If you live in Portland and don’t apply to go to another middle school, your kids will be sent across town to either Westport or Kammerer Middle school by default. It’s not because the schools closest to the neighborhood are full, and can’t take any more kids. The 2019-20 enrollment projections for Western Middle, show a program capacity of 825 students, but a projected enrollment of 613, leaving space for 212 more students. The next closest middle school at The Academy @ Shawnee, shows a program capacity of 225, and a projected enrollment of 125 students, leaving space for 100 additional students to attend that school. So, there is space for 312 students at middle schools within our neighborhood, or right outside it. Westport Middle currently has 171 students from our neighborhood, and Kammerer Middle has 60. Those 231 students could easily fill the 312 empty slots in schools close to their own homes instead of passing 5 other middle schools on the way to their assigned schools. However, you must apply (and be accepted) to attend school at Western or Shawnee Middle schools. This wasn’t always the case, of course. Neighborhood kids attended Western Middle for generations until it was converted to a Magnet School around 2010. Western Middle by most accounts was plagued by serious issues and was not performing well by any standard. To avoid a state takeover of the school, it was converted to a magnet school and the neighborhood students sent to Westport or Kammerer, unless they applied to (and were accepted) to another school. With an influx of new, hand-picked, students Western Middle is now a thriving Magnet School for the Visual and Performing Arts, and avoided further scrutiny from the State. While we should certainly celebrate Western Middle’s successful turnaround, one has to wonder what the outcomes have been for the population of students who would have formerly attended there.

I recently asked JCPS to provide me the “School Report Card” data for students at Westport and Kammerer Middle, but with Portland neighborhood students’ data and outcomes separated from non-Portland students. So, demographics, attendance, test scores, discipline, etc. I’m sorry to report that the numbers do not show significant improvements in the outcomes for these students in any category. In the 2017-2018 school year, 54.1% of the Portland neighborhood students at Westport Middle were Chronically Absent, meaning they missed more than 10% of the school days. 31.4% missed more than 25+ days. It’s difficult for working families with means to drive a kid who has missed the bus across town in traffic. It’s impossible for families without a car. 33% of Portland households don’t have a car. It would take two TARC buses and over 90 minutes to travel from the middle of Portland to Westport Middle.

With attendance numbers so low, it’s no wonder that Portland students’ test scores lag behind not only state averages, but also non-Portland students at the same school by sometimes more than 500%. Only 6.9% of 2016-17 Portland students at Kammerer Middle achieved Proficient or Distinguished in Math, while 40.3% of the non-Portland students did. It almost seems as if the students were sent to larger schools in order to dilute their test scores so no one would notice. Since scores aren’t published by neighborhood, there was no way for anyone to notice.

Outcomes at our neighborhood middle school have improved, but outcomes for many middle school students from our neighborhood have not. It’s easy to stand on the sidelines and point fingers at JCPS for engineering a system that seems like it was designed to set up our kids to fail.  However, these kids presumably sit in the same classrooms and receive the same education as the kids that outperform them.  What can the citizens of our neighborhood do to make education a priority in our neighborhood and help close that gap?  Are you involved in your child’s education?  Your grand-kids, nieces, nephews?  Your neighbor’s kids?  What is our neighborhood ready, willing, and able to do to improve the outcomes of all of our neighborhood’s students?  If we, knowing what we know now, continue to stand by and watch the majority of our neighborhood children fail in school, we are complicit in their failure and have just as much blame as anyone else. No one is going to advocate for our neighborhood kids better than we can, and it’s time for us to start.

Article written by mike.neagle@argo-networks.com

Westport Middle School Resides Area Map

Westport Middle School Resides Area Map

Kammerer Middle School Resides Area Map

Kammerer Middle School Resides Area Map

             
JEFFERSON COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS  
External Request: 8 Year Trend for Students Attending Kammerer and Residing Inside and Outside the Portland Neighborhood  
 
Broken by Gender  
             
      Gender    
School Name Portland Year Female Male Grand Total  
Kammerer Middle Outside 2011-2012 481 496 977  
2012-2013 485 478 963  
2013-2014 518 430 948  
2014-2015 455 387 842  
2015-2016 437 396 833  
2016-2017 412 429 841  
2017-2018 409 442 851  
2018-2019 440 476 916  
Inside 2011-2012 33 33 66  
2012-2013 42 51 93  
2013-2014 39 52 91  
2014-2015 41 49 90  
2015-2016 30 39 69  
2016-2017 39 36 75  
2017-2018 34 24 58  
2018-2019 35 25 60  
             
