Page 3 Portland Observer May 18, 1989
News Around Town
PCC and High
School Counselors
Discuss Dropout
Prevention
“ Keeping Kids in School: O p­
tions fo r Counselors, Choices for
K id s,” was the provocative title o f a
workshop that bought 30 high school
counselors together w ith PCC staff
at the Rock Creek Campus to discuss
strategics for reducing the high school
CHURCH BELLS
TO ANNOUNCE
ARRIVAL OF
TWIN TOWERS
COMMUNITY POLICING LEG­
ISLATION
P O R T L A N D -S tate Representa­
tives Bev Stein, D-Portland, and Mike
Burton, D-Portland, joined Mayor
Bud Clark and Police C hie f D ick
W alker in announcing the introduc­
tion o f legislation creating a state­
wide grant program fo r com m unity
policing demonstration projects. The
b ill receives its first reading in the
dropout rate.
The workshop coincided w ith a
report in “ The Oregonian” on De­
partment o f Education figures that
show a 27 percent dropout rate in
Oregon.
Jim Van Dyke, executive dean o f
PCC’ s Rock Creek Campus, talked
about dropout prevention in the con­
text o f the predicted w orker shortage
in the 21st century.
Based on the US Department o f
Labor report “ W orkforce 2000, Van
Dyke noted 75 percent o f the w ork­
ers in the year 2000 are already in the
workforce, which w ill be predom i­
nantly composed o f m inorities and
women in the future. The average
person can expect to change jobs
three to four times in his or her ca­
House today.
C lark brought a proposal for a
com m unity policing demonstration
project fo r the C ity o f Portland to the
legislators in early A p ril. House B ill
3498, introduced by Stein, Burton
and others creates a state grant pro­
gram available to cities interested in
instituting a com m unity policing
program.
“ This is one o f the most exciting
new ideas fo r addressing crime in
neighborhoods I ’ ve heard about in
years. I am extremely optim istic
about com m unity policing and the
impact it w ill have on crim e in our
cities,” Stein said.
Clark said com m unity policing is
one o f his top priorities because he
believes traditional police methods
aren’ t w orking.
“ C om m unity policing is part o f
reer.
our overall campaign to restore order
Van Dyke described the educa­ to our streets and revitalize the liv a ­
tors’ dilemm a o f keeping pace w ith
b ility o f our neighborhoods. It w ill
rapidly changing technology, while
w ork hand in hand w ith the regional
not know ing what specific skills the drug initia tive, neighborhood revi­
future workplace w ill require. “ We
must guarantee every student the train­
ing, education and skills needed to
be successful.”
Barbara Ross, director o f G over­
nor N eil G oldschm idt’s Student Re­
tention In itiative , is concerned by a
lack o f local consensus on the school
systems; goals.
“ We need strong leadership,
teacher involvem ent and strong
com m unity support,” she said.
She encouraged counselors to ask
more questions about what their
schools; goals are and what is being
done to achieve them; to support
people who are doing things right;
and to build partnerships w ith in the
talization, and the safer c ity plan,”
C lark said.
Burton, Co-sponsor o f the legisla­
tion, said he thought police depart­
ments needed a new tool to deal w ith
crime.
“ The 1970’ s brought a degree o f
alienation o f police departments with
some segments o f our com m unity.
The people and the police became
distanced w ith one another. A t the
same time, the crim e rate grew in
Oregon. The police are holding the
line, but just that. W e need to offer a
proactive opportunity for the people
to attack crim e, and the com m unity
policing concept offers that opportu­
n ity ” Burton Said.
C lark and W alker said the city
would apply to the grant program i f
passed by the legislature. The c ity is
w ell on its way to implem enting
com m unity p olicing and is currently
holding public meetings to get c iti­
zen input, and explain the program.
C lark said he had talked to other Ore­
gon mayors about Portland’s plans to
adopt com m unity policing.
“ Com m unity Policing is new to
Portland, but not to American cities.
