.bsky.social · 2d

Some key takeaways in a brief thread:
🔎The median amount of time that the state education agency takes to investigate discrimination cases is a shocking 434 days. Experts say it should be 6 months or less.

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Julia Silverman @jrlsilverman.bsky.social · 2d

My colleague @hborrud.bsky.social is out today w/ a banger of a story on the Oregon families who are stuck waiting for years while the OR Department of Education drags out investigations into their claims of discrimination against their school districts: (🎁'd link)
www.oregonlive.com/education/20...

She alleged discrimination. 5 years later, why isn’t Oregon done with its investigation?

One family's wait exposes systemic problems in state's response to school discrimination allegations.

www.oregonlive.com

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Julia Silverman @jrlsilverman.bsky.social · 3d

My colleagues are doing phenomenal work for Portland this weekend.

Maxine Bernstein @maxbernstein.bsky.social · 3d

Judge issues new broader order barring any National Guard from being relocated to Oregon

@oregonian.com

www.oregonlive.com/politics/202...

Judge issues new broader order barring any National Guard from relocating to Oregon

U.S. District Judge Karin J. Immergut issued a second broader temporary restraining order late Sunday night.

www.oregonlive.com

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Julia Silverman @jrlsilverman.bsky.social · 4d

And PS: If your kids are missing big chunks of school, then that's part of the problem. This isn't all on the school system: parents need to get their kids to school in the AM, ready to learn.

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Julia Silverman @jrlsilverman.bsky.social · 6d

🍎In summary: If you care about kids/schools/Oregon please read this story! Test scores are not the measure of any school system, but they are an important window. Parents, make sure to review your kids' scores. If they are Level 1 or 2, demand to know what the plan is to help.

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Julia Silverman @jrlsilverman.bsky.social · 6d

🍎Is OR alone in its post-pandemic lagging? No, not at all. But are there states where students have made much larger, faster gains in math or reading per their state tests? Yes: IA, TN, SC, CO, MS. It can be done. A good source: statetestscoreresults.substack.com/about

About - EDC State Assessment Data Substack

Hub for data from the Education Data Center on annual state assessments. Click to read EDC State Assessment Data Substack, by State Test Score Results, a Substack publication with thousands of subscri...

statetestscoreresults.substack.com

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Julia Silverman @jrlsilverman.bsky.social · 6d

🍎There are limits to this data b/c of OR law that lets families opt kids out of testing. Upshot: things could be even worse – or better – but we have no idea+can't focus resources where needed. Has there been any serious discussion of getting rid of the opt-out? Nope.

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Julia Silverman @jrlsilverman.bsky.social · 6d

🍎There are 4 levels to the test. Level 1 is akin to getting D or F. Oregon has HUGE numbers of kids at Level 1 across all grades, including 49% of 8th graders in math. Half of all eighth graders are getting a D or an F in math? In what world is this NOT a massive emergency, OR?

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Julia Silverman @jrlsilverman.bsky.social · 6d

🍎 Portland Public Schools gets a lot of grief, but the state's largest district is also 1 of the only ones to get 3-8th graders back to pre-pandemic levels in math+almost there in ELA. That's a bright spot+PPS still has a long ways to go esp for kids of color+those from poor families.

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Julia Silverman @jrlsilverman.bsky.social · 6d

🍎In a switch from years past, state ed staff suggested that students scoring at Level 2 — C grade, basically — are not in academic peril. I mean, Cs get degrees, I guess? But do they get you where you want to go w/o remedial help from colleges and/or employers? It's a dice roll w/ students' future.

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Julia Silverman @jrlsilverman.bsky.social · 6d

Key takeaways:
🍎At this pace, it could be a decade+ before OR kids return to pre-pandemic math/ELA skill levels...which weren't all that great to begin with.
🍎Leaders characterize the problem as urgent. Yet key provisions of Gov. Tina Kotek's accountability bill don't even kick in until 2029.

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Julia Silverman @jrlsilverman.bsky.social · 6d

All eyes are on the ICE building in PDX. What is happening there is important.
But the annual release of test score data from ODE matters too, for the future of Oregon's children, the health of its public school system+the state's economy. 🧵
Gifted link: www.oregonlive.com/education/20...

