PORTLAND, Ore. — Portland Public Schools (PPS) students will have missed 15 days this school year, due to a teachers strike in November — and this week's icy weather.
Parents told KGW that the school district had no choice but to cancel school due to inclement weather.
Still, some are growing concerned over the missed class time.
“It’s very frustrating,” said Jennifer Hornick, a parent of two Portland Public Schools students.
So far, Portland Public has made up five days that were missed due to the strike. Those days were made up by cutting into winter break. During that week, high schoolers told KGW that many students weren’t in attendance. Some teachers were gone, too.
"It does just feel like we're getting more and more behind," Elliot Humphrey, a senior at Lincoln High School, said last month.
Other days missed in November are scheduled to be made up, too. Though recently, students at Cleveland High School started a petition in hopes of delaying final fall semester exams, scheduled to begin next week.
They claim that power outages across the metro area and missed class time has left students unprepared for tests.
Some middle school students are scheduled to take standardized tests in the next few weeks as well. Parents said those should be canceled in favor of more class time.
"I don't know that getting a measurement from a single long test … outweighs the benefits of using that time for instruction," said Maya Pueo von Geldern, a parent of two Vernon K-8 students.
She said that schools had no choice but to close due to the weather, and with missed class time, parents may need to spend more time helping students with curriculum.
“It hasn’t been easy on all kids, by any means,” Pueo von Geldern continued. “I’m not saying that at all. But I think there are ways we can support our students in learning.”
Though with schools closed, Pueo von Geldern said she is worried about families who are struggling to find childcare while parents work, as well as parents struggling to get to jobs along icy roads.
"I'm frustrated for families who have a hard time getting childcare for those who can — and have to — go to work," she said.
Parents across the district told KGW that they felt like teachers were doing the best they could in bad circumstances.
“I’m not mad at the teachers; I’m not mad at the weather," Hornick said. "I’m just frustrated that we’re in this situation.”
Portland Public Schools told KGW that they haven’t yet decided how they were going to make up for missed school this week. On Thursday, they were still assessing buildings after recent storms.