Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current, August 11, 1999, Page 8, Image 8

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    W Vort
August 11,1999
Page B2
©heeruer
Pacific Crest
Local Residents
Community
Receive Guide Dogs
School Graduate
K ate F e it h ad a lw a y s d o n e w ell
in sc h o o l. H o w ev er, by the tim e
she w as a fre sh m a n in a large P o rt­
land h ig h sc h o o l, she h ated her
e d u c atio n . D ise n c h a n te d by huge
c la sse s an d an a lie n a tin g so cial
sc e n e , F e it d ro p p e d out.
O v e r 3 -1 /2 y e a r s , F e i t ’s lo v e
fo r le a r n in g r e tu r n e d f u ll- f o r c e
a s a s tu d e n t a t P a c ific C r e s t
C o m m u n ity S c h o o l. N o w s h e is
p r e p a r in g to b e g in an u n d e r ­
g r a d u a te p r o g r a m in c u ltu r a l
s tu d ie s a t E u g e n e L an g C o lle g e
in N e w Y o rk . S h e a ttr ib u te s h e r
a ttitu d e c h a n g e to r e x p e r ie n c e
at P a c ific C re s t, w h e re sh e
g r a d u a te d J u n e 6.
I ’ve b een ab le to find m y s e lf
a n d g ro w as a p e r s o n at th is
schools. A nd I h av e really learn ed
how to th in k ,” she says.
P a c i f i c C r e s t C o m m u n ity
S c h o o l, lo c a te d a t N .E . 2 9 th an d
D a v is , is b a s e d o n a v e ry d if f e r ­
en t m o d e l th a n m o st u rb a n h ig h
s c h o o l. Its 10:1 s tu d e n t- te a c h e r
ra tio an d s m a ll, in te n s e c la s s e s
fo s te r a s e n se o f c o m m u n ity an d
an a c a d e m ic p ro g ra m in d iv id u ­
a liz e d to e a c h s tu d e n t. “ A t P a ­
c ific C re s t, I ’ve b e e n a b le to ta k e
c la s s e s I re a lly w a n te d . F o r e x ­
a m p le , I to o k at le a s t six lite r a ­
tu re c la s s e s - e v e ry th in g fro m
S h a k e s p e a re to w o m e n ’s lite r a ­
tu r e ,” F e it sa y s. A lth o u g h s tu ­
d e n ts d e v e lo p th e ir o w n c u r r ic u ­
lu m , th e y m u st b e p r o fic ie n t in
a ll e s s e n tia l s k ills - th e a rts , s o ­
c ial sc ie n c e s, la n g u a g e a rts, m ath
an d s c ie n c e s - in o rd e r to g ra d u ­
a te.
S tu d e n ts d o n o t re c e iv e
g ra d e s b u t m u s t in s te a d b u ild
p o rtfo lio s th a t 'e r v e as sa m p le s
o f th e ir h ig h s c h o o l w o rk .
“ I feel th a t the p o rtfo lio say s so
m u ch m ore ab o u t w h at I learn ed
th an g rades w o u ld h av e ,” F eit says
she also n o te s g ra d u a te s’ track
rec o rd in all co lle g e accep tan ce.
O f th is Ju n e ’s 14 P acific C rest
g rad u a tes, 12 a p p lied to co lleg es
and all w ere accep ted . M ost w ill
atten d sm all lib eral arts co lleg es
that help them co n tin u e th eir co m ­
m itm ent to co m m u n ity and a c a­
dem ic ex cellen ce. A cad em ically ,
the sc h o o l’s stu d en ts rank h igh by
se v eral m easu res. S A T sco res are
ab o v e av erag e, an d four N atio n al
M erit S ch o lars w ere chosen this
sch o o l year. In 1997-98, P acific
C rest stud en ts o u tran k ed stu d en ts
th ro u g h o u t the sta te by an average
o f 28% in m eetin g statew id e sta n ­
dards by su b ject. E x ecu tiv e D i­
rec to r Jen n y O sb o rn e ad m its that
h e r s c h o o l re p re s e n ts a sm a ll
sam ple, but feels th at the d iffe r­
ence is largely du e to sm all classes
an d the sen se o f co m m u n ity that
P acific C rest stu d e n ts feel.
T hat civic sp irit is p art o f the
curriculum . A ll stu d en ts are re ­
q u ired to co m p lete eig h t h o u rs o f
c o m m u n ity se rv ic e p e r m o n th .
