Resources for Learning About Portland Schools
How to Check Out Schools All Over PDX
If you are new to the greater Portland metro area, moving to town for the first time, or are considering a move to another neighborhood across town, you might be interested in finding out more about the schools in your prospective new neighborhood(s).
Good news: getting quality information about the various school districts and individual schools in the greater Portland area is easier now than it ever has been before.
For starters, the Portland area, including all suburbs except for those on the Washington side of the Columbia River, is made up of twelve school districts.
The 12 districts in the greater area include:
- Beaverton School District
- Canby School District
- Clackamas Education Service District
- Gresham-Barlow School District
- Hillsboro School District
- Lake Oswego School District
- Multnomah School District
- Oregon City School District
- Portland Public Schools
- Sherwood Public School District
- Tigard-Tualatin School District
- West Linn-Wilsonville School District
Portland Public Schools is the largest and most central of all the districts in the greater Portland area. For our purposes here in this guide, we’ll be concentrating on PPS specifically.
If you are looking for information on a district other than PPS or for information on specific school in another district, click any of the links above to get in contact with that district or school websites, where you will find resources and more information.
The PPS Website and Individual School Websites
Portland Public Schools maintains a massive website. On it, you can find information regarding the district’s overall academic performance, the academic performance of individual schools (at all levels) within the district, information regarding the educational philosophy of the leadership of the district and the individuals schools, school closings and remodeling, enrollment information for charter schools and other special programs, and much more. The majority of the information on the website is also translated into Chinese, Somali, Russian, Vietnamese, and Spanish.
Each of the individual schools within the district maintains a webpage as well as a presence on several social media platforms, including Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. If you are looking for information about a specific school, their website and social media accounts can be found through either a simple search or via links on the Portland Public Schools website.
School Board Meetings Around PDX
Another great way to get information about the school district, individual schools, individual programs, as well as a great way to get involved in what’s happening both district-wide and at the individual schools in your community is to attend and participate in Portland Public School Board Meetings.
PDX School Open Houses, Community Forums, Information Nights, and Tours
Finally, each school within the greater PPS school district hosts a variety of formal and informal open houses, information nights, community forums, and other special events.
You can also request a personalized tour of any school you are interested in your child or children attending, ask to sit in on a regular class, and interview both staff and principals.
Most all of the schools in the PPS district are welcoming to all interested parties, provided that advance arrangements have been made.
Research Reaps Rewards for Portland Parents
Whether you’d rather hang back in the shadows and get your information online or engage on a personal level with the staff, parents, and kids in your neighborhood school, it pays to investigate your neighborhood school situation prior to your kid’s first day.
Like many other aspects of Portland life, schooling and school resources can vary dramatically from one neighborhood to the next, so getting informed early can go a long way towards influencing the quality of your child’s schooling experience!