FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

School Starts At 8 Am And Ends At 3 PM

Ivy is a tuition-free public charter school sponsored by the Oregon Department of Education. The Ivy Charter School is governed as an independent 501(c)3 non-profit, with it’s own Board of Directors.

Because the state Board of Education is our school’s sponsor, the school district in which we are located (Portland Public School District) must contract with Ivy School to pay for educational services on a “per-student” basis. Charter school funding is only about 60%, per student, as compared with funding for Portland Public School attending students. The Ivy School seeks out grant funds, participates in fundraising, and asks families to contribute toward an annual activity fund to fill this funding gap.

The amount by which districts’ State School Fund grants are less than their General Purpose grants on a per student basis varies across districts based on how much “local” funding is available to each district. The majority of school districts in Oregon receive between $1,000 and $2,500 less per student from the State School Fund than is the base per student value of their General Purpose grant. Some districts receive per student distributions that are considerably lower.

→ Charter schools in 2012-13 received less public funding on a per student basis than their district-run counterparts. Per student (based on Weighted Average Daily Membership) charter schools receive funding that is equivalent to 60% of the funding available to all district-run schools statewide. When just “host districts” and the charter schools within those host districts are considered, charter schools receive funding that is equivalent to 58% of the funding available to the host district-run schools.

→ In total, charter schools received nearly $5,000 less per student (based on fall enrollments) in public funding than their district-run school counterparts. If district-run schools operated on the equivalent per student funding of charter schools they would have nearly $2 billion less in funding statewide. Fully funding the students in charter schools commensurate with other public schools, on the other hand, would involve a shifting of funds equal to just 3 percent (on average) of funding for host districts.

Download Charter Funding Study

Children are always welcome to bring in a healthy lunch from home. We currently offer a nutritionally balanced cold lunch daily for a fee. Free or reduced lunch is available to those that qualify.Forms are available on our website or at the main office.

The Ivy School is a state-sponsored public charter school operating independently of The Portland Public School District. Charter schools in Oregon run independently of the traditional public school system and tailor programs to community needs. While some school operations may mirror those of traditional public schools, many policymakers, parents, and educators see chartering as a way to increase educational choice and innovation within the public school system. A charter school is still accountable for student achievement and operational performance. Charter schools are funded on a per-student basis from state and local education tax funds. Charter school funding, however, is only about 65% per student as compared with funding for Portland Public School students. The Ivy Charter School is governed as an independent 501(c)3 non-profit, with it’s own Board of Directors.

Montessori is an educational approach developed by Maria Montessori over 100 years ago. The philosophy based on the observation that children have a natural drive to explore, handle and learn from their environments. Each classroom is prepared with Montessori materials that coincide with concepts in math, science, language arts, etc., and provides a comprehensive curriculum.

Ivy classrooms are structured with 25 students per classroom in Lower and Upper Elementary, and up to 50 in Middle School. Classrooms are mixed-ages with 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grades together in Lower Elementary classrooms., 4th and 5th grade 6th grades together in Upper Elementary classrooms, and 7th and 8th grades together in our middle school. Each of our Lower and Upper Elementary classrooms have a lead teacher and an assistant. Middle school which has two lead teachers who specialize in Math/Science and Humanities.

Trained teachers present lessons to students based on the student’s needs and interests. Older students mentor and assist younger students with their daily work. The student that is able to re-teach a skill or concept they have previously learned, enables them to learn as much as the student receiving the lesson. This type of learning builds bonds between the children and reinforces a peaceful and respectful community within the classroom. The supportive, non-competitive environment allows every child to succeed.

Integrated with the Montessori approach, Ivy offers physical education, music, art, gardening, and community service opportunities. Classes also take field trips throughout the year. The trips are designed to enhance some aspect of study or to take advantage of a community service project. As students become more responsible and interested in particular topics or issues they have “going out” experiences. This involves several students who leave the school with chaperones and use community resources to research a particular topic or issue.

Yes. The Ivy School contracts with Portland Public Schools to provide students with IEPs the support they need from a PPS Special Education teacher as well as a school psychologist, occupational therapist and a speech and language pathologist.

Yes. Every year students in grades 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 will take the OSAS (Oregon Statewide Assessment System) test which are the state required tests to measure how students are performing on State Standards.

Parents are responsible for transporting their child to and from The Ivy School. The school is located on the MAX Yellow line and 72 bus line. You may also connect with fellow parents to set up car pools.

Our EIN is 20-4681686