Portland’s Metropolitan Learning Center, long the district’s only campus running a full K-12 program, is getting out of the high school game, families were told this week. The shift will turn the school into a K-8 campus and will affect the small group of upper-grade students, along with several teachers who regularly juggle both middle and high school classes. District leaders are pointing to ongoing enrollment and budget pressures that, they say, make it impossible to keep a full high school program going.
In a message to families, Portland Public Schools said the decision to “sunset” MLC’s high school was “hard but necessary,” describing it as a response to “sustained under-enrollment and resulting funding limitations that hinder a full high school experience,” according to OregonLive. The district told parents the building will stay open for younger grades while staff and administrators sort out next steps for current high school students. Officials stressed this is a program reconfiguration, not a full campus closure.
The Metropolitan Learning Center is located at Metropolitan Learning Center, in the Alphabet District near Couch Park, and is listed by Portland Public Schools as an alternative K-12 campus. Federal data puts MLC’s total enrollment at roughly 319 students this school year, underscoring that the high school piece is a relatively small slice of the overall campus, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. The school pulls students from across the city through a lottery instead of a neighborhood boundary and emphasizes cross-age, experiential learning.
The OregonLive report notes that MLC’s high school enrollment was 55 students in 2024–25 and that only 10 freshman slots were available this year. At the same time, lower grades were drawing more interest: kindergarten had 29 applicants for 24 spots, and sixth grade attracted about 80 applicants for 50 seats. Those imbalances, the district said in its message, were a key factor in the decision to change MLC’s grade span. Affected students will need placements at other PPS high schools or through open-enrollment options, according to OregonLive.
District Context And What It Means
Portland Public Schools has been reshuffling high school boundaries and academic programs across the city in recent months in an effort to stabilize offerings at under-enrolled schools, including a rezoning push meant to bolster Jefferson High, Axios reports. Those broader boundary moves, combined with funding rules that favor larger student bodies, make it increasingly tough to maintain a small, full-service high school inside an alternative campus.
District officials say the aim is to ensure students have access to core courses and electives that small high schools often struggle to offer consistently. In other words, they argue, spreading limited resources across too many tiny high school programs leaves everyone with fewer choices.
What Families Can Expect
MLC will continue operating as a K-8 school, and the district says it will work with families to find seats at other PPS high schools for affected students. Specific transition timelines were not included in the initial notice to families. Parents can look up high school assignment options and the district’s lottery process on the Portland Public Schools information page, and find MLC enrollment details on the school’s site for K-5 and K-8 admissions.
For immediate questions, families are directed to contact MLC’s main office or PPS enrollment staff, whose contacts are listed on the district and school websites.
The reconfiguration marks a significant shift for a campus long known for small classes and cross-age projects, and it highlights how changing enrollment patterns are reshaping programs across Portland Public Schools. Parents, students and staff are now waiting on follow-up details from MLC and the district about timing, placement options and supports for everyone caught in the middle of the change.
