1 m P ori land O bserver • F ebruary 5, 1997
Education
by
P age A 7
Schools programs for violent students High school dropout
L ee P erlman
instance, a shooting at Grant High
School in 1987 was dismissed as an
isolated incident that could have
happened any where, and the school's
parent advisory committee expressed
annoyance at the media for suggest­
ing the school might be anything but
safe.
By 1994, when the PAX program
was conceived and funding was se­
cured through a federal Safe Schools
grant, the pendulum had swung the
other way.
A t that time the school district
had five levels o f disciplinary ac­
tion, ranging from a disciplinary
conference to expulsion for short
periods, never more than one semes
ter In that year congress passed the
federal Gun Free School Act, which
required any district that received
federal assistance to expel any stu­
dent who brought a gun to school for
at least a year.
Portland added a discipline level
six, which implemented the federal
requirements and added to them
Students can be expelled for a year
for bri nging other weapons to school
or fighting with their fists i f there
are repeated offenses, or even just
one i f the circumstances are serous
enough. For the district, also, a BB
gun is treated like any other firearm;
appear at school with one once, and
your are gone for a year.
“ As far as the district is con­
cerned, a gun is a gun,” Berg says.
“ A BB gun can k ill people. Some­
one who brings one to school is
making bad choices. W ith the num-
Once upon a tune, violence and
guns o ffic ia lly did not exist in Port­
land Public Schools. Now, in an
e ffo rt to make this image a reality,
those deemed likely to engage in
such activities are sent to Project
Pax
The program provides schooling
and training for up to 40 district
high school and middle school stu­
dents who have been expelled from
Portland School D istrict schools,
either for violent acts or for bringing
weapons to school. The total popu­
lation is divided into two groups,
w ith the d ivisio n based on the
student’ s academic “ f unction level,”
according to director Jean Berg.
They receive a traditional school
curriculum, but also group and indi­
vidual training in Anger Manage­
ment, C onflict Resolution, Problem
Solving and Empathy Training.
Students spend 45 to 90 school
days at PAX, depending on their
assessed needs. A fter this, they may
enroll for the rest o f the year at one
o f several alternative school pro­
grams, including Open Meadow
Learning Center or Albina Youth
Opportunity School.
The program represents a reac­
tion toward the inner city youth and
t gang violence Portland has seen since
the mid-1980s, and perhaps a loss o f
innocence. In the mid-1980s, when
. southern California-style gangs first
began appearing in Portland, the
reaction o f the school district, like
that o f the city, was denial. For
ber o f shooting nationwide, we feel
a need to take a hard line on this.
People need to feel safe in school.”
Not only in school, but even near
it PAX was originally sited at the
portable facilities o f Monroe School,
2508 N F. Everett St., site ol several
a lternative e school program s.
Neighbors and the Kerns Neighbor­
hood Association were concerned
about the presence o f students
deemed toodangerous to attend pub­
lic school, and particularly about the
way they came to school The dis­
trict had them arrive by public trans­
portation or other means with no
special safeguards. Unahle to get
satisfaction for their concerns, the
Kerns Association successfully chal­
lenged the district’ s right to use the
portable, and made them seek a new
conditional use permit.
The district seemed to get the
message It installed the D aVinci
School, a magnet arts program that
is a sort o f prep for Jefferson High
School’ s famous magnet, at M on­
roe, and moved PAX and other less
popular programs out.
PAX is now located at the old
Whiteaker School building on North­
east Columbia Boulevard at 47th
Avenue, a remote, prim arily indus­
trial area. Most students come by
school bus. Parents o f guardians
must receive prior permission to
drive students to school, and they
must escort them into the building
rather than simply dropping them
off.
Inaddition to P A X ’ sspecial train-
mg curriculum, students receive in ­
dividual counseling on their aca­
demic subjects “ When a teacher
has 30 students and 42 minutes to
complete a class, there isn’ t an op­
portunity to offer individual atten­
tion,” Berg says. "W e find that
when students aren't able to keep up
with the classroom work, they act up
and act out. We teach them ways to
get the work done so that they are
feeling successful.”
