King School to Host Second Round-Up May 31st

King School will host an informational open-house for parents of incoming students and prospective students as well as anyone else who would like to learn more about the school such as parents of pre-school age children.  Set aside time on your calendar on May 31st at 6pm to get your questions answered.   For parents not currently enrolled in Portland Public Schools or unfamiliar with King’s program, this will be an important opportunity to get up to speed about all the changes such as:

  • King is currently an International Baccalaureate school.  The elementary grades, prekindergarten through 5th are authorized by the International Baccalaureate Organization while the middle school grades 6-8 are finishing up the authorization process.  IB is an interdisciplinary, globally focused approach to education that “help develop the intellectual, personal, emotional and social skills to live, learn and work in a rapidly globalizing world.”
  • King is in its second year of a federal school improvement grant that is funding a transformation effort at the school.  Oversight from the State of Oregon will ensure that “the new principal has the experience and skills needed to implement successfully a transformation model; implements a rigorous staff evaluation and development system; institutes comprehensive instructional reform; increases learning time and applies community-oriented school strategies; and provides greater operational flexibility and support for the school.”
  • The President’s Council on the Arts and Humanities selected King as one of eight schools nationally to participate in its Turnaround Arts Initiative, a program that recognizes King’s commitment to arts education as part of a holistic approach to education, reinvigorating the school, and improving overall achievement.
  • Continue reading

King PTA Health Fair and 5k Fun Run This Saturday

The King School PTA will host a health fair in the King Facility lot, home of the farmers market, this Saturday, April 28th. Preceding the fair will be the first annual King 5k Fun Run. Registration for the run is $20 and can be had by emailing 5k@kingpta.org. Registrations will be accepted on-site the day of the run, but t-shirts may be limited.

To see the route map and learn more, go to: www.kingpta.org/5k-fun-runhealth-fair

The King Neighborhood Association will be on hand at the event. Come see us!

King to Humboldt Families: “You have a choice”

The following letter was distributed by King PTA members to Humboldt parents this morning at Humboldt School.  The proposed closure of Humboldt is being executed prior to the decision being voted on.  PPS has given Humboldt families until today to transfer to another school rather than be merged with Boise-Eliot. This option to transfer is not being openly offered to Humboldt parents however.

“Together It Takes a Village”

April 15, 2012

Dear Humboldt School Parents, Guardians and Community Members:

On behalf of the King School community of parents and community members, we would like to reach out and extend our support to all of you at this very frustrating and unsettling time. Portland Public Schools’ recommendation to close your school and consolidate your student body with Boise-Eliot appears to be more of an already made decision rather than a mere recommendation.

Since King School is in close proximity and is a neighboring school to Humboldt, this pending recommendation heightens the awareness and reinforces the concerns our school community has had with Portland Public Schools. These concerns and accountability of how neighborhood boundary decisions are made by PPS has been an issue that we have tried to be proactive about in regards to obtaining answers from PPS.

The recommendation to consolidate your students with Boise-Eliot doesn’t make sense when your school is closer to King School which has more capacity and larger facilities. In an on-line April 5, 2012 PPS website article, Judy Brennan, who oversees PPS enrollment and transfers, said: “the district uses a variety of factors, including transportation and facility size, when deciding how to shift students. For example, King PK-8 School is close to Humboldt but across from Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, a major road, making Boise-Eliot a better choice.” Also, in the April 2, 2012 PPS Budget Message, Superintendent, Carole Smith, stated to the PPS Board of Education that “Staff will be talking to students and their families from both Humboldt and the Young Women’s Leadership Academy about choices for next year. We will work to provide ways for students to have an option to stay together with their current classmates, as well as the possibility of attending their neighborhood school.”
As such, did you all, as parents, have any input on what neighborhood school would be best for your student? Many of you expressed during the Thursday, April 12th public comment meeting that the majority of you take pleasure and appreciation in being able to walk your student(s) to school. Sending them, now, to Boise-Eliot would remove that as an option for many, as well as destroy the sense of community that you all have worked hard in building for yourselves and for your children. In addition to that, many of you also expressed confusion and uncertainty of what options and deadlines you have in regards to what school may be best for your child, should you not agree with sending them to Boise-Eliot.

