Urban Studies and Planning Commons^™

Educational Achievement: Shaping The Region's Reputation And Driving Its Economy, John Tapogna

Institute of Portland Metropolitan Studies Publications

Any region’s reputation in education is a key to its economic vitality. Businesses look for signals of a quality workforce. Families want good schools for their children. The Portland-Vancouver region is making progress in education, but the news is not uniformly good. On the positive side, Portland is rising in the ranks of so-called “well educated” cities—a reputation that benefits the region as a whole. Portland’s attractiveness to young, recent college graduates is well documented and has played an important role in the trend. The influx of young professionals is a plus for the regional economy. However, instability of K-12 …