Willamette Week | Beth Slovic | News | Education | AAN.org

We Were Marshallnew

How the redesign of Portland's high schools ended up with a plan to close Marshall High School.

Willamette Week | Beth Slovic | 10-06-2010 | Education

How Portland Teachers Use Your Tax Dollars to Get Aheadnew

Several key details of the contract changed but one ithing did not: How much Portland Public Schools pays its 3,000-plus teachers still depends on just two factors. Neither of which have much, if anything, to do with the quality of their teaching.

Willamette Week | Beth Slovic | 03-17-2010 | Education

Tags: Portland Public Schools, Education, teachers

Pros and Cons of a Proposed High School Redesignnew

After more than two years of planning, the Portland School Board voted 5-2 Monday night to approve the broad outlines of a new high-school system for Portland Public Schools. The Superintendent now has 45 days to return with a detailed proposal of the changes she envisions.

Willamette Week | Beth Slovic | 03-10-2010 | Education

Tags: Portland Public Schools, Portland School Board, high schools

Cheerless: The Real Reason Lincoln High No Longer Has Spiritnew

Lincoln High’s boys basketball season opened Nov. 30 with all the fanfare one would expect. The bleachers were packed. Students wore the school’s red and white. The band played. Only one thing was missing: Lincoln’s cheerleaders.

Willamette Week | Beth Slovic | 12-16-2009 | Education

Tags: cheerleading, transgender students, sports, schools, gender

Oregon Episcopal School's Headmaster Resigns After Racy Emails Surfacenew

The headmaster at Oregon Episcopal School resigned Monday after suggestive emails he sent from his work account to another man circulated among parents.

Willamette Week | Beth Slovic | 06-03-2009 | Education

Tags: Matthew Hanly, Michael Hulshof-Schmidt, Oregon Episcopal School, scandal

A Well-Meaning Bill Would Strengthen Anti-Bullying Rules in Oregon Schoolsnew

A new bill in the Oregon Legislature would require that public schools report to state officials what groups of students are being targeted by bullies.

Willamette Week | Beth Slovic | 02-25-2009 | Education

Tags: Oregon, Oregon Safe Schools Act, school bullying

University Taps Profs to Take Classes in Unique Effort to Boost Enrollmentnew

When Eastern Oregon University's enrollment hit a low in 2005, administrators started battling to reverse the trend, which was threatening the La Grande campus' overall financial health. Three years later, they've hit upon a novel idea.

Willamette Week | Beth Slovic | 10-30-2008 | Education

Tags: Education, higher education, Eastern Oregon University, enrollment, state funding

Are Portland Students Buying P.E. Credits?new

More than 100 high-school students in Portland Public Schools will opt out of their state-required physical-education classes this year. Instead, many of them will earn their P.E. credits from an alternative operation called Quest Schools, based in Tigard.

Willamette Week | Beth Slovic | 09-03-2008 | Education

Tags: Education, public schools, Portland, physical education

University Advocates to Oregon: Hands Off Our Millionsnew

As a result of a decades-old formula, students who together pay about $500 million a year in Oregon tuition and fees unknowingly send their money to the state's general fund. There, the interest earned on their tuition isn't automatically returned to the state's higher-education budget.

Willamette Week | Beth Slovic | 07-16-2008 | Education

Tags: Education, higher education, tuition, colleges, universities

Huge Debt Loads Weigh Down Today's Graduatesnew

The dirty secret of today's economy is that the odds are stacked against the under-35 set. College graduates are hitting the books just to stay even with their parents’ economic performance. They’re paying more for less.

Willamette Week | Beth Slovic | 05-28-2008 | Education

Tags: Education, College, student loans, debt, higher education, economic issues, federal aid

How Hard is it to Get Rid of Lousy Teachers?new

When Portland Public Schools begins bargaining with its nearly 3,000 teachers, counselors and school psychologists next month, one issue is not likely to be addressed: How should PPS identify and get rid of bad teachers?

Willamette Week | Beth Slovic | 04-16-2008 | Education

Tags: Education, teachers