Cities from Madison, W isconsin, to
Houston have begun using comm u­
n ity policing in one way or another,
and there’ s a lot o f interest out there
among Oregon mayors,” he said.
Do you want Peace and
Happiness?Mt. Sinai
Temple is the place to come.
com m unity.
The workshop also featured a panel
o f three students who had dropped
out o f high school but were com plet­
ing their education through PCC’ s
high school completion program. The
students discussed why they had left
high school, what perspectives they
had gained, what advice they would
give to other students considering
dropping out, and why the PCC pro­
gram met their needs.
Local educators spoke about suc­
cessful high school-PCC partnerships
that are currently offering students
alternatives to dropping out o f school.
Betty Simon, a counselor at Aloha
High School, described a program
the Beaverton high schools and PCC
started last fa ll for students who were
not succeeding in a traditional aca­
demic setting and were not achiev­
ing up to their potential. By next
year, she anticipates 75 students w ill
enter the program and w ill show high
rates o f success.
PCC Associate Dean Sherry Robin­
son described the Portland Area
Vocational Technical Education
Consortium (P A V T E C ) as another
opportunity for students who are not
in college- preparatory tracks. In the
2 + 2 program, students stay in school
but can earn both high school and
college credit. PCC and the 27 high
schools in its district currently have
60 letters o f agreement, enabling
students to cam 783 credits last year.
On Thursday, M ay I8,threedow n-
town churches w ill ring their bells to
celebrate com pletion o f the steel
fram ework fo r the Oregon Conven­
tion Center’ s twin towers. The chimes
w ill peal when the second tower is
• * topped’ ’ w ith its 110-foot spire and
upper tower section, bringing it to a
height o f 250 feet.
Barring unforseen delays, the top­
ping is expected the m orning o f M ay
18. The first tower is scheduled to be
topped on Friday, May 12.
“ The people o f the Portland area
have been watching the convention
center take shape since w ork began a
year ago,” M etro Executive O ffic e r
Rena Cusma said.’ ’and since the
towers arc such an im portant new
landmark, we want to p ub licly w e l­
come their arrival w ith the bells.”
The towers, which w ill be sheathed
in glass, w ill allow lig h t into the cen­
ter’ s 22,000-square-foot lobby. As
part o f the convention center’ s 1 Per­
cent fo r A rt program, a pendulum
w ill be suspended above a g ilt star-
burst in the atrium o f one tower. The
CITY COMMISSIONER DICK BOGLE (right) and Geneva
Jones (left), president of the Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center
Board, accept a check for $31,000 from Wayne Pierson, treas­
urer of the Fred Meyer Charitable Trust, and Marty Lemke,
senior program officer with the trust. The money is the first
installment of a three-year, $78,000 grant to the IFCC for theater
audience Development. About 1500 Portland area students will
see a production of ‘ ‘The Meeting, ’ ’ a fictional meeting between
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X, and will discuss the
play both before and after seeing it.
Statement From
State Represen­
tative Margaret Carter
As the Urban League o f Portland
embarks on its annual membership
campaign, I want to express my
support fo r the organization and the
invaluable services it has provided.
Since 1945,theUrban League has
helped the young, the old, the poor,
and the homeless by offering many
beneficial services to the comm u­
nity, including employment refer­
rals, senior service program s,
youthservices, emergency interven­
tion programs, shelter fo r the home­
less and a learning center fo r 7th
through 12th grade students. They
also w ork w ith many other agencies
in the com m unity and are advocates
fo r the people.
N ow more than ever, the Urban
League needs our support. I would
urge everyone concerned about the
future o f our com m unity to become
members o f this fine organization
and give it their generous financial
support.
convention center public art com ­
m itted is seeking a sponsor to com ­
mission a project fo r the other tower.
Construction and operation o f the
Oregon Convention Center, w hich is
scheduled to open in September 1990,
is managed by M etro.
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