F e it’s class threw a H allo w een
p arty o f ch ild ren in sh e lte rs last
year. E xam p les o f o th e r p ro jec ts
in c lu d e n e ig h b o rh o o d cle a n u p s
and school im p ro v em en ts.
F eit say s th a t se n se o f co m m u ­
n ity a n d h er te a c h e r s ’ en th u sia sm
w ere k ey to h e r le a rn in g e x p e ri­
ence. “ T h e re ’s re a lly a re f re s h ­
ing an d stro n g sen se o f co m m u ­
n ity h e re ,” she say s. “ S tu d en ts
a re a llo w e d to lo v e sc h o o l an d
e n jo y th e ir te a c h e rs .” S h e c o n ­
tra s t h e r p re v io u s h ig h sc h o o l
e x p e rie n c e o f le a rn in g h isto ry in
a cla ss o f &
. 70 fre e m a n
:*h h er
sm a ll P acific C r .s t c la ss an d a
te a c h e r w ho w as “ so in to h er jo b
an d h a d so m u ch en e rg y y .” A l­
th o u g h F eit d id n ot fee ' o tiv a te d
to stu d y at h e r p re v io u s sc h o o l,
sh e m a in ta in e d g o o d sta n d a rd s at
P a c ific C rest p a rtly b e c a u se o f
how m uch she resp e cte d h er te ac h ­
ers. “ I w an te d th e ir re sp e c t to o ,”
sh e says.
T he senio r year is d esig n ed to
s. Patricia K ennedy and
Ms. R ebecca Pickett o f
Portland w ere part o f re­
cent graduating class for the O regon
ca m p u s o f G u id e D ogs for the
B lind, Inc. P atricia g rad u ated w ith
a G o ld en R e trie v e r G u id e D og
nam ed “S elena” at her side. B e ck y ’s
new p artn er is a Y ellow L ab rad o r
R etriever nam ed “ L aR eue.” G rad u ­
atio n took p lace on S atu rd ay , Ju n e
5, 1999, a the 2 7 -acre cam p u s lo­
cated 25 m iles ea st o f P o rtlan d in
the to w n o f B oring.
P a tric ia w o rk s p art tim e as a
v en d in g sta n d o p e ra to r in v a rio u s
F ed eral an d S tate o w n ed b u ild ­
ings. S he re tu rn e d to th e G u id e
Photo by Bruce Allort
D o g ca m p u s to rep la ce “ A b b a .”
Ms. Patricia Kennedy of Portland
T h e G o ld en R e trie v e r h ad b ee n
Is shown at the campus of Guide
h er faith fu l g u id e sin ce M a rc h ,
Dogs for the Blind In., with
1989. “ A b b a ” w ill rem a in w ith
“S e le n a ,” Golden R etriever
P a tric ia as a pet.
Guide Dog.-
R eb ecca is a stu d en t at P o rtlan d
S tate U n iv ersity w h ere she is ta k ­
ev a to rs, on crow ded sid e w alk s and
ing classes tow ards her u n d erg rad u ­
a c ro ss b u sy streets.
ate d eg ree. She enjoys w o rk in g on
G u id e D ogs learn to sto p at all
the co m puter.
cu
rb
s an d w ait un til th e ir p a rtn e rs
D u rin g th e co u rse o f tra in in g
co m m an d them to g o fo rw ard or
G u id e D o g s an d th e ir n ew p a r t­
tu rn . T h ey w ill d iso b e y a c o m ­
n ers le arn to w o rk as team s. T h e y
m a n d to cro ss a stree t i f tra ffic is
p ra c tic e safe trav e l te c h n iq u e s on
ap p ro a ch in g . T h ey g u id e p e o p le
sta irw a y s an d le arn to w o rk as
sa fe ly aro u n d p e d e stria n s an d o b ­
te am s T h ey p ra c tic e safe tra v e l
sta c le s, in c lu d in g o v e rh e a d ob-
te c h n iq u e s on sta irw a y s an d e l­
M
be esp ecially ch allen g in g . E ach
student creates an d co m pletes a d is­
sertatio n o f o rig in al research . F eit
found her p ro ject, a h isto ry o f an
o b scu re C h in ese-A m erican v illag e
in B ridal V eil, O reg o n , to b e ex ­
trem ely ch allen g in g and rew ard ­
ing. She reco rd ed several o ral h is­
tories w ith p eo p le in th at area. H er
research m ay lead to an a rc h eo ­
logical d ig and p ro tec tio n o f the
v illa g e ’s rem ains. “ It w as such a
huge p ro ject. N ow I k now how
m uch I ’m capable of. I w ent from
being to tally in tim id ated to a feel­
ing o f real ac co m p lish m e n t,” she
says. A n ad v iso ry co m m ittee o f
sta c le s, an d av o id d istra c tio n s.