             
      Gender    
School Name Portland Year Female Male Grand Total  
Westport Middle Outside 2011-2012 319 357 676  
2012-2013 312 383 695  
2013-2014 334 370 704  
2014-2015 414 463 877  
2015-2016 447 508 955  
2016-2017 511 529 1040  
2017-2018 516 540 1056  
2018-2019 530 578 1108  
Inside 2011-2012 71 68 139  
2012-2013 89 94 183  
2013-2014 95 114 209  
2014-2015 88 121 209  
2015-2016 95 115 210  
2016-2017 87 106 193  
2017-2018 73 99 172  
2018-2019 81 90 171  
             
             
             
JEFFERSON COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
External Request: 8 Year Trend for Students Attending Kammerer and Residing Inside and Outside the Portland Neighborhood
Broken by Race
             
      Race  
School Name Portland Year African American White Other Grand Total
Kammerer Middle Outside 2011-2012 395 509 73 977
2012-2013 423 448 92 963
2013-2014 415 447 86 948
2014-2015 342 405 95 842
2015-2016 347 399 87 833
2016-2017 341 395 105 841
2017-2018 332 403 116 851
2018-2019 363 429 124 916
Inside 2011-2012 31 30 5 66
2012-2013 44 46 3 93
2013-2014 45 44 2 91
2014-2015 51 37 2 90
2015-2016 42 23 4 69
2016-2017 46 25 4 75
2017-2018 29 25 4 58
2018-2019 31 25 4 60
             
             
      Race  
School Name Portland Year African American White Other Grand Total
Westport Middle Outside 2011-2012 274 290 112 676
2012-2013 259 303 133 695
2013-2014 244 330 130 704
2014-2015 302 401 174 877
2015-2016 312 445 198 955
2016-2017 323 480 237 1040
2017-2018 307 475 274 1056
2018-2019 344 480 284 1108
Inside 2011-2012 60 73 6 139
2012-2013 79 97 7 183
2013-2014 108 95 6 209
2014-2015 104 99 6 209
2015-2016 105 98 7 210
2016-2017 95 87 11 193
2017-2018 82 79 11 172
2018-2019 82 74 15 171
             
             
JEFFERSON COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS  
External Request: 8 Year Trend for Students Attending Kammerer and Residing Inside and Outside the Portland Neighborhood  
 
Broken by ECE  
             
      ECE    
School Name Portland Year No Yes Grand Total  
Kammerer Middle Outside 2011-2012 851 126 977  
2012-2013 848 115 963  
2013-2014 838 110 948  
2014-2015 761 81 842  
2015-2016 741 92 833  
2016-2017 746 95 841  
2017-2018 762 89 851  
2018-2019 803 113 916  
Inside 2011-2012 56 10 66  
2012-2013 79 14 93  
2013-2014 74 17 91  
2014-2015 75 15 90  
2015-2016 56 13 69  
2016-2017 63 12 75  
2017-2018 46 12 58  
2018-2019 49 11 60  
             
             
      ECE    
School Name Portland Year No Yes Grand Total  
Westport Middle Outside 2011-2012 563 113 676  
2012-2013 570 125 695  
2013-2014 586 118 704  
2014-2015 758 119 877  
2015-2016 809 146 955  
2016-2017 891 149 1040  
2017-2018 917 139 1056  
2018-2019 959 149 1108  
Inside 2011-2012 117 22 139  
2012-2013 148 35 183  
2013-2014 167 42 209  
2014-2015 171 38 209  
2015-2016 171 39 210  
2016-2017 160 33 193  
2017-2018 142 30 172  
2018-2019 139 32 171  
             
             
             
JEFFERSON COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS  
External Request: 8 Year Trend for Students Attending Kammerer and Residing Inside and Outside the Portland Neighborhood  
 
Broken by Lunch  
             
      Lunch    
School Name Portland Year Free/Reduced Paid Grand Total  
Kammerer Middle Outside 2011-2012 415 562 977  
2012-2013 463 500 963  
2013-2014 479 469 948  
2014-2015 423 419 842  
2015-2016 427 406 833  
2016-2017 424 417 841  
2017-2018 418 433 851  
2018-2019 462 454 916  
Inside 2011-2012 > 95% < 5 % 66  
2012-2013 87 6 93  
2013-2014 85 6 91  
2014-2015 > 95% < 5 % 90  
2015-2016 > 95% < 5 % 69  
2016-2017 68 7 75  
2017-2018 51 7 58  
2018-2019 55 5 60  
             
