What this is about
“Rightsizing” is coming to Portland Public Schools. This is the term the district is using for potential school closures and consolidation. This moment is the result of trends over years: declining enrollment plus school funding that is not keeping pace with school needs.
Our goal
The Abernethy PTA aligns with other PPS communities in demanding a methodical, transparent, accountable approach to district rightsizing. We want what's best for Abernethy students and all PPS students. Abernethy is a strong neighborhood school and we want to see it stay strong into the future.
1. Learn what’s happening
PPS has released its potential scenarios to close schools and relocate programs.
- See what PPS is sharing about its plans for rightsizing.
- Review the PPS family guide for Abernethy (PDF) showing the proposed changes and their direct impact on our school.
- Watch the PPS Board's meeting when they heard details of the district's proposals and started discussion.
- Educate yourself. This community-made PPS Dashboard shows how closure might affect different schools across our city. This PPS map shows building utilization across the district. Utilization is how efficiently and effectively schools use their buildings relative to their student capacity (ex: are buildings overcrowded, underused, or right-sized?). It’s one of the factors district leaders will consider.
- Follow updates in Principal Dunn’s weekly newsletter and on Konstella, the PTA’s app for connecting directly with families.
2. Connect with your community
Being part of our school community is essential, because every student and every family matters in shaping what Abernethy is. Your PTA is following rightsizing so that we can empower our community to speak out. The Abernethy PTA is here to stand up for Abernethy students.
- Volunteer in your kid’s classroom. Showing up for our kids now provides stability for them and reminds us why we care so much about Abernethy’s future.
- Attend an Abernethy meeting or event. Plug into the programming that makes Abernethy such a vital place and learn what’s happening. PTA community meetings are held both in-person and virtually.
- Volunteer at Abernethy, through a fundraising event or bike bus or other fun program. Connecting with other parents through shared activities makes our community stronger.
- Join the Abernethy PTA and/or Advocacy Committee and help make decisions about how Abernethy will use its collective voice on big issues like rightsizing. Membership is open to parents, grandparents, teachers, staff, and neighbors — because we’re all in this together.
- Donate to the Abernethy PTA or buy Abernethy spiritwear to show your school pride and support our fundraising.
3. Take action
Every family at Abernethy will be impacted by this process differently, and every person has the right to speak out from their experience and needs. The PTA is here to offer options for you to share your voice and ways to weigh in on what our collective voice as a PTA will be about rightsizing.
It’s important that we make our voices heard now, while the district is still considering its options. A personal email to the school board lets them know how much Abernethy means to our families and community and ensures they hear directly from the people who will be most affected by this decision.
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Send an individual email to board members telling them what you love about Abernethy and what you hope they'll consider as they make their choices about rightsizing. Copy & paste email addresses to send to all members of the PPS school board at once: csplitt@pps.net, mdepass@pps.net, psullivan@pps.net, rchasemiller@pps.net, vlaforte@pps.net, sengelsman@pps.net, eddiewang@pps.net, schoolboard@pps.net
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Complete the PPS survey to give feedback on the district’s plans.
Want inspiration? A few Abernethy parents wrote this awesome letter published in the Oregonian on October 4, 2026.
Important dates
- Thursday, October 15, 6:30–8 pm, Abernethy Auditorium: PTA community meeting, where we will discuss our PTA’s approach to rightsizing. We want to hear your voice there, so please plan to join us in person or on Zoom. Free childcare is provided, as at all PTA meetings.
The action we want to see from our PPS leaders and lawmakers
- A clear pathway for accountability at the state and local level
- Recent events (e.g., damning audit results about the high school renovation contracts) have inspired a lack of faith in our public school leadership.
- Changing messages from district leaders cause us to question the transparency of this process.
- A strategic plan around the impact of PPS school closures on:
- Students: class sizes, resources, academic development, etc.
- Schools: funding remodels and renovations, selling assets, etc.
- Communities: how PPS will work with community partners to fill the gaps that school buildings leave behind
In the end, it is our students who will bear the cost of the choices adults make: whether rightsizing or maintaining the status quo. District leaders must demonstrate that they are accountable by sharing the burden our students are facing. We all want to get rightsizing right.