October 26, 2026

Superintendent Armstrong and Members of the School Board
Portland Public Schools
501 N. Dixon Street, Portland, OR 97227

Re: What the rightsizing scenarios would mean for the students, families, staff, and communities of Scott, Rigler, and Rose City Park schools

Dear Superintendent Armstrong and Members of the Board:

As the parent-teacher organizations of Rigler, Scott, and Rose City Park (RCP) elementary schools, we represent nearly 1,200 students in one of the most diverse parts of Portland, served by Spanish (SDLI) and Vietnamese (VDLI) dual language immersion programs and English Scholars (ES) programs. We understand that PPS must make hard choices as enrollment declines. But PPS projects that our three schools combined will lose only 36 students over the next five years, about two students per grade per school. The proposed scenarios would cause lasting harm that is out of proportion to the decline, and that harm would fall hardest on our most vulnerable families: Scenario A would likely end the VDLI program, and Scenario B could set Scott on a path to closure. Our schools are on a strong upward trajectory, and we ask that you keep our schools open and whole and let us keep building on our successes.

We strongly agree with each of the principles that the Board chose to guide the rightsizing process: sustainable and well-resourced schools; safe and healthy learning environments; a strong network of neighborhood schools and educational options; and centering students most impacted by inequities. We ask that you consider our communities’ lived experiences and insights when determining whether the proposed scenarios would actually advance these principles. This letter describes our thoughts on each scenario, with particular focus on our most vulnerable students and families, and offers a proposed alternative scenario. Because the Board is already aware of many of the benefits and drawbacks of the scenarios, these sections are not exhaustive but instead focus on our own insights. The perspectives in this letter are drawn from conversations with our community members, surveys, and historical knowledge. Unless otherwise noted, all data are drawn from PPS datasets. 

OUR COMMUNITY

Multicultural Diversity

Our catchment area stretches from I-84 to the airport and from NE 38th Ave to NE 92nd. We are home to a vibrant community of families from all over the world, and our students are far more diverse than the general PPS student population: 61.1% of our students are students of color (compared to 47% across PPS), with 31% Latino, 12.9% Asian, 5.7% Black, 8.5% Multiracial, and 3% Pacific Islander or Native American. Our students are also disproportionately multilingual learners (29.4% vs. 12.3%) and from lower socioeconomic backgrounds (45.7% vs. 32.4%). Our school programs reflect this diversity: Scott and Rigler’s Spanish DLI (SDLI) and RCP’s VDLI programs bring together students from around the world to share cultures and perspectives, not just within the DLI programs but across the entire school. All students at our schools experience cultural enrichment through daily interaction as well as activities such as the Kermés spring festival at Scott, the Tết Lunar New Year celebrations at RCP, and Feria at Rigler. All of these events are free and open to the entire community, bringing benefits not only to our students but also to the entire neighborhood. 

Growth of the Neighborhood 

Scott and Rigler have both increased enrollment over the last several years, in part due to investments in affordable and culturally affirming housing in the area. Since 2022, more than 275 new affordable homes have opened in Cully, including Las Adelitas, Hayu Tilixam, and chaku kumtuks haws; most are family-sized and many are reserved for households earning under 30% of area median income. The Cully TIF District has committed $144 million to more affordable housing. In the RCP neighborhood, the city-owned Ellington (263 affordable units, 95% two- and three-bedroom) is slated to grow to 400–450 units. That points to continued growth in low-income families with school-age children in our area, and continued stability—if not growth—in school enrollment. 

