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| |  | Schools serving a disproportionate number of poor families often work with students learning to speak English, those with disabilities, and chronic absenteeism. (Getty Images / Mint Images) |
| Students Shortchanged By Bad Data | Oregon is the only state to rely solely on U.S. Census Bureau data to account for poverty in school districts. To Oregon school districts’ detriment, this formula undercounts poverty by more than 100,000 students statewide. [Oregonian] | - Where It Matters: Reynolds School District — which encompasses parts of East Portland, Gresham, Troutdale and Fairview — educates the highest percentage of low-income students in the Portland metro area. The state's “outdated” estimates, according to one superintendent, means fewer resources for schools to teach students in need. [Oregonian]
- Updated Data? The state already uses a more precise dataset that identifies families experiencing poverty to report academic outcomes. If that data was used to determine funding, Reynolds School District might be eligible for an additional $9 million. [Oregon Department of Education / Oregonian]
- Picking Up Slack: Teachers in low-resourced districts often go the extra mile to improve students’ skills and well-being amid dwindling support staff: from stopping by absent students’ homes to adopting teaching strategies to help kids regulate emotions. [Oregonian]
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| | | Stop staring at that "to-do" list. Taskrabbit connects Portlanders with skilled local Taskers for furniture assembly, mounting, and home repairs. Browse reviews, pick your Tasker, and get things handled with confidence. Let a neighbor handle the heavy lifting while you enjoy the city. |
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| What Portland's Talking About |
| | Slow Start for Home-Sharing Pilot Program | Mayor Keith Wilson’s program will give $1,000 to Portland homeowners who list spare bedrooms for rent on particular online platforms, but it has not delivered the affordable housing boost that Wilson projected. In the four months since the pilot launched, only five applications have come in. [Willamette Week / City Cast Portland 🎧] | | Post-Pandemic Theater Attendance Still Slumped | Last year, attendance at Portland’5 downtown venues came in at 800,000 people, similar to attendance in 2024 and down 17% from the performing arts center's peak attendance in 2018. Portland’5 executive director Rachael Lembo says it’s not surprising that entertainment budgets are tight amid other rising costs like food and gas. [Oregonian] | | Reparations for Black Oregonians? | Last year, Rep. Shannon Jones Isadore – the only Black woman in the Oregon Legislature – testified in support of a reparations package that would include a task force to study how reparative policies could be issued in Oregon. The package failed, but Donovan Scribes writes that it’s high time for Oregon to give reparations to Black Oregonians, who were once barred from living within state lines. [Portland Mercury] | | | |
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🌼 If you’ve been out hiking, you might have encountered bright yellow blossoms from the rough goldenweed and Palouse goldenweed. The Center for Biological Diversity is petitioning the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to add both to the Endangered Species Act list, saying only 0.1% of habitat type for the Palouse goldenweed – largely in the PNW – remains today. Tread lightly, friends! |
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