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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-
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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 .
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