             
      Lunch    
School Name Portland Year Free/Reduced Paid Grand Total  
Westport Middle Outside 2011-2012 479 197 676  
2012-2013 470 225 695  
2013-2014 452 252 704  
2014-2015 572 304 876  
2015-2016 617 338 955  
2016-2017 680 360 1040  
2017-2018 685 371 1056  
2018-2019 667 441 1108  
Inside 2011-2012 132 7 139  
2012-2013 177 6 183  
2013-2014 > 95% < 5 % 209  
2014-2015 > 95% < 5 % 209  
2015-2016 202 8 210  
2016-2017 186 7 193  
2017-2018 162 10 172  
2018-2019 163 8 171  
             
                             
JEFFERSON COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
External Request: 8 Year Trend for Students Attending Kammerer and Residing Inside and Outside the Portland Neighborhood
KPREP Proficiency Levels
                             
                             
School Name Portland Year # Tested Reading % PD # Tested Math % PD # Tested Soc. Studies % PD # Tested Science % PD # Tested WOD % PD # Tested Lang Mech % PD
Kammerer Middle Outside 2011-2012 970 42.2% 970 42.0% 324 49.7% 296 55.1% 674 36.1% 350 38.3%
2012-2013 963 43.0% 963 37.6% 352 60.8% 284 56.0% 611 35.5% 327 39.1%
2013-2014 946 46.6% 946 38.5% 346 53.2% 310 48.4% 636 34.7% 290 33.4%
2014-2015 816 52.3% 816 42.0% 294 57.8% - - 537 35.4% 244 49.6%
2015-2016 829 50.5% 829 42.2% 311 49.5% - - 564 42.6% 253 38.7%
2016-2017 836 54.7% 836 43.9% 267 56.9% * * 267 33.0% 303 51.5%
2017-2018 847 57.5% 847 40.3% 259 54.4% 300 26.7% 259 37.1% - -
2018-2019 - - - - - - - - - - - -
Inside 2011-2012 66 16.7% 66 15.2% 7 71.4% 27 25.9% 39 7.7% 32 9.4%
2012-2013 93 17.2% 93 10.8% 32 53.1% 31 19.4% 61 13.1% 30 23.3%
2013-2014 90 25.6% 90 10.0% 23 30.4% 33 36.4% 57 8.8% 34 5.9%
2014-2015 83 27.7% 83 13.3% 33 51.5% - - 64 9.4% 31 9.7%
2015-2016 69 10.1% 69 4.3% 20 45.0% - - 43 7.0% * *
2016-2017 75 17.3% 75 9.3% 26 42.3% - - 26 3.8% 22 9.1%
2017-2018 58 20.7% 58 6.9% 18 55.6% 19 5.3% 18 5.6% - -
2018-2019 - - - - - - - - - - - -
                             
                             
School Name Portland Year # Tested Reading % PD # Tested Math % PD # Tested Soc. Studies % PD # Tested Science % PD # Tested WOD % PD # Tested Lang Mech % PD
Westport Middle Outside 2011-2012 673 26.3% 970 19.2% 250 58.0% 230 30.9% 443 28.4% 193 19.2%
2012-2013 693 35.4% 963 25.3% 202 56.4% 239 41.4% 491 32.0% 252 31.0%
2013-2014 702 41.0% 946 30.9% 205 53.7% 259 39.0% 443 37.7% 238 34.9%
2014-2015 848 40.8% 816 34.0% 274 50.7% - - 607 27.3% 333 36.0%
2015-2016 951 41.5% 829 34.4% 278 53.2% - - 620 31.1% 342 25.4%
2016-2017 1033 42.0% 836 35.7% 350 52.9% 18 16.7% 350 18.9% 342 36.8%
2017-2018 1052 50.0% 847 35.8% 347 55.0% 345 23.8% 347 32.0% - -
2018-2019 - - - - - - - - - - - -
Inside 2011-2012 139 11.5% 66 5.8% 22 68.2% 49 16.3% 90 11.1% 68 14.7%
2012-2013 183 17.5% 93 7.1% 67 46.3% 52 25.0% 116 10.3% 64 15.6%
2013-2014 208 13.5% 90 7.7% 64 53.1% 68 20.6% 140 16.4% * *
2014-2015 206 13.6% 83 6.3% 64 67.2% - - 130 7.7% 66 10.6%
2015-2016 207 16.4% 69 10.1% 69 56.5% - - 133 8.3% 64 7.8%
2016-2017 185 12.4% 75 8.6% 66 45.5% - - 66 3.0% 59 6.8%
2017-2018 168 23.2% 58 11.3% 52 65.4% * * 52 7.7% - -
2018-2019 - - - - - - - - - - - -
*Data set percentages below 5% therefore numbers are to small                            
                             