G u id e D o g s fo r th e B lin d In c .,
h as p ro d u c e d o v e r 9 ,0 0 0 tra in e d
g u id e s fo r g ra d u a te s a c ro ss th e
U n tie d S ta te s an d C a n a d a sin c e
1941. T h ese se rv ic e s a re p ro v id e d
free o f c h a rg e . T h e o rg a n iz a tio n
is s u p p o rte d e n tire ly b y p riv a te
d o n a tio n s.
F o r m o re in fo rm a tio n a b o u t
G u id e D ogs, p h o n e o r w rite: G u id e
D o g s for the B lin d Inc., PO B ox
151200, S an R afael, C a lifo rn ia ,
9 4 9 1 5 , (4 1 5 ) 4 9 9 -4 0 0 0 . T h e w eb
s ite
fo r
G u id e
D ogs
is
w w w .g u id e d o g s.c o m .
Photo by Bnwo Allort
Ms. Rebecca Pickett of Portland
Is shown at the campus of Guide
Dogs for the Blind In., with
“LaRue," a Yellow Labrador
Retriever Guide Dog.
INTERSTATE MAX
COMMUNITY FORUM
Wednesday, August 18
& Thursday, August 19
6:30-9 pm
INTERSTATE
MAX
Ockley Green Middle Schoo,
6031 N Montana
(Tri-Met Bus 5)
"7-------------- A
I
Learn about and
help influence:
• How Interstate Ave might
look with MAX
• How to minimize traffic
congestion
• What can be done about
traffic and parking on
neighborhood streets
. How to accommodate
bicycles
• Economic development
opportunities
three in clu d in g an an th ro p o lo g ist
an d an h isto ria n g u id ed Feit.
P a c i f i c C r e s t C o m m u n ity
S c h o o l’s m issio n sta te m e n t su m s
up its ed u catio n al philo so p h y . “ U l­
tim ately w e h o p e that o u r stu d en ts
ex p e rien c e at P acific C re st C o m ­
m u n ity S ch o o l w ill in still a life ­
lo n g lo v e o f le a rn in g , a se n se o f
c o m p a ssio n fo r o th e rs, an d th e d e ­
sire to striv e to w a rd rew ard in g
g o als in th e ir ad u lt liv e s .”
C urrent an n u al tuition is $5,725.
F o r m o re in fo rm a tio n ab o u t P a­
cific C rest C o m m u n ity S chool, call
E x ecu tiv e D irec to r Jen n y O sb o rn e
at 2 3 4 -2 8 2 6 .
&. Fully accessible. Free childcare.
For more information, call
247-3958. Call by Aug. 13
for a language interpreter.
T T D 797-1804.
I
P w U rO B W
—
METRO
TRI-MFT
Insight Teen Parent Program
Celebrates 20 Years of Service
All are welcome to join the fun at the
Family A-Faire on Sunday, August 22,
when an insight celebrates 20 years o f
service to families in the Portland area.
Theevent will be held from 11 am to 4
p.m. in Colonel Summers Park, located
at SE 20* and B elm ont Insights’ Fam­
ily A-Faire will provide more family fun
and excitement than you can imagine.
A picnic and BBQ will be served from
noon to 2. There will be live music from
two Porland bands - Jass Two with
Teddy Deane and the O.B. Addy &
Chris Mayther Band. Other entertain­
ment will include Ballet Folklonc de
Woodburn, henna tattoo artists, a piñata
maher, Chinese calligraphy, face paint­
ing, and more. There will also be carni­
val booths with prizes for children, a
clown, and an inflatable jumper
Insights Teen parent Program is the
primary agency serving teen parents in
Multnomah County. It began as a
grassroots, com m unity-conceived
agency 20 years ago. Today, Insights
serves over 1200 teens clients annu­
ally, providing opportunities to im­
prove life situations, improving aca­
demic performances, reducing subse­
quent pregnancies, offering situations,
improving academic performances,
reducing subsequent pregnancies, of-
fering information and referral, devel­
oping parenting and life skills, provid­
ing professional counseling, and help­
ing in a myriad o f other ways like skills
providing professional helping hand,
encouragement and emotional support.
