West Sylvan Middle School

This week is certainly not a week that I thought I’d ever see as an educator, and I am constantly waiting for better news about a return to school in the days ahead. Though bargaining sessions occurred Saturday and Sunday last weekend, and several days this week (with the exception of Wednesday, due to conflicts with the assigned state Mediator's schedule), we still have uncertain times ahead as we wait to hear updates about school for next week. I am told that mediation will also continue throughout the coming weekend. In a month where there are fifteen total days of instruction, we are now reduced to fewer than ten days in schools. Our most valuable stakeholders, our students, are not in classes, and I continue to expect that adults will make compromises and find resolutions that focus on the needs of our students and families.

There are a number of steps and layers to this mediation process, which inevitably could continue to impact the timeline for a return to school for our students. I don’t share these details to heighten anxiety, rather to share facts and to be transparent:

• First, a tentative agreement needs to be reached between PAT and PPS related to all of the contract items that are being negotiated;

• Then, the tentative agreement has to be distributed to the larger PAT organization for voting and ratification. If, for some reason, the tentative agreement is not ratified (as happened recently with our PFSP union), the two groups would need to resume contract discussions;

• Folded into the process is the school calendar conversation. The PPS grading and instructional days calendar has been impacted by the PAT strike. All changes to the calendar must be approved by both PAT and PPS, which may impact a return to school timeline while the two groups grapple with those discussions.

When all of those items are resolved, rebuilding our community systems of support and reestablishing our instructional focus together will be our critical work. We know that our students are missing valuable instructional learning time. When we return, we will focus on ways to welcome our students back into schools in a loving and caring way, knowing how much of a disruption this has been to their daily routines, their social-emotional growth, and their instructional access. The District instructional teams in the Office for Teaching and Learning (OTL) have been considering how to address the late grades for quarter one, how to make the transition to quarter two, and the overall implications for addressing the missing instructional time for all PPS students this year. Teams are also working on social emotional learning support for the days when we return to campus.

We hope that the weekend brings better news for our students! Go Wolfpack!

Jill Hunt, Principal
Ben Keller, Assistant Principal

NOVEMBER

• Fri, NOV 10th: NO SCHOOL due to Veterans Day holiday
  
  
• Mon, NOV 20th ~ Fri, NOV 24th: NO SCHOOL due to Fall Break
  
  
• Mon, NOV 20th: Fall Teacher Conferences (in-person at WSMS)
  Tue, NOV 21st: Fall Teacher Conferences (virtual only)

DECEMBER

• Fri, DEC 8th: Eighth Graders visit Lincoln HS

As this strike continues, the voices of our families and students will be especially critical in driving the efforts to get students back to school. Here are links to stay informed, speak up and ask questions of the PPS Bargaining Team, the larger PPS School Board, and PAT:

• PPS: Ask a question here or contact bargaining leaders directly.

• Portland Association of Teachers (PAT): click here for strike updates

• PPS School Board meeting involvement: https://www.pps.net/board

• Comments and questions may be emailed to the Board at SchoolBoard@pps.net or sent via regular mail to School Board, P.O. Box 3107, Portland, OR, 97208.
  

While students are home, I recommend keeping close watch on their engagement and activity on social media sites, including online video games where they have access to chat rooms. Unfortunately, during school breaks, we often see a spike in online bullying, harassment, and conflict between students. The more you can do to help monitor your students' interactions and activity, the less likely they are to be part of negative interactions online.

• A few District provided guiding resources are here for how to talk with your students about this strike. Also, specific resources to support our students’ mental health needs can be found at the link on this website.

Mr. Alonzo, Student Success Advocate, and I have opened a Canvas course for students and sent invitations to all students to join the course this week. Through the Canvas course, students can ask us questions or share information with the few of us who are still working.

Please be sure that you are receiving information through larger District communications, as they are being published. Nightly updates will continue to be sent by 7 p.m. about the following school day, as the strike continues.

• Grades for First Quarter are now delayed due to the strike. District leaders are working on a plan for addressing these calendar issues through their negotiations with PAT (as calendars are always negotiated items). Middle Schools have a unique schedule with our students changing electives at the quarter mark.

• The District educational options for independent learning are linked here.
  Instructional links for PPS middle school curriculum are also linked here showing Educators’ expected pacing of lessons and units at various times of the year.

• All families, regardless of income, are eligible for meal service Tuesday through Thursday for grab-and-go packed meals at WSMS. Families can also go to any PPS school that offers meal service for that pick up if WSMS is not your closest school location. A link to the various resources available for families is here. Also, transportation is routing some buses with meals to service the apartment buildings around PPS where many of our families on free-and-reduced lunch reside to help our students access food, if transportation is a barrier. A bus will deliver to the Vibrant building where a group of our students reside, as an example.

