Portland Public Schools updates board on SEL, attendance and suspension trends

Portland Public Schools officials updated the Board of Education at a workshop on year-to-date progress for Strategic Initiative 3.1 — increasing schools' capacity to implement whole-school systems, social-emotional learning (SEL) and supports that promote a joyful, safe culture.

The presentation, led by Joanna Frankel, director of elementary culture and climate, and Dr. Chris Reiger, summarized district measures through Dec. 31, 2024: the percent of students with zero suspensions rose from a 2023 baseline of 96 percent to 97.81 percent; the district’s Tier 1 Tiered Fidelity Inventory (TFI) score rose from a baseline of 67 percent to 71 percent; and the strategic-plan five-year target for chronic absenteeism is 15 percent or lower. The district reported 1.1 percent of students had out-of-school suspensions (OSS) and 1.5 percent had in-school suspensions (ISS) year-to-date. Board members and staff noted limitations in historic comparisons because of the district’s current data system.

The update matters because the metrics are central to the district’s strategy to reduce exclusionary discipline and improve attendance, both of which the presenters linked to student engagement and academic outcomes. "We’re obsessed with these numbers," Dr. Chris Reiger said, describing monthly tracking and school-level review. Joanna Frankel described the initiative as tied to the district strategic plan and to an upcoming task force conversation.

District strategies and pilots

Frankel and Reiger outlined four primary strategies: placing culture-and-climate coordinators in schools, strengthening Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) implementation across tiers, focusing on attendance and belonging with partnerships such as Count Me In (the local arm of Attendance Works), and enhancing SEL instruction through restorative practices and curriculum selection.

Staff said culture-and-climate coordinators lead PBIS teams, coach staff, support attendance teaming, and deliver professional development. The district has piloted outreach tools — monthly automated family attendance reminders (Reach My Teach) and physical postcards — and is testing Check-In/Check-Out, a research-based intervention for targeted students. Reiger said middle schools assign the most suspensions and that some of the district’s national comparison figures are outdated, but provide context (he cited pre-COVID national OSS rates of about 8 percent for middle school and 14 percent for high school).

Restorative practices professional development has been offered multiple times at schools "as an experiential circle," Frankel said, co-led with Cumberland County Public Health and Youth Led Justice. The district is also piloting a behavioral-health screener in all middle schools to identify internalizing and externalizing issues earlier, and one high school is participating in the Department of Education’s Tier 1 cohort while three elementary schools and all three middle schools participate in the DOE advanced tiers cohort.

Curriculum and measurement

Frankel said Second Step is the district’s current elementary SEL curriculum, but the elementary SEL work group has identified three finalist curricula; teachers will pilot two or three finalists and a final decision is expected in May. The presenters said TFI and suspension data are reported monthly to administrators and used to shape interventions.

Board questions and constraints

Board members pressed staff on several points. Board Member Bridal asked for apples-to-apples historical comparisons (for example, a Dec. 31, 2023 figure comparable to Dec. 31, 2024); Frankel confirmed the baseline referenced was the full 2022–23 school year and noted some historical comparisons are not available with the district’s current data tools. Superintendent Fitzgerald and staff said the district plans to move to PowerSchool, which they expect will enable more disaggregated reporting in the future.

Multiple board members asked about the durability and staff time cost of restorative and SEL work. Frankel said uptake has grown because staff requested the training and schools have offered sessions at different sites and times, sometimes with salaried contact hours. Vice Chair Bando and others asked about implementation challenges; staff identified time and competing demands in schools, and noted PBIS tier-1 implementation typically takes three to five years.

Secondary advisory variability

Board members and the student representative asked about secondary advisory time. Staff said advisory implementation varies by school; the district has asserted a minimum of a 45-minute weekly advisory, but content ownership and consistency differ by building. Presenters said district staff are drafting a proposed annual advisory calendar and PD to level-set content and strengthen implementation going into the fall.

Data and next steps

Frankel said the district will conduct the TFI again in April and anticipated measurable gains. She also reiterated the timeline to narrow the elementary SEL curriculum choices and bring a recommendation in May. Staff noted current constraints: some subgroup disaggregation and specific historical comparisons are not possible with the district’s present data system, and migration to PowerSchool is intended to address those limits.

Board members requested more disaggregated suspension and attendance reporting, clearer documentation of professional development delivered (by school and by module), and evidence on which specific practices increase student attendance and belonging. One board member asked the board to prioritize protecting culture-and-climate coordinator positions during the budget process.