Portland Public Schools cites growth in CTE programs and launches literacy pilot tied to industry skills

Filip Kristic, senior director for secondary academics, and district CTE staff on Jan. 8 told the Board of Education’s Teaching, Learning and Enrollment Committee that Portland Public Schools (Portland SD 1J) has expanded career and technical education offerings and is piloting a literacy program designed for technical classrooms.

Kristic and CTE staff said the district now lists 80 CTE programs across 11 high schools and serves roughly 10,000 students. Presenters reported more than 70 distinct dual‑credit courses, more than 70 IB courses at the two high schools that offer IB (Lincoln and Cleveland), and about 40 AP courses across seven schools. The district said last year 1,930 graduates earned “completer” status (three consecutive credits in the same program), and those completers had a graduation rate of just over 97 percent. Staff also said students earned more than 18,000 college credits through partnerships with Portland State University, Portland Community College and Oregon Tech, an estimated savings of about $3,190,000 to families.

District staff described an equity focus tied to the college coordinator role: they said the share of historically underserved students meeting the three‑credit AP/IB/dual‑credit criterion rose from 45 percent to 50 percent, and more underserved students are enrolling in four‑year colleges than before the college coordinator role existed.

The CTE team announced a literacy pilot developed with TNTP to adapt high‑school literacy instruction to industry contexts such as automotive and construction. Naomi (assistant director for MTSS) explained the pilot provides professional development and in‑class coaching for participating teachers at Benson and McDaniel and emphasizes technical vocabulary and career‑relevant writing.

On staffing, presenters confirmed comprehensive high schools have kept their college and career coordinator positions after recent budget discussions, though presenters warned future fiscal pressures could force difficult decisions. The CTE team also described hiring challenges: for some trade areas, recruitment is difficult because industry pay is higher than what the district can offer. The district outlined two certification pathways for CTE instructors — industry experience plus a restricted license with staged professional development, or traditional teacher hires who acquire industry experience.

Board members asked for disaggregated IB performance data and for additional context about AP and equity trends; presenters offered to supply the data. A member of the public had urged the district earlier to rethink how the third year of high‑school math is required for some students, a separate topic raised during public comment.

The committee did not take formal action on CTE items; presenters said they will supply requested IB/AP data and additional materials about the literacy pilot and coordinator roles.