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Portland staff outline plans to codify advisory, strengthen ninth‑grade academies and boost postsecondary planning
Summary
District presenters told a school-board committee they will standardize advisory across high schools (BASE SEL modules, tracking attendance), deepen ninth‑grade academies with protected collaboration time, and aim for targeted postsecondary benchmarks including a Dec.1 goal for application completion.
District staff presented a linked set of high‑school initiatives to the Curriculum & Student Success Committee on Sept. 8 intended to improve transition and postsecondary outcomes.
Pamela (district staff) described strengthening ninth‑grade academies to cultivate community and provide protected weekly team time so teachers can monitor freshmen and intervene early. She said the district is reviewing existing ninth‑grade practices with SchoolHouse Analytics and will engage the University of Chicago’s National Freshman Success Institute for implementation supports.
On advisory, Alice Buckley, secondary director of culture and climate, said the district will codify an equitable advisory experience across high schools so every student has at least one trusted adult and a small peer community. Advisory features include consistent teacher-led relationship work, use of the BASE social‑emotional learning curriculum (teaching at least two modules per month), and a monthly digital‑citizenship lesson. Buckley said the district will track advisory via attendance, grades, discipline/behavior data and district walkthroughs during this calibration year.
For postsecondary planning, Pamela said the district will shift from a counselor‑only model to a team approach that can include advisors, extended‑learning coordinators and community partners (for example, Boys & Girls Club). Staff will maintain a district spreadsheet to account for every student’s postsecondary plan. Pamela set an early benchmark: by Dec. 1 the district aims for at least 40% of seniors to have submitted an application and for all students to have explored multiple postsecondary options.
Staff said the district will return to the committee with implementation details, and board members asked staff to follow up with school‑level specifics (for example, how advisory is assigned and how students without a regular advisory period will be served).