Insights’ mission is to create a climate
o f positive options for young families.
The family A-Faire in made pos­
sible by a number o f sponsors: Colum-
biaForest Products, Equity Home Mort­
gage, Equity Group Inc Realtors, First
A m erican Title N ew ton-Bard, old
W ives’ Tale, Portland Bottling Com­
pany. Regional Arts & Culture Council,
Renegade Radio & Marsh, and Sequent
EDUCATION CRISIS TEAM
Upcoming meetings:
Thursday, August 12,1999
and
Thursday, August 26,1999
7:00 p.m.
Self Enhancement, Inc.
3920 North Kerby Avenue
Portland, Oregon 97227
Eight Counties Being Added To
Oregon Respite-Care Network
Eight counties w ere nam ed to re­
ceive cash grants and technical assis­
tance from the O regon Departm ent
o f H um an Resources to establish re­
spite system s for at-hom e caregivers.
Tw elve rem aining counties will
receive sm aller grants to develop
local respite partnerships.
“T his w ill bring access to respite
care to m any m ore O regonians and
brings us closer to m eeting the legis­
lative requirem ents o f a statew ide
netw ork by 2 0 0 3 said G ary W eeks,
director o f the O regon D epartm ent
o f H um an Resources.
O regon is believed to be the first
state creating a statew ide respite-
access system .
The counties being added are Coos,
Curry, D ouglas, Harney, Linn, Jack-
son, T illam ook and W allawa. Each
netw ork will receive $15,000 a year
plus technical assistance for DHR.
The 1997Oregon Legislature charged
DHR with helping counties to establish
respite networks Respite is a short-term
break for people providing round-the-
clock care to a family member.
Such care may be provided to an
elderly parent with Alzheimer's, a medi­
cally fragile child or an individual with
a developmental disability. forexample
T he goal is to strengthen families
and to increase the num ber o f indi­
viduals receiving long-term care in a
com m unity setting.
Lifespan respite networks provide
a single place that families may call to
obtain names o f trained in-home re­
spite providers as well as centers and
other resources in the community.
Sixteen Oregon counties already
have such networks in place.
Among the criteria for selecting pro­
posals were diverse partnerships that
included agencies, families and com­
munity groups committed to building
local respite services, said Debbie Bow
era, DHR respite care administrator.
Bow ers said the 12 counties eli­
gible for one-tim e grants to develop
com m unity respite partnerships are
C lackam as, Clatsop, G illiam , Grant,
L a k e , M o rro w , M u ltn o m a h ,
S h e rm a n , U n io n , W a s h in g to n ,
W heeler and Yamhill.
She said an orientation confer­
ence for representatives from all 36
counties is scheduled in N ew port for
Sept. 28-29.
Want To Be Your O w n Boss?
Make Your Own Hours??
»-
IM M EDIATE O P E N IN G S
Qreat N E Portland Location
W eekly and M o n th ly O p en Lease C hairs for
PROFESSIONAL BARBERS
OR HAIR STYLISTS
♦ The Urban League, Self Enhancement, Inc., the Albina Ministerial
Alliance and the Black United Front are forming Education Crisis
Teams to reverse the educational crisis that is crippling our children.
♦ Please join us on August 12* and August 26th. We will discuss
specific steps our community must take to rapidly improve our
children’s poor academic performance. The plan’s dual focus is on
holding Portland Public Schools accountable for providing children a
quality education and the development of a community-wide
mobilization to address this education emergency.
♦ All participating organizations agree this education crisis is causing
irreparable harm to children and severely limiting their future. This
crisis is impairing the ability of children, families and our
community to successfully compete in today’s technology-based
economy.
♦ Our choice is clear, respond to this emergency and take the necessary
steps to prevent our children from joining the growing ranks of
dropouts and high school graduates that possess few marketable
skills.
♦ Please plan to attend these meetings. Our children need ns, we have
promises to keep.
Bishop A.A. Wells . . . Tony Hopson . . . Lawrence D ark. . . Ronnie Herndon
Call Studio 69 H a ir Design
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