Jefferson High School – Middle College for Advanced Studies, 9–12 tuition-free public focus option in Portland

Jefferson High School – Middle College for Advanced Studies

a tuition-free public focus option in Portland

9–12 · Public · Focus Option · Arts · Portland Public Schools

5210 N Kerby Ave, Portland · Drake Shelton

Note: Jefferson is in transition. The Board voted in January 2026 to end the focus-option Middle College model and return Jefferson to a comprehensive neighborhood high school starting Fall 2027. Much of the program, curriculum, and enrollment detail below reflects the focus-option Middle College school Jefferson has been for the past 11 years and may change as the school converts. Confirm current offerings with the school.

Jefferson pairs a small-school feel with the Middle College model: 9th–10th graders take an intensified high-school curriculum on the Jefferson campus; starting the summer after sophomore year, students can enroll in Portland Community College–Cascade courses (while still enrolled at Jefferson) to earn dual credit toward both diploma and college. The Middle College partnership, PPS × PCC × Self-Enhancement, Inc. (SEI), lets graduates leave with a year or more of college credits, with structured advising to help students choose and succeed in PCC classes. Jefferson also offers dual-credit classes on campus taught by Jefferson teachers approved by PCC, giving students a gentler on-ramp before heading across to Cascade. Construction on a $465 million bond-funded modernization began in the 2025-26 school year, with the new facility opening Fall 2029; the district frames this expansion as strengthening both academics and student supports.

9–12 grades

~420 students

12:1 student-teacher

19 average class

Tuition-free focus option

Yes Title I

Tuition: Tuition-Free Public (including PCC dual credits)

Address: 5210 N Kerby Ave, Portland OR 97217. Phone: 503-916-5180. Website: pps.net/jefferson.

PPS rightsizing · a proposal, not a decision

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The basics

A day here

The schedule

Before & after school

The campus

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worth asking about on the tour

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Who goes here

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Academic performance

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Oregon average, same source.

Worth asking on the tour

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The support

Getting in

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Your odds in the lottery

Seats here aren’t first-come; they’re drawn by lottery. Each circle below is a tenth of the families who applied over the last two springs and stayed in the running (didn’t take a higher-ranked school). Filled circles got a yes.

but it depends who you are

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Official PPS lottery results, 2025-26 & 2026-27 combined: offers made ÷ families still in the running (offered + waitlisted); applications cancelled for a higher-ranked school excluded. pps.net › prior transfer data. Slots reset every year.

Tuition

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