Lauren Weisskirk hadn’t heard the phrase “No School November” until she moved to Portland seven years ago. In her group chats with other moms around the country, her friends have a running joke.
“‘Hey Lauren, are your kids in school today?’” Weisskirk said. “Because they know there’s a high chance that the kids aren’t.”
From parents at the local level to the state’s top elected official, Oregon has long been known as a state with a short school year. Recent research backs that up.
Lauren Weisskirk has two children in Portland Public Schools and says Oregon could learn from other states in how to provide more instructional time. A new report suggests students in some Oregon districts get the equivalent of eight fewer weeks of school than kids in other parts of the state.
Now, a new data tool from Stand For Children offers details on just how short Oregon’s school year is — and how broad the variation is from district to district.