Summer break is over for the largest school district in Oregon, as thousands of students make their way back to Portland classrooms.

Portland Public Schools Superintendent Kimberlee Armstrong visited several schools around the district for their first day, speaking with students, staff and members of the media about what’s in store this school year.

One of the biggest changes to schools, statewide, is a new rule governing cellphones.

To comply with Gov. Tina Kotek’s recent executive order to ban cell phones “bell to bell,” Oregon school leaders, such as Armstrong, must adopt and implement a district policy by Jan. 1, 2026.

Right now in Portland, that’s looking like the current “off and away all day” policy, which Armstrong says families, staff and even students support.

“We’ve actually had students, staff and families weigh in and all seem to be strongly behind the ‘off and away all day,’” she said.

However, the district still has to decide how to implement the policy effectively.

“Now there are some discrepancies in terms of lunch time and being able to access the phones at that time, and we realized that there’s some things we’re gonna have to problem-solve,” Armstrong said. “But we stand behind distraction-free classrooms and are really excited to see how that results in increased learning this academic year.”

Jay’Quan Lewis-Price, a senior at Jefferson, said taking cell phones out of the classroom will likely help students be more engaged, even if it feels strange at first.

Jefferson High’s principal, Drake Shelton, said students understand the need for a cell phone ban, but getting used to it will take time.

“What we have to do, and I always tell the kids, is it’s getting the muscle trained of ‘Hey, I gotta put this cell phone away when I walk into school from 8:30 to 3:30’,” Shelton said. “That’s something they haven’t had to do in their life.”

If Jefferson High’s biggest immediate change is cellphone use, perhaps it’s biggest long-term issue is the planned modernization of the North Portland campus. Armstrong floated possible amenities at a new Jefferson building, such as a performing arts center and perhaps a recording studio.

Lewis-Price, who’s also a dancer, said he’s excited for the rebuild and its already planned arts features, which includes a new theater and dance studios.

“It’s gonna change a lot about what we got going on,” he said. As a senior, Lewis-Price will be out of high school by the time Jefferson is rebuilt.

One of the district’s other big infrastructure projects is the relocation of Harriet Tubman Middle School. The district has been looking to relocate Tubman for several years, due to its proximity to Interstate 5 and state plans to expand the highway.

PPS has been unable to find a suitable destination for Tubman, even with $120 million in state money available to help pay for the move.

Armstrong said the relocation is still on hold, as the district waits for information from the Oregon Department of Transportation.

“Once we understand more what’s happening at the ODOT level we’ll be able to better articulate what’s going to happen with Tubman Middle School,” she said.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2025/08/27/portland-public-schools-new-year-superintendent-armstrong-cell-phones-jefferson-high/