             
JEFFERSON COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
External Request: 8 Year Trend for Students Attending Kammerer and Residing Inside and Outside the Portland Neighborhood
* Percent Attendance ((Total Membership - Total Absences) / Total Membership)
*Percent Chronic:
             
             
School Name Portland Year % Attendance % 25+ Days Absent % Chronic % with 1+ Suspensions
Kammerer Middle Outside 2011-2012 95.0% 5.7% 14.1% 9.2%
2012-2013 95.4% 4.3% 12.0% 10.7%
2013-2014 95.2% 4.1% 13.2% 10.3%
2014-2015 95.2% 4.2% 15.2% 9.7%
2015-2016 94.8% 5.2% 14.3% 15.6%
2016-2017 94.3% 8.3% 18.5% 17.6%
2017-2018 94.2% 8.8% 18.3% 23.6%
2018-2019 94.9% 0.2% 17.1% 11.7%
Inside 2011-2012 91.4% 13.6% 40.9% 25.8%
2012-2013 91.4% 15.1% 36.6% 20.4%
2013-2014 91.1% 17.6% 39.6% 16.5%
2014-2015 91.9% 11.1% 31.1% 26.7%
2015-2016 90.0% 21.7% 46.4% 39.1%
2016-2017 91.0% 17.3% 33.3% 30.7%
2017-2018 88.5% 29.3% 43.1% 43.1%
2018-2019 90.0% 1.7% 33.3% 25.0%
             
             
             
School Name Portland Year % Attendance % 25+ Days Absent % Chronic % with 1+ Suspensions
Westport Middle Outside 2011-2012 94.3% 5.9% 19.1% 16.7%
2012-2013 94.8% 5.9% 14.1% 10.4%
2013-2014 95.4% 4.1% 12.5% 8.8%
2014-2015 95.2% 4.3% 13.3% 14.0%
2015-2016 94.8% 6.7% 16.4% 17.5%
2016-2017 94.9% 7.5% 16.2% 14.7%
2017-2018 94.3% 8.2% 18.6% 12.3%
2018-2019 95.1% 0.9% 15.3% 5.1%
Inside 2011-2012 90.7% 19.4% 38.8% 34.5%
2012-2013 92.0% 15.3% 31.7% 19.7%
2013-2014 91.5% 15.8% 33.5% 23.9%
2014-2015 90.9% 16.3% 38.8% 39.7%
2015-2016 89.5% 21.4% 44.8% 41.9%
2016-2017 89.8% 21.8% 44.0% 42.5%
2017-2018 87.1% 31.4% 54.1% 44.8%
2018-2019 91.1% 1.2% 39.2% 19.3%
             
     
School Name Portland 2017-2018 Top 5 Reasons
Kammerer Middle Outside 12B Fighting/Striking - Student
02B Failure to respond to questions or requests
06B Profanity/Vulgarity toward staff
02B Horseplay
14L (W/Staff) Intimidation/Harassment/Harassing communications
Inside 12B Fighting/Striking - Student
02B Failure to respond to questions or requests
06B Profanity/Vulgarity
02B Taunting, baiting, inciting a fight
02B Intentionally throwing/releasing an object causing disturbance,injury or property damage...
     
     
School Name Portland 2017-2018 Top 5 Reasons
Westport Middle Outside 12B Fighting/Striking - Student
02B Failure to respond to questions or requests
06B Profanity/Vulgarity toward staff
14L (W/Staff) Intimidation/Harassment/Harassing communications
19B Dangerous Instrument (carrying or use)
Inside 12B Fighting/Striking - Student
02B Failure to respond to questions or requests
14L (W/Staff) Intimidation/Harassment/Harassing communications
06B Profanity/Vulgarity toward staff
13B Fighting/Striking faculty/staff, or other officials

Comment