Room 13 Before...

Room 13 After...

The mail carrier who delivers mail to my school jokes with me that July must be my favorite month of the year. He refers to the school in the summer, when it's basically just me and the custodians, as my Fortress of Solitude. In a way he is correct. I enjoy the time alone at school. It is a good time to read, think, tinker, plan and occasionally mow the lawn. During this time I like to reflect on the previous year and to look ahead to the coming new school year.

One sobering consideration for that planning is our budget situation. Portland, like many school districts, is facing an uncertain budgetary situation. Check that, it is not uncertain, we know we are getting less than we planned for and for this coming school year have to cut $19 million dollars. This is basically 126 teaching positions in addition to a number of other program and service cuts. When the summer ends, and staff returns to school we will be looking at a different teaching and learning situation. Final decisions won't be made until the middle of July, so for now we continue to live with a bit of uncertantly.

One thing that is certain, is that because our school has grown, we are facing what our Facilities Department likes to call "space allocation issues." Room 13 is being renovated to allow for its use as a classroom. Last week the small inner office in Room 13 that we had used for meetings was removed. A bit more work will happen this week, but by the end of the week the room should be ready to serve as an instructional space. Above you will find a before and after shot of the work to date.