Minuscule test score gains signal Oregon faces years of digging out from its post-pandemic academic hole

Overall, the state’s students are still performing far below pre-COVID levels, according to results released Thursday by the Oregon Department of Education.

www.oregonlive.com

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Julia Silverman @jrlsilverman.bsky.social · Sep 2

Cue the "and the band won't play on" references: www.oregonlive.com/education/20...

Bands won’t play at Portland high school football games this season as music directors protest pay

The move comes after years of negotiations between the school district and the Portland Association of Teachers over a pay schedule for outside-of-class duties.

www.oregonlive.com

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Julia Silverman @jrlsilverman.bsky.social · Aug 30

Wondering whether PPS families are in for more early dismissals next week? Here's everything I know about it: www.oregonlive.com/education/20...

Portland schools closed early at 72 degrees Friday as heat wave — and potentially more early dismissals — loom for next week.

The Portland teachers' union is seeking a commitment for early release on next week's "hottest days."

www.oregonlive.com

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Julia Silverman @jrlsilverman.bsky.social · Jun 11

And don't sleep on the parallel convo, about school closures. There are 21 elementary schools in PDX w/ fewer than 300 kids and a lot of others that are between 300-350. A campaign to persuade people to re-enroll (+understand why they've left) could help, but will it land?

Julia Silverman @jrlsilverman.bsky.social · Jun 11

Also, there's Benson HS in close proximity to both Jefferson+Grant, brand-new and fancy, w/ room for a/b 700 more kids, who can lottery into the school. Just saying.

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Julia Silverman @jrlsilverman.bsky.social · Jun 11

The district is gambling that families won't leave, but data shows that already, about 31% of high schoolers who live in the district opt out of the public school system. Money follows students; the district can't afford to lose them en masse, esp. not w/declining birth rates.

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Julia Silverman @jrlsilverman.bsky.social · Jun 11

And also, a big influx of whiter, wealthier students into Jefferson would fundamentally change the tenor of Jefferson, once the state's only majority Black high school and still a rallying point of pride for many in Portland's Black community.

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Julia Silverman @jrlsilverman.bsky.social · Jun 11

Many families who were counting on sending their kids to Grant/Roosevelt/McDaniel, all large, modernized schools w/ robust programming, are going to be skeptical a/b being told they are being routed to Jefferson, which can't offer the same breadth of programming b/c of its size.

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Julia Silverman @jrlsilverman.bsky.social · Jun 11

From where I sit, Supt. Kimberlee Armstrong is wading right into the third rail of PPS by calling for the board to approve plans to sunset Jefferson HS's dual enrollment zone even before the building is modernized.

She didn't create this mess. But she's going to own this attempt to fix it.

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Julia Silverman @jrlsilverman.bsky.social · Jun 11

There's a LOT to unpack from last night's board discussion at
PPS re: closing/consolidating schools+redrawing attendance boundaries (though the district would much prefer that I refer to this by their preferred euphemism "school optimization.'
www.oregonlive.com/education/20...

Portland Public Schools weighs big changes to school attendance maps

The school board is gearing up to consider merging some schools and sunsetting the dual attendance zone at Jefferson High School.

www.oregonlive.com

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Julia Silverman @jrlsilverman.bsky.social · May 30

I feel certain that the social media comments on this column by colleague @billoram.bsky.social will be mostly of the cruel varietal. But those who take the time to read and sit with this McDaniel HS athlete's story will find a lot to think about here. I did.

Bill Oram @billoram.bsky.social · May 30

A year ago, a trans teenager won a track championship in Oregon and became a target for conservative commentators and online agitators.

“I think people think I want to be this spotlight for trans people,” she said. “Not at all. I just like running.”

Meet Ada:
www.oregonlive.com/sports/2025/...

Bill Oram: Booed for winning a state title, this Oregon teen now just wants a safe place to run

The first transgender athlete to win a state championship in Oregon, Ada Gallagher is now making plans to leave the country.

www.oregonlive.com

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