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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 9, 1994)
* Voluinn XXIV, Number 06 Serving the community through cultural diversity. L ife in the P ortland M etropolitan A rea The Gladys McCoy Academy: A Study In Commitment hen Michael “ Chappie” Grice called a simultaneous meeting w ith Becky Black and M arcy Bra dley, who had not previously met, to in form them that in the m iddle o f the meeting he would have to run o ff to catch a plane, yet insisted they continue to talk, nci- W r am m anH y z a le n h a r National Council Of Negro Women 4th Annual Ecumenical Prayer Break fast,Sat,Feb. 19,9am to noon,Shenanigans R e s ta u ra n t, Sw an Is la n d 4 57 5 N. Channcl.For ticket info. C all 282-2789 or 282-6731. Public Educational Program “Am I Crazy Or Is This Menopause?” Tucs., March 1,6:30 to 9:30pm, Eu gene H ilton , 66 E. 6th Ave. for more info, call W in at 686-7272. Free Tax Help Available On Sat, Feb. 12, 10am to 5pm,at Eastport Plaza, Beaverton M a ll, Jantzcn Beach M a ll, and M all 205. Coming To Powell’s Books 1005 W Burnside, Purple Room, Mon., Feb. 14, 7:30 Jenny Joseph and Sandra Martz. Tell Trl-Met What You Think Com m unity Workshops arc scheduled throughout the tri-county area. They w ill convene at 7pm. Call 238-4834 for more info. M ake A Difference Volunteer for the fam ily nursery, one- on-one, for more info. Call 235-3907. Calender Info Must Be Dated 2 Weeks After The Portland Observer's Current Publication Date thcr Becky nor M arcy knew then that their meeting w ould eventually result into the M cCoy Academy, named in honor o f the late and failed Multnomah County chair, Gladys M cCoy. Did M ichael know what he was doing when he left those tw o alone? O f course he did! Michael Grice is that kind o f guy! Oh yes, I almost forgot. Michael did make his plane. Know ing M ichael, I think he knew all along something good would come from their meeting. Something good did indeed come from the meeting. In less than one year and a great deal o f sacrificial hard work by Becky and her staff, including Marcy Bradley who became the principal, the Gladys M cCoy Academy opened fo r business in May o f 1993. The school is located at 3802 N E M L K , Jr. Boule vard. The school has an enrollment o f about 100 students. H a lf o f them are enrolled at the M cCoy and the other h a lf are distributed throughout the various satellites: House o f Umoja, Yaun Youth Center, King F acility, Bethel A M E Church, and Southeast Juvenile Justice D ivision. The M cC oy Academy is unique in sev eral ways, but one o f its most unique features is that it brings together the partnership o f three agencies under one adm inistrative roof. Those agencies are Yaun, Oregon Outreach and Mainstream Youth Program. The part ners believed i f they could drop their guard o f being concerned w ith ‘my program,” they could create an environment where kidscould get a ll o f their educational and personal needs met. Some o f these needs are academics, employment readiness and placement, gen eral and crisis counseling, substance abuse treatment, and various other services related to their personal well-being. And above all, these services are provided under one roof! A ll the kid has to do is come to school with a willingness to learn and administrators, teach ers, counselors, volunteers and parents are committed to assisting him /her in meeting their goals. I f the M cCoy School attendance record is any indication, a lot o f these young people have a“ w illingncss” to learn. That fact is particularly gratifying when you consider that some o f these kids have not attended school fo r tw o to three years. Sharon Mitchell Anchor Woman Community Highlighter! by N oah J ackson e ca u g h t up w ith Sharon M itc h e ll at M c ’ R ac’ s on 42nd. Sharon to o k tim e fo r her a p p a re n tly busy schedule to g ra nt us th is in te rv ie w . I t ’ s b e e n s e v e n m o n th s s in c e S h aro n ’ s re sig n a tio n at C hannel 8, w h ic h came a fte r m onths and m onths o f soul searching in o rd e r to be sure o f her d e c i sions to leave the station. W hen we reach the m a xim u m u p grades o r p ro m o tio n some o f us w