Academic Progress 

Over the past decade, Rigler, Scott, and RCP have undergone huge changes. Rigler transitioned to a DLI-only model in 2017, Scott moved from a K-8 to a K-5 in 2018, and RCP was closed in 2007 and reopened in 2018 as the home to both VDLI and a neighborhood program. Despite these challenges, all of our schools have been on an upward trajectory of academic success. Staff in our schools work within and across programs. Both Scott and Rigler have two SDLI classrooms for most grades, so teachers are able to collaborate and share the load. At RCP, teachers work together as one school, with VDLI and ES teachers collaborating on lesson plans and sharing WIN times (What I Need small group work). Scott was recognized by PPS in October 2026 for showing significant progress in multiple areas, including among student groups that have historically experienced opportunity gaps. The district reported that Scott earned Level 5 growth ratings in both English Language Arts (ELA) and math, including among Black/African American students; English Learners achieved 26-point growth in ELA and 45-point growth in math; and regular attendance increased from 63.7% to 72.2%. Similar to Scott, RCP has also improved its scores over the past year, especially within specific student groups. Overall, RCP ELA performance improved 3 points from 2024-2025 to 2025-2026, while the ELA score for Asian students (mostly Vietnamese) improved nearly 18 points. Math scores for Asian students and English Learners also improved 4 points over the past year.

Schools as Community Hubs

We see our schools not just as places for education, but also as hubs for supporting our communities. Our schools are home to large numbers of refugee and immigrant families, and nearly half of our students live in poverty. As school communities, we have created mechanisms to meet our communities’ needs. Scott PTA runs a food pantry that is open to all families and serves as a host for two outside weekly food banks, and Rigler and Scott have both established “Resiliency Funds” to provide assistance (e.g., rent or utility payments) to families in financial distress. RCP raised money for families when federal food benefits were suspended, hosts an annual holiday drive for the school community, and also won a grant from Oregon Walks to create a “Walking Bus” to help students from the low-income housing complex in the neighborhood get to school safely. Our schools have also developed community gardens, removed pavement, and planted dozens of trees to create a greener, safer, cleaner environment for our neighborhoods. In addition, many families access aftercare through their schools, whether through the SUN program, YMCA, or one of many community-based sites near schools that have been established to meet families’ needs. These programs are currently at capacity and would likely not be able to absorb more families. 

IMPACT OF SCENARIOS

SCENARIO A: Scott SDLI moves to Rigler, RCP ES moves to Scott, RCP VDLI moves to Vestal

100% of students experience a disrupted school community; 54% of students go to a new school building; 60% of DLI students are moved out of their current school; the two remaining schools enroll 500 students each. 

Rigler: Incorporating 232 SDLI students from Scott would be challenging in terms of space, after-care availability, and staffing. The school would be at capacity (around 500 students) and would rely on eight portable classrooms for space. Latino families would be concentrated in one building, creating concerns about immigration enforcement vulnerability. Scott SDLI students would move from a large, safe building to a smaller unreinforced masonry (URM) building, and many could no longer walk to school. Spanish-speaking SDLI families from Scott would lose their connections with teachers and staff and be forced to start over at a new school; these changes can be anxiety-inducing for recent immigrants who have already lost so much. 

Scott:  ES would lose cultural enrichment opportunities and would start from scratch, creating a new school culture with RCP ES. Scott would be at capacity (500 students) and be the only option for English education in the entire Rigler, Scott, and RCP boundary—a 5.3 square mile area with around 1,300 PPS K-5 students that has a number of city-led affordable housing developments in progress. Latino students make up 21% of the ES program; these families would likely lose Spanish-language supports and bilingual staff. 

RCP: The RCP building would stand vacant. No RCP families would live within walking distance to school. The “walking bus” for children in the low-income housing complex would no longer be possible. Based on feedback gathered, RCP and VDLI parents predict that the VDLI program will crumble within a few years if the program is separated from RCP. In a survey sent to families by RCP PTO, 52% of families responded, and of those responders, 43/107 students (40%) plan to leave the VDLI program under Scenario A. It is worth noting that for grades K-3, the response rate was between 52% and 62% for each grade level, meaning the survey developed solid data from the families most impacted. For these cohorts, 32/80 students plan to leave the VDLI program under Scenario A. Although VDLI is open to all students within PPS, the vast majority of English speakers enrolling in the program live in the immediate neighborhood, and relationships have been built among students, families, and staff. These relationships would need to be rebuilt at Vestal, and rebuilt again in middle school as VDLI students go to Roseway Heights Middle School and Vestal students to Harrison Park. Families would need to find options for aftercare in a new community and neighborhood. 