Not all students who receive level
six expulsions fit this profile. John
Canda, form erly o f the Youth Gang
Outreach Program and now o f the
Portland Police Bureau, told one
recently gathering, "W e ’re seeing
the second generation o f kids w ith
guns. These are kids who aren't
gang members, who aren't c rim i­
nals, who just want to be left alone,
but feel they need guns for protec­
tion."
Told o f Canda’ s comments, Berg
says, “ We tell them that there are
other choices. We tell them, 'Yes,
guns my make you feel safe, but are
you ready to kill? Are you putting
yourself at risk by having a gun?’ I
don't think there are any students
who come through this program that
can’t benefit from it.”
Perhaps, but hard evidence is
missing. The program’ s budget does
not include funding to track its grad­
uates to see how they progress once
they return to school. Berg says, " I
have anecdotal information about
our students, but I have no hard data,
and I ’d love to have it."
Older adults helping school children
The Experience Corps is a volun­
teer program for adults age 55 and
up aimed at improving scholastic
achievement and the overall quality
o f life o f school children.
Participants serve in teams based
in elementary schools, performing a
variety o f tasks that they have been
identified as critical needs.
Currently three Portland elemen­
tary schools are being served: Ken
ton, Humboldt and Lent.
A range o f opportunities are avail­
able for anyone who cares about our
public schools and wants to make a
difference:
• team members are 55 o r older
andean serve anywhere from I to 20
hours a week. Some members spend
a substantial amount o f time in class­
rooms providing one-on-one assis­
tance, while other members may
"a do p t" a school need and develop
a plan to help meet it. Stipends and
transportation reimbursement are
available fo r members who serve
15-20 hours a week.
• Volunteers are any age and as­
sist mainly with special projects.
Experience Corps is a great way
for older adults to be involved in
community service, share their w is­
dom, and use leadership qualities
gained from experience.
Call Doug at 249-0469 lor more
information.
rate dips slightly
Oregon’ s high school dropout
declined slightly last school year
The Oregon Department o f Educa­
tion reported that 7.2 percent o f all
Oregon students in grades 9-12
dropped out during the 1995-96
school year, down from 7.4 percent
1994-95. The one-year rate trans­
lates to 26.6 percent four-year rate
for the Class o f 1996.
“ I am pleased our dropout rate is
headed in the right direction, but it
remains totally unacceptable,” said
State Schools Supt Norma Paulus.
"A school system must question
itself when more than 25 percent o f
its students don’ t complete the pro­
cess.”
Oregon students who dropped
our last year cited irrelevant course
work as the number one reason for
leaving.
Paulus said the state’ s improved
economy is luring high school stu­
dents,” she said. Noting that the
State Board o f Education set high
academic standards last fall for the
C e rtific a te o f In itia l M astery,
Paulus said, "Schools need to beef
up their curriculum and give stu­
dents hands-on experience in the
workplace.”
Scott Mutchie, superintendent
o f Bend-LaPine School D istrict
which has a dropout rate o f 4.2
percent, agrees.
" W e ’ re ch an ging o u r high
schools to create more opportuni­
ties for kids to meet success," said
Mutchie. “ By providing career ex­
periences that complem ent the
classroom, students se the relevan­
cy o f what they’ re learning in
school.”
Bend H igh School Principal
Dottie Bertel I i said, "We have con­
sciously worked to keep school rel­
evant and to make it extremely
d iffic u lt for a student to simply
walk away."
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Two Oregon students, one
Central library to return home
teacher receive national awards
Two Oregon high school students
and a teacher are among 39 high
recipients o f the American Dream
Award from the National School-To-
Work Opportunities Office in Wash­
ington, D.C. Each w ill receive $2,500.
The scholarship program is de­
signed to help students reach their
career goals and to support educa­
tors’ and mentors’ innovative school-
to-work activities.
rhe 19 student winners include
Angela Sargent o f M ilw aukie High
Student
Exchange
seeks host
families
The Am erican Intercultural
Student Exchange, a non-profit
educational foundation, is seek­
ing local host families for high
school foreign exchange students
for the 1997-98 school year.
Every year, AISE places thou­
sands o f exchange students with
host fa m ilie s throughout the
United States.