ill becom e co m p la ce n t w ith o u r p ro g re s sion and not even loo k back fro m where we came. Oh no not Sharon. W hen she reached that p o in t and the people w ho were supposed to evaluate the sta tion as a w h o le w ith in tu itiv e fo re s ig h t fe ll in c re d ib ly sh ort in th c ir c r itiq u c . She knew it was tim e to m ove on and m ove a little h ig h e r. we a ll k n o w w hat i t ; ’ s lie to have to leave those w ho arc very close to us. O r to leave a n y th in g y o u ’ ve been attached to fo r years. W e ll it was no fo r Ms. M itc h e ll. T h ru the seven m onths tra n s i tio n you m ig h t have n otice d how she increased her c o m m u n ity in v o lv e m e n t Sharon Mitchell ra n gin g fro m hosting the U N IC F T e le thon to m o d e ra tin g a fa shio n show at the B rothers From The East” recent cabaret dance and fashion show. Yes even tho she is not a n c h o rin g news broadcasts, she s t ill m a in ta in s be ing a v ia b le part o f the P o rtla n d c o m m u n ity in so m any ways. I t ’ s k in d o f hard n o t to be in the m ainstream when y o u ’ ve been use to it fo r so lon g. One o f the m ost d is tu rb in g th in g s Sharon m en tion ed a bo ut the P o rt land c o m m u n ity , was the vast am ount o f apathy she says I co u ld n ’ t understand i t ’ s profound presence here. S h a ro n ’ s m oth er said to her “ you get y o u r e du catio n, you go and secure a good jo b , and m ost o f a ll you do the rig h t th in g ” ! S h a ro n ’ s c h ild h o o d at Jefferson H ig h was rough because she was rece ntly from M in n e a p o lis M N , and ta lked w ith re g io n a lis m and m ost k id s d id n ’ t u n d e r stand she was ju s t being h e rs e lf, lik e w ill a ll have said one tim e at a nother “ T h is is w ho I am ” . Thus she found h e rs e lf begin alone b ut s till rea chin g fo r the goals that we have been blessed to w itness and be a part o f! The Sharon M itc h e ll th a t sits before me, gleam s w ith p ric e , w ith c o nfid en ce w ith a bsolute s e c u rity . Y o u n g ladies should lo o k to M s. M itc h e ll as an unde n ia b le m e n to r and ro le m odel she is tru ly a la d y, a lad y am ong w om en, a real class act. Sharon, anchors a w e ig h .y o u r ship sails to s tro n g e r seas. The rose c ity w ill be y o u r shipm ate. It turned out that Becky could not have found a better choice for principle than Marcy Bradley. Ms. Bradley not only loves the kids w ith great affection, she is concomitantly a very competent and able administrator. Bra dley holds a B.A. in English from the U niver sity o f M aryland and a master degree in Education from Boston University. Boston U niversity is also known for another very famous alumni, Dr. M artin Luther K ing, Jr. Before taking the job at M cCoy Academy, M arcy worked for the Private Industry coun sel and coordinated the STEP program at the Jefferson site. Among M arcy’s many adm ir ers is Tony Hopson, president o f Self En- ▼ Continued to page 1994 US West Outstanding Teacher Program ‘ P “ t or the seventh consecutive year, an Oregon Teacher w ill be honored through the US West Outstanding Teacher program. The program recognizes exceptional teachers at the elementary and secondary school levels in each o f the 14 states served by US West Communications. Each o f the outstanding teachers w ill receive a S15,000cash award to pursue projects to improve education in their communities. Chuck Lcnard, Oregon Assistant Vice President for US West said the company w ill seek teachers who “ reach beyond classroom walls.” “ W e’re looking for teachers whose commitment to students and to their comm u nities is truly noteworthy. Inform ation available form the US West Foundation, Suite 300,7800E. Orchard Road, Post O ffice Box 6508, Englewood, Colorado, 80155-6508, or by calling Brenda V illc lla at (303) 793-6321. Completed packages must be postmarked by March 31,1994. The US West Foundation is one o f the largest corporate foundations in the western United Slates. The Foundation manages chari table contributions and granlmaking programs on behalf o f US West, Inc., and its fa m ily o f companies. In 1993. the Foundation disbursed more than #25 m illio n . I—j 1
