QP Portland Ends School Choice for Jefferson High

In 2011, Portland Public Schools adopted a dual-enrollment policy allowing students in Jefferson High School boundaries to choose from one of three area high schools. Of the twenty-four hundred high schoolers inside its boundaries, about two-thousand have opted for alternatives, leaving Jefferson with only 391 students this year.The Portland school board is pouring enormous amounts of money into Jefferson which receives more operating dollars per student than any other local high school because of its higher percentage of Black students – about 40 percent -- and is about to start building a 1,700-seat school for Jefferson students at a half-billion dollars -- one of the most expensive schools ever built in America.Despite such extravagant spending, Jefferson students have routinely ranked highest in absenteeism and lowest in academic scores among local high schools. Sadly, the district fails to understand the social determinants of academic achievement. In their decades-long effort to close the achievement gap between Black and White students, Board members are focused on bureaucratic solutions such as money, facilities, class size, and racial composition.But academic excellence is primarily driven by human factors beyond the district’s control -- such as family structure, parental oversight, student effort, and peer influence.In the hopes of filling the new Jefferson high school building, Superintendent Armstrong called on the board to end dual enrollment in September 2027. While many families expressed concern about losing school choice, their voice was never heard at the January 13 meeting. The board had already decided -- if families would not choose Jefferson, then the district would conscript them. Chances are this decision will backfire, as enrollment is forecasted to drop fifteen percent by 2035 and ending school choices will accelerate that trend.Parents always have options—whether the district offers them or not. They won’t be held hostage to attend a school that doesn’t meet their student’s needs. Open enrollment policies are growing rapidly nationwide and 23 states now have them. PPS could be part of that movement, and the Board should consider expanding dual enrollment for all students in the district. Not only would this empower more families, it would bring market forces into the district to help schools maintain or increase enrollment.Mike Tomlin, coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers for 19 years, was asked about a star player missing due to a contract dispute. He quipped, “We’re looking for volunteers, not hostages.”Portland Schools are making a $500 million bet that filling Jefferson High with hostages will be a winning strategy. Without school choices, the odds don’t look favorable.