With that said, the King School community shares in your idea of creating a strong community, as well as being invested and committed to the excellence of your child’s academic achievement. Over the past three years, we have labored to create a strong foundation at King School that supports, not only academic achievement amongst our students but also, a well-rounded educational and learning experience for our students. We are achieving this through solid leadership, direction and advocacy from our Principal, Kim Patterson, becoming an International Baccalaureate school (which supports a holistic way of teaching and learning), establishing community partnerships that support our programming and student enrichment (SEI, Ethos Music Center, Wordstock, Playworks, SUN and Literary Arts), having strong parent involvement and leadership, as well as being fortunate to have resources through a three year, 5.5 million dollar School Improvement Grant.

We are seeing the fruits of our labor and would welcome your students and families to join our school and parent community with open arms. So please know that King School is an option for you and there’s plenty of room. Having your community energy, passion, commitment and dedication to your neighborhood school would be a cherished asset to what we have established. Not only would it, together, create a larger student body but, it would also reinforce a stronger core program and community. We realize and understand that as Humboldt and Young Women’s Leadership Academy are being considered for closure, PPS’s actions show a lack of regard for north and northeast Schools, specifically as it relates to high minority populated and lower-income schools. Therefore, none of us are exempt from experiencing these hasty decisions made by Portland Public Schools.

If you are interested in remaining in your neighborhood school zone and would like to consider King School as an option/choice, receive more information or tour/visit our school community, please contact us at 503.916.6456 or email info@kingpta.org. Also, note that you may have been told that you have a deadline to make a transfer choice by Friday, April 13th or by Monday, April 16th. If that is the case, and you are interested in transferring to King School, you can contact Judy Brennan, Director of Enrollment and Transfer, at 503.916.3205 or jbrennan@pps.net and she will see that you get into King School. Again, we are ready and prepared to receive you so there should be no problems with getting in!!

Let’s use this opportunity to take a stance together against our bully of a system. Our motto at King School is “Together It Takes a Village”. At this time, this statement is true more than ever so let’s join hands and efforts in reflecting that.

Sincerely,
King School PTA

Let’s finish the job! Earth Day planting at King Facility

We are nearing the successful completion of the invasive species removal and replanting project at the King Neighborhood Facility. Thank to the tireless advocacy of neighbor Diego Gioseffi, this Earth Day will be another opportunity for the community to come together and plant the slope by the site of the farmers market with native plantings. Spread the word to all your friends!

King School PTA News

Next PTA meeting: Thursday, April 12th, 5:00pm in the school library. Dinner, childcare, and Spanish interpretation included.

Hello everyone! A lot is going on at King and the pace is picking up. Here’s a glimpse of what we’re up to:

Courtyard Garden

A volunteer youth group led by kindergarten parents Duke and Caroline Revard gave the garden program a big boost by building planter boxes in the courtyard by the cafeteria. If you haven’t seen the progress, check it out. As spring gets going, the kids will soon be planting. Do you have gardening skills, expertise, or supplies to donate? If so, contact us at: info@kingpta.org.

Whole Foods Tasting Fair—April 4th

Support the King School garden program and sample each course of a full meal for only $5 at the Whole Foods at 15th/Fremont starting at 5:00pm.

Papa Murphy’s Fundraiser—April 11th

Our monthly fundraiser at Papa Murphy’s at 15th/Fremont runs from 4:00-8:00pm

¿Por Que No? Profit Share—April 18th

To fund the costs associated with putting on the Mother’s Day event ¿Por Que No? taqueria at 3524 N Mississippi Ave. will be donated a portion of proceeds from all King supporters on this night. The 18th is a no-school Wednesday.

Enzo’s Profit Share—April 19th

Support our King Parents Linh and Enzo Lanzadoro and the PTA at the same time by enjoying great hand-made Italian food in a comfortable atmosphere. This final profit share of the year begins at 5:00 pm at Enzo’s Caffe Italiano, 2529 NE Alberta next to Halibut’s.

First Annual King School 5K Fun Run and Health Fair—April 28th

Join us for the 5K (3.1 mile) fun run/walk through the neighborhood and/or the health fair in the King Facility parking lot.  There will be a lot of good information about healthy food, gardening, cooking, child safety, and more.  Registration forms for the run/walk will be coming home soon.

First Annual King School Auction—May 4th

Tickets are on sale now for the first King School Auction. Individual tickets are $35 and a table for seven is $300. Get your tickets at www.kingpta.org or drop by the PTA office. The scramble to have everything all lined up is beginning and we need to find volunteers to work the night of the event to handle all of the logistics from taking coats and giving directions to collecting the bids and getting the items to the purchasers to cleaning out the hall after it is all over. Drop by the PTA office/parent room or email info@kingpta.org.

To keep up with all these events, check the King School Calendar regularly at: www.kingpta.org/calendar