Fellow parents,

Earlier this week, Principal Dunn shared a note with our community regarding Portland Public Schools’ decision to discontinue Abernethy Elementary School’s Reading Results program for the 2026-2026 school year (https://secure.smore.com/n/u2ykw).

PPS is suspending a well-established, successful, and partially-parent-funded program with a trained, committed tutoring team that is comprised primarily of Abernethy parents like you, who are eager to serve their local community. We want to continue serving Abernethy students, but PPS has left us with limited hope that we can continue to do so. Rather than give Abernethy the option to continue access to Reading Results, we have placed on a waitlist for replacement literary support from PPS. As a result, Abernethy students requiring reading support will likely not have adequate support next year.

If you would like to help give our community a voice, especially if your family has benefited from the Reading Results program, please consider joining us by writing or calling PPS to express your feelings about this unfortunate suspension of our program. 

Below is a templated letter  to send to Dr. Esther Omogbehin, and Dr. Jon Franco.  Both of whom make academic decisions for our school. 

Let’s ask PPS to reverse their decision and give Abernethy the choice to continue partnering with Reading Results for the 2025-2026 school year.

Thank you all for your continued support!

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Subject: Concern Regarding the Removal of the Reading Results Program

Dr. Jon Franco
Chief of Schools

Dr. Esther Omogbehin
Assistant Superintendent of School Improvement and Community Engagement
503 916-3590

eomogbehin@pps.net

jfranco@pps.net

Dear Dr. Esther Omogbehin, and Dr. Jon Franco

I am writing as a concerned parent from Abernethy Elementary regarding the recent decision to discontinue the Reading Results program in our school.

As someone who has witnessed firsthand the impact this program has had on students—particularly those who struggle with early literacy—I am deeply troubled by its removal. Reading Results has provided targeted, one-on-one reading support that helps ensure students who are falling behind in reading are not left behind entirely. The individualized attention, the trained support staff, and the evidence-based methods have all contributed to improved reading levels and renewed confidence among our young learners.

Removing this program risks widening the achievement gap and may leave many students without the support they need to thrive academically. While I understand that difficult budgetary decisions must be made, I respectfully urge the district to reconsider this decision or explore alternative funding options to preserve this critical support for our students.

I would appreciate the opportunity to better understand the rationale behind the decision, and I welcome a conversation about how we as a community can work together to prioritize early literacy and student success.

Thank you for your time and your commitment to our children’s education.

Sincerely,

 [Your Name]
Parent of a X grader at Abernethy  Elementary