AISE exchange students live
w ith American families and at­
tend local high schools during
their ten month cultural exchange.
American host families pro­
vide these young ambassadors
with a room, meals, and a loving,
fam ily atmosphere in which to
live.
AIS E students are eager to
learn about our government, his­
tory, customs and language, while
at the same time leaving a lasting
impression o f their cultures in the
minds and hearts o f their A m eri­
can host families and peers.
Call AISE a, 1-800-742-5464
or visit the AISE web site at http:/
/w w w .sibling.org for more infor­
mation on hosting a foreign ex­
change student in your home.
School and Deena S ch eld t o f
Thurston High School in Spring-
field. Kathisue Summers, a teacher
at Rogue River High School, was
one o f 20 teachers or mentors named.
The awards were established last
year at the request o f JD Hoye, direc­
tor o f the National School-To-W ork
Opportunities. Hoye, a former asso­
ciate superintendent for the Oregon
Department o f Education, was cho­
sen by Miss America 1996Shawntel
Smith to receive the Miss America
Organization’ s Woman o f Achieve­
ment Award, which included a cash
prize of $100,000. Hoye designated
the money to establish the program.
The program w ill help students to
get the skills to compete in the 21st
century through higher education or
additional training and w ill enable
educators and mentors to pursue staff
developm ent to better prepare
tom orrow’ s workforce.
Nominees from across the U.S.
were judged on their judged on their
demonstrated commitment toschool-
to-work principles and practices.
TransCentral Library staff be­
gins packing for move back to
Central; books in stacks now un­
available until Central Library
opens A p ril 8
The move back to Central L i­
brary has begun.
Library staff at TransCEntral
Library (located at Fourth and Co­
lumbia in downtown Portland)
have begun packing up the thou­
sands o f books in the stacks.
Trucks w ill start m oving the
books to the newly renovated Cen­
tral in a day or two.
Books in stacks w ill now be un­
available to the public until Central
Library opens on A p ril 8.
"Since before Christmas, library
The Piedmont Lighthouse
The Piedm ont Lighthouse, a
new after school program local in
the low er level at the historic Pied­
mont Friends Church, now known
as Lighthouse Church o f God in
C hrist, 5736 N. A lb in a Ave., Port­
land, OR 97217, (503) 247-9445.
The Piedmont Lighthouse w ill
receive children 5 through 12 years
old, 3pm -5pm , M onday through
Friday.
The core o f this program teaches
Peace and Progress by supporting
awareness o f the virtues—the g ifts
w ith in , problem -solving, c o n flic t
resolution skills, (in clud ing anger
management) and responsibility
to studies.
•
•
•
•
•
•
Daily schedule:
3:00-3:45 p.m., Circle Time
3:45-4:05 p.m.. Wash hands,
snacks ‘n’ manners and clean
up.
4:05-5:00 p.m., Homework,
open activities and play
5:00-5:20 p.m., Store time
5:20-5:30 p.m.. Tidy up/col-
lect belongings
5:30 p.m. Children take leave
as arranged
I f you are interested in our pro­
gram, please feel free to contact
Zan Tabor-Stone at 247-9445.
V olunteering: I f you are avail-
able to read stories, take fie ld trips
w ith our students, or com m it any
portion o f your week to our young­
sters, please f ill out a volunteer
application.
nienced at each stage o f this very
complicated move and we apolo­
gize for this.”
Library service at TransCentral
Library w ill continue until 5:30
p.m. on Friday, February 28.
Both TransCentral and Cen­
tral libraries w ill be closed from
March I until A p ril 8.
Library staff w ill ask the com­
munity to “ Help Move the Books!”
on Tuesday, February 11 from 10
a m .-I p.m
Stacks o f books w ill be ready for
library cardholders to check-in.
Move helpers w ill also get a first
glimpse o f the renovated Central’s
first flo or lobby area. More infor­
mation available soon.
staff have been notifying schools,
colleges and other groups o f library
users about this early phase o f the
move back to Central and that mate­
rials w ill become increasingly more
available as time goes on,” says L i­
brary Director Ginnie Cooper. “ We
know many people w ill be inconve­
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