PORTLAND, Ore. — On Thursday, Portland Public Schools confirmed they will recoup five instructional days by cutting students' winter break in half. Students missed 11 instructional days during the nearly month-long Portland teachers strike.
For many families, the decision will interrupt holiday plans.
“Now, the kids won't be home until the 23rd, so we have barely any time before the holiday,” said Joy Franz, whose two children attend PPS schools. “We have family flying in from the Midwest the weekend before, so we're missing several days of what could have been fun day-to-day excursions. We were hoping to go to the beach, but we're probably not going to do that anymore.”
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Other parents expressed resignation over the decision.
“We would have to make it up somewhere, so better winter break than summer vacation,” offered PPS parent Taffney Nichols.
Some parents said they’d been trying to sift through new information and waiting to learn exact plans.
“I saw something this morning that they're going to give one day back [to winter break] and take away Martin Luther King Day or something like that?” wondered PPS parent Chance Darning. “It seems like they didn't really think that through.”
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The idea of attending class on Martin Luther King Jr. Day was one of several ideas brought to the district by students, hoping to preserve their winter break. McDaniel junior Jorge Sanchez Bautista organized a student survey about winter break schedules. He told the school board Tuesday night that about 5,000 students responded with ideas, including adding a week of school in June and lengthening school days.
“Taking away our winter break isn't an option,” said Sanchez Bautista. “Folks have plans, have to decide whether to stay or go. Having school during a time when the majority of everyone is busy is just a waste of classroom time. Others such as myself have to work because we need income.”
After considering those options, district officials said they’d be sticking with the plan they had agreed to with the teacher's union. They explained that adding more instructional days in June would only extend spring semester classes, not recoup lost time from fall semester.
After winter break, PPS will still need to recoup six more strike days during the school year. They've scheduled them for Jan. 26; Feb. 19, which is Presidents Day; April 8; and June 12, 13, and 14. The last three days in June had been scheduled as potential make-up days for inclement weather.