Markham / Gray FAQs

Updated: February 27, 2024, 2:00 pm

• We anticipate providing weekly updates to each school community on Tuesdays going forward.

• Our district team is still working on developing a plan to restore lost instructional time.

• This will be done in consultation with district staff, the Oregon Department of Education, and the Board of Education.

• While we recognize the need to share this plan soon, we also want to acknowledge that we are not out of winter yet and there could be additional inclement weather to factor in.

• We are also reviewing guidance from ODE provided in the Planning Guide for Short Term Distance Learning as well as Division 22 which outlines how we count instructional time.

• There are no anticipated pauses on state testing. This would have to be a state decision to request a waiver from the U.S. Department of Education.

• Gray students will not take the NAEP as scheduled in February, but we are communicating with ODE about next steps

• Our insurance company has been involved and is expected to fund many loss expenses above the deductible amount.

• PPS is working with the city, county, and state to get reimbursed for some of the repairs and relocation expenses by FEMA.

• How would we serve meals?

• We determined this would be very difficult. Providing meals would have meant paying the existing on-site food service or for food to be delivered

• How would we meet students’ technology needs?

• We would need to ensure the new space had enough bandwidth.

• We would need to ensure reliable wireless access.

• We would need to ensure staff could still access internal systems for reporting attendance, accessing emergency contact information, school-to-family communications, etc.

• How would we secure the new space?

• We would need to control who could access spaces and who could not.

• Without our usual VOIP system, we would need to review methods of emergency signal activation and district notification

• We would need to adapt School Emergency Response Plans for new location, including establishing primary/secondary evacuation areas

• We would need to ensure radios could operate and reprogram them for the new location

• How would we transport students?

• Lack of established loading zones and designated areas for heavy bus traffic would be challenging, and we might be limited in our ability to install clear signage temporarily.

• We would need to rebuild existing schedules to accommodate a new building, which could likely disrupt other schools’ transportation and force new route creation.

• The routing, bidding and drive test time required to safely be ready to transport students poses a significant delay.

• Gray

• Students can continue to take advantage of the SUN Community School program at Jackson.

• Applications are available in the SUN community school room at Jackson.

• Markham

• The Markham SUN school does not have the capacity to provide after school enrichment daily at each host school

• The SUN manager is coordinating with PPS’s SUN manager to provide after-school enrichment for Markham SUN families who are already enrolled for winter session at Capital Hill Library and Holly Farm Park.

• The SUN manager will reach out directly to those families and discuss logistics.

• For pay child care options are available at the following locations:
  

• Maplewood: Champions (scholarships are available)

• Hayhurst: Camp Fire (scholarships are available)

• Rieke: Champions (scholarships available)

• No child care is available at Capital Hill

• PPS is supporting our child care partners with securing a space dependent on availability

• Licensors will need to ensure spaces are in compliance

• Jackson is the transportation hub for Markham students.

• Parents can drop students at Jackson in the north parking lot.

• Students can walk to Jackson

• Regular bus routes are running slightly earlier to drop students at Jackson.

• Shuttle buses run from Jackson at 8:05 am each day to each host school.

• Teachers and staff have been available to help direct students to the correct shuttle.

• Shuttle buses return to Jackson at 3:05 p.m.

• Special Transportation (ST) buses will transport students directly to Maplewood school.

• Gray buses are dropping students at Jackson instead of Gray.

• Shuttle buses are running from Gray to Jackson.

• Maintenance staff would get to a building and try to identify vulnerabilities given the particular weather conditions that had been predicted.

• They would try to push up the temperature of a building to provide more lead time in the event a building lost power.

• If there seems to be strong potential for loss of power, they might try to deploy one of the district’s limited number of generators.

• Like most Portlanders, our staff could not safely get around town. This meant we could not safely check on all of our buildings until Thursday.

• The extreme weather did not affect just a portion of our district, but rather all 81 school buildings.

• The failures cascaded: lack of heat caused pipes to freeze, then pipes burst, then water damaged ceilings / walls throughout the building and disrupted settled asbestos.

• Moving forward, our facilities team will conduct an after action review of resources, response time and procedures and will make recommendations on improvements to harden facilities, obtain better equipment and put additional procedures in place to prepare for future storms.

• Every school site has its own School Emergency Response Plan.

• Each school’s plan runs in tandem with our District Emergency Operations Plan and Student to Family/Caregiver Reunification Plan.

• We exercise these plans regularly through drills and tabletop exercises among staff, and through student drills on specific situations.

• We also collaborate with partners at the Portland Bureau of Emergency Management, Multnomah County Emergency Management, and the Oregon Department of Emergency Management on refining and practicing our existing plans.

• Additionally, we work closely with law enforcement and Portland Fire and Rescue.

• We partnered with Multnomah County as they developed their Children In Disaster Plan and are currently working with the City of Portland as they update their evacuation plan.

• In the last several years, PPS has not had to relocate an entire school.

• The work began with a discussion of whether to relocate students to non-PPS facilities versus PPS facilities.

• The most updated estimate we have from our contractor is 6 to 8 weeks before the units are ready to welcome staff and students.

• After the storm, demand for the units skyrocketed, and we’re competing with other school districts and organizations to secure them.
• It also takes some time to hook them up to a power supply and install the necessary skirting and ramps to make them safe and accessible.

• It’s simply not safe at this time.
• Given the extent of damage to the building, much of it is either under construction or in the process of hazardous material abatement.
• It is impossible to isolate a big enough portion of the building to accommodate all students and staff.

• The results of last week’s air quality tests show that air is circulating at healthy levels in Jackson’s converted classrooms.
• Additionally, we have a ready supply of portable air purifiers for teachers who would like one or two in their classroom.
• Educators are welcome to request a unit from Principal Newlyn.

• District leaders are meeting with Principals Newlyn and Ferraro to ensure that Gray students have equitable access to varied learning opportunities.
• We should know more about these plans soon and will update this page when we do.

• Volunteering during lunch at Grackson is a great way to help out. You can sign up for a slot here.
• You can also get involved on a more grassroots advocacy level by joining Community Parents for Public Schools of Portland.

• Tearing down the existing structure and building a new school would cost in excess of $130 million.

• We do not yet have a final estimate for the cost of repairs, but we know reconstruction is by far the more economical option.

• There is also a question of time. Our goal is to open Markham to students and staff as soon as possible. Repairs and reconstruction will take months to complete. A full build would take much longer than that.

Smith School is condemned. It is not a safe alternative at this time.

• The scattered and pervasive nature of the damage at Markham means that there are no isolated pockets of the school large enough to accommodate students or staff.

• The presence of hazardous materials throughout the building has also made it impossible for students and staff to return to the undamaged classrooms.

• In addition, the fire suppression system was severely damaged during the storm, making the building unsafe for occupation at this time.

• Yes. Markham’s main structural vulnerability has been its worn and out-dated plumbing system.

• Replacing and modernizing the system will protect it against severe weather events like last month’s storm.

• We are currently working with human resources to add more support staff at the schools hosting Markham and Gray students.

• These roles would most likely assist with administration and counseling and social-emotional support. We should know more soon and will update this page when we do.

• We are currently working with Mountain Park Church at 40 Mcnary Pkwy, Lake Oswego, OR 97035 to secure childcare services for Markham students for the rest of the school year.

• Mountain Park Church is in the process of obtaining licensure approval from the state.

• We should know if that licensure is approved the week of February 26.