• Chromebook items and repairs: All students and families have the ability to call the Support Desk at 503.916.3375 or send an email to support@pps.net. Should there be a need to replace a device for a student, an appointment will need to be made to allow them to enter the PEC building. Students are also allowed to work directly with their school to exchange a device or charger should that be a need.

The following resources are available to all PPS families during the strike:

• https://www.opb.org/article/2023/11/02/portland-public-schools-strike-resources-meals-for-families/

• https://www.kptv.com/2023/11/03/local-groups-businesses-offer-childcare-options-portland-families-during-strike/

• FoodFinder.OregonFoodBank.org : Oregon Food Bank is offering “pop-up” food distribution locations. They are open one day a week, for as long as the strike lasts, and are available to anyone.

We may all be working on this trait right now, and our Scholars are practicing being “BALANCED” this month, as our selected Learner Profile Trait. They are working on understanding the importance of balancing different aspects of life - intellectual, physical, and emotional - to achieve well-being for themselves and others.

Counselors are usually available by email, and they are part of PAT, so they are unavailable throughout the strike. Please refer to the following list for your School Counselor by grade.

Fall Conferences are planned to be held both in person and virtually this school year. The conference dates are Monday, November 20th, and Tuesday, November 21st. In-person conferences will be held on the 20th, and virtual options will be available on the 21st. Educators will be sending out communications as we get closer to those dates to tell families how to sign up for conferences. Educators are prioritizing meetings with the families of students who are struggling in classes (low grades, poor attendance, behavioral issues) first, and then will open up time slots for families of students who do not have these same concerns. If your student is doing well, setting up conferences is not necessary. Families are also encouraged to contact Educators via email throughout the year, with items as they arise.

• Welcome, Hillary Dames! Hillary Dames is thrilled to join the WSMS community as a .25 ESL teacher (one day a week). With more than 20 years as an educator, Hillary has taught 4th through 12th grade in a broad range of classrooms and schools. She started her career teaching language arts and literacy to high school students with severe language-based learning disabilities at a boarding school in Massachusetts, then taught middle school ESL, migrant education, reading interventions and 4th grade in Hood River and then worked as a high school instructional coach and ESL teacher in the Beaverton school district. She is licensed pre-K-12th grade and holds endorsements in ESOL, Reading Intervention, Language Arts and Multiple Subjects. She received her MEd from the U of O and her BA from Amherst College. She has taken time away from classroom teaching to be home with her two children and is eager to return to the classroom with students and colleagues. In her free time Hillary enjoys hiking, camping and spending time with her family.
  
  

• Ms. Amy Greene, who joined us at the start of this year as a half-time Tech teacher, has resigned and is moving on to other endeavors, and we thank her for the time given to WSMS! We will, unfortunately, need to have a Substitute, or Subs, covering the classes that Amy taught while we look for another solution. The Advisory students who were with Amy will move to other Educators at WSMS, and a Sub would lead Period 1 and Period 2 classes while we finish some hiring and shifting of Educator’s positions.
  
  

• We are still working to hire a permanent Educator for Ms. Ashcraft’s vacant 8th Grade Spanish Immersion position. We have offered the position to a candidate who lives abroad, and we are waiting on TSPC to issue a U.S. teaching license. In the meanwhile, we are working to have a regular substitute teacher who can be here most days to cover the classes, who also speaks fluent Spanish. All assignments that were completed with subs and assigned by our DLI Intern, Juanma, have now been graded and entered into Canvas. For questions about the grades in Canvas, email jihunt@pps.net.
  
  

• We have posted a full-time Math position for the school year. If you know of anyone who would be an excellent candidate for our students, please tell them about the opening. The website to apply is here.
  
  

• We still have an open Paraeducator position in our SPED Intensive Skills Classroom. This is a full-time position from 8:30AM - 4:00PM Monday-Friday. Interested applicants can apply here.
  
  

• We are always looking for Substitutes who like working in our building! To become a substitute, the information is here.

Interested in Volunteering and Being More Involved?

Become an approved PPS volunteer by following the information here. Once your application is approved, please contact the Main Office to see how and when you can be of service. Our Friends of West Sylvan organization also regularly shares ways to get involved on campus, specifically to volunteer in the Library, monitor hallways, help in the Main Office, help in classrooms, and do recess duty.

Friends of West Sylvan is parent/family organization that supports Scholars and Staff and fosters community connection through fundraising and volunteer opportunities. Join the mailing list and stay connected with other families!

MAIN OFFICE

westsylvanoffice@pps.net

(503) 916-5690

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT/ PRINCIPAL'S SECRETARY

[Staff / Substitutes / Financial]

Jerda Solonche

jsolonche@pps.net

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT/ SCHOOL SECRETARY

[Students / Attendance / Enrollment]

Kirsten Crombie

kcrombie@pps.net

Website: www.pps.net/westsylvan
Location: 8111 Southwest West Slope Drive, Portland, OR, USA