Key Takeaways: Moving VDLI would likely destroy the program; moving RCP ES would create transportation hardships for its most vulnerable students; the incremental benefit of combining Scott’s already-robust SDLI program with Rigler’s already-robust SDLI program is not worth the harm in dividing communities; Scott and Rigler would both have very high enrollment (500), leaving no space for growth or program changes. 

Ask: If Scenario A goes ahead, we ask that the Board commit to 1) ensuring DLI programs transition successfully, with particular emphasis on native speakers and immigrants; 2) ensuring the stability and sustainability of the VDLI program; 3) providing support and transportation for RCP ES families moving to Scott; and 4) ensuring adequate staffing and supports at Scott, with reasonable class sizes.

SCENARIO B: Scott SDLI moves to Rigler, RCP remains open with VDLI and ES 

67% of students have a disrupted school community; the share of remaining Scott students living in poverty rises from 52% to 62%; Scott enrollment drops by about 50%

Rigler: Same as Scenario A

Scott: We expect Scenario B to impact Scott in four ways: further decline in enrollment, concentration of the most vulnerable students, lack of support for Spanish-speaking families, and potential closure of a large, safe school.  

• Enrollment decline: If SDLI leaves, the English program will be immediately and perpetually underenrolled. PPS projects that Scott would retain 326 students for 2027-2028, but we estimate that this number will be lower as there are only 254 students currently in the English program and we do not foresee 72 students choosing to leave DLI and stay at Scott. Anecdotally, there are many families in the neighborhood whose kindergartners do not get into DLI but choose to enroll at Scott because of the thriving and culturally diverse community. Without SDLI at the school, and with a perpetually underenrolled school, many of these families may go elsewhere. As these families leave and the enrollment at Scott further declines, even more families will opt out.

• Concentration of vulnerable students: The ES program at Scott enrolls some of our most vulnerable students. Because of the long-term commitment required for SDLI, our ES program enrolls a higher percentage of students with less stability—they may be English Language Learners (ELL), in the foster care system or experiencing homelessness, new to the United States, or in need of disability services. Keeping RCP open and moving Scott’s DLI to Rigler puts the majority of the burden on this group of students who are already the most underserved and with the highest needs. While there are benefits to others in this scenario, the ES students will likely see only harm. With fewer students, Scott would also lose staff time: counselors, psychologists, and interventionists who split their week among schools are not there when a child is in crisis (see Attachment 2).

• Spanish language support: Over twenty percent of the Scott ES students (21%) are Latino. As the current home to the SDLI program, there are many supports in place for Spanish-speaking families, including bilingual teachers and support staff (counselor, interventionists, instructional coach, social worker, principal’s secretary, and speech language pathologists), food pantries and free food markets, Latino Network’s SUN program, and the Cafecito parents group. The Spanish language support system at Scott goes well beyond the SDLI program, but these supports would be removed or fractured if SDLI left. Further, having both SDLI and ES at Scott allows students to switch programs without switching schools, allows siblings to be enrolled in the programs that fit best, and allows Spanish-speaking children with disabilities to receive special education services as well as instruction in their native language. 

• Potential closure: Scenario B puts Scott’s enrollment far below the rightsize goal of 360; families may continue to leave if adequate supports are not in place. We foresee that this pattern could eventually force the closure of Scott, leaving a large, racially diverse, lower socioeconomic geographic area without an elementary school. Further, Scott is the only non-URM school building in our group; it seems more logical to maximize the capacity at this school rather than move 200+ students out and into portable classrooms at Rigler. 

RCP: No impact

Key Takeaways: With RCP remaining open, the choice is whether to move 232 students from Scott to Rigler in order to create a DLI hub, or to leave communities as they are. In either case, one school will be under the rightsize goal of 360 students (Rigler at 300 or Scott at 250-300). If Scott’s ES program is left to fend for itself without additional resources, it will be underresourced and likely will continue to lose enrollment until it closes, thus abandoning a historically multicultural school that is ADA-accessible and seismically more safe than other schools. This harm—to current students, future students, and the neighborhood as a whole—is not worth the incremental benefit of creating a DLI hub for programs that are already robust. 

