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Gifted‑education advocates urge district not to close Access Academy, cite state compliance gaps
Summary
Advocates from the district’s Talented and Gifted Advisory Council urged the committee to reject a petition that would close Access Academy and criticized long‑standing underfunding and under‑identification of TAG students.
Speakers representing the Portland Public Schools Talented and Gifted Advisory Council told the committee Sept. 18 that a petition to close Access Academy mischaracterizes the program and would not solve districtwide gifted‑education problems.
"The Access for All petition misportrays what ACCESS is, who it serves, and the challenges it faces," Jessica Colby, co‑chair of the Talented and Gifted Advisory Council, told the Teaching, Learning and Enrollment Committee. Colby said Access Academy serves a subset of highly capable students who receive acceleration and social‑emotional support and that families and staff have worked to increase socioeconomic diversity in the program.
Colby said the district has been out of compliance with Oregon TAG law for nearly 30 years and is currently subject to an Oregon Department of Education corrective action plan. "Despite this, PPS has continued to defund TAG and reduce dedicated FTE," she said, urging the district to use TAGAC’s institutional knowledge in planning improvements.
The speakers urged multiple‑pathways and holistic identification strategies for gifted students and said identification alone does not guarantee services at the school level. "Even when students are identified, they do not reliably receive services," Colby said, adding that acceleration is the research‑supported intervention most likely to help gifted learners but that the district often insists on grade‑level work.
Colby also said closing Access Academy would not address funding or equity problems and urged the district to clarify who Access serves and to continue outreach and busing to low‑income families who use the program.
The committee did not take action on the petition during the meeting; the remarks were delivered during the public‑comment period and the committee thanked the speakers for their testimony.