Ask: If Scenario B goes ahead, we ask that the Board commit to 1) helping Rigler and Scott create a cohesive DLI community, with a particular emphasis on native speakers and immigrants; 2) ensuring a sustainable ES program at Scott with reasonable class sizes, adequate supports, and outreach to the neighborhood to encourage enrollment. 

PROPOSED ALTERNATIVE SCENARIO: Scott and RCP remain as they are; Rigler grows to 360 through a phased SDLI lottery

Every school is at or reaches more than 360 students; no students change schools; most students live within 1 mile of school; the most seismically safe school (Scott) is at full capacity

Rigler: Our proposed alternative scenario would have Rigler retain its SDLI program and community and bring in an appropriate number of students each year to reach the “rightsize” goal of 360 or above after several years. Because Rigler’s enrollment is projected to grow over the next several years, and there are a number of affordable family housing developments in progress in the neighborhood, we recommend a flexible lottery model that would fill seats first with Rigler neighborhood students and then open a small number of seats to other neighborhoods in Northeast. It is likely that the seats would be easily filled up to capacity because PPS lottery data suggest that the demand for SDLI currently far exceeds supply; across the district, there were 509 applications for 227 seats in 2026-2027. This model would ensure that the school retains its neighborhood character and most students still live close to school, but also that the program is robust enough to support two strands in each grade and full-time support and specials staff. In addition, there are no transition, transportation, or relocation costs associated with this model, and it keeps the safest building (Scott) fully utilized. 

Scott: Would remain sustainably enrolled at around 500 students, with SDLI and ES programs. 

RCP: Would remain sustainably enrolled at around 400 students, with VDLI and ES programs. 

Key Takeaways: This proposal is intended to ensure that all schools in the area have stable, adequate enrollment to support stable, adequate staffing, and that buildings are used to their capacity. With this approach, Rigler would experience a short, defined period below 360 students while enrollment builds via a limited lottery. Under Scenarios A and B, by contrast, more than 200 students would change schools at once, and Scott would face a lasting enrollment shortfall. 

Ask: Consider adopting our alternative scenario for our neighborhood, and continue to partner with us in making our schools safe, welcoming, and vibrant community hubs for all students and families. 

CLOSING 

The scenarios that have been proposed by the Superintendent to the School Board would cause massive disruption to our students’ lives and routines, would remove the supports currently in place for families, and would dismantle and weaken the strong communities that we have intentionally and painstakingly built over the years. In the longer term, we fear that these changes would have detrimental and irreversible effects on our neighborhoods, our elementary schools, our middle and high schools, and ultimately, our city. 

We invite you to view our communities through a lens of growth and abundance rather than scarcity and contraction. Each of the proposed scenarios assumes that some families will leave PPS in response; instead of accepting this negative outcome, we look forward to a positive future where families actively choose to become part of our thriving communities because PPS has invested where things are working, strengthened where there are weaknesses, and expanded opportunities where there is need. We ask that you: 

• Adopt our proposed alternative for our neighborhood: Keep Scott and Rose City Park as they are, and bring Rigler to 360 or more by opening a limited number of SDLI lottery seats to families across Northeast Portland.

• Show your work before any vote: Publish the assumptions behind each projection for our schools, including how many families PPS expects to leave and stay in moved programs, along with estimated one-time costs and annual savings for each scenario.

• If the Board moves Scott’s SDLI program, commit in writing to the students who remain at Scott: Ensure that families—including Spanish speakers and students with disabilities—have the staffing and bilingual supports that they need, and that Scott is not closed in several years due to falling enrollment.

• Hear directly from our families before you decide, in their languages and through the groups they trust, at a listening session held in our community.

• Act on the specific requests in our attachments for students with disabilities and for immigrant and refugee families.

Sincerely,

Rigler School PTA (riglerinfo@gmail.com) 

Scott School PTA (ptapresident@somosscott.org) 

Rose City Park PTO (president@rosecityparkpto.org) 

View Attachments: 1) Rigler, Scott, and RCP at a Glance; 2) Students with Disabilities; 3) Immigrant and Refugee Families; 4) Survey results from Scott families; 5) Survey results from VDLI Families; 6) References.