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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (May 19, 2010)
Maj, 19. 2010 l-lnrtlanö (Ohseruer Gateway to College A Portland Community College "We were a team o f people trying program, which helps high school to solve a student need," said pro dropouts get their diplomas by tak gram director Linda Huddle, the re ing college courses for dual credit, maining founder at the PCC Gate is turning 10 years old this June. way to College program. "It has The 10-year anniversary o f Gate been 10 years o f really hard work. way to College and related PCC Prep But then there has been all o f this Alternative programs will be held achievement that the students have from 4 to 8 p.m., Friday, June 4, at the made as they have become active C ascad e C am p u s, 705 N. private citizens. They are overcom Killingsworth St. The event will in ing great challenges in order to clude a barbecue, music, dance per catch up and surpass their peers. formances, ice cream and other fam That is one o f the big things about ily fun. Gateway students; they're not just Gateway to College has become getting credits for high school gradu one o f Oregon's biggest success ation, but are getting these credits stories in giving high school drop to move into a post-secondary ca outs a second chance at completing reer." their diploma and transitioning into It might not be a surprise that higher education. It challenges drop Gateway to College has flourished outs in the PCC district, a tradition in Oregon, where an alternative edu ally underserved population, with cation law mandates school districts rigorous, college-level curriculum provide additional options for high and the opportunity to earn signifi school students who are not ben cant college credit. efiting from their general compre The program started with three hensive service. partner school districts and 19 stu Dylan Bartle and Rebecca Will dents, but since then has served iams illustrate the second chance 1,983 students locally by using a that the Gateway program has pro network of eight school districts to vided to so many students across identify at-risk students. These in the country. clude Portland Public Schools, In 2007, Williams was a junior at B eav e rto n , T ig a rd -T u a la tin , Madison High School and already a Hillsboro, Lake Oswego, David year behind her peers. Williams, Douglas, Centennial and Sherwood. whose step-mom went to Princeton Barry and Bonnie Hewlett are headed to Ethiopia on Fulbright Scholar grants to teach and conduct research. velop an anthropology depart- ment at Hawassa U niversity in the African republic. They will spend 80 percent o f their time teaching and 20 percent pursuing indepen- dent research projects. Bonnie will be working on a w om en's life his- tories narrative and Barry will be researching how children acquire medical knowledge. Dropouts earn diplomas at PCC ing better than high school because there's less drama," Williams said. "When I was in high school, I was failing most o f my classes and now, since I've been here, I get As and Bs and I do really well. I didn't under stand math at all when I was in high school. Since I've been going here and taking college math classes and with the way the teachers teach, I don't know, it just clicks. I've been learning a lot more since I've been in the Gateway program than I did in high school. I pay attention more and learn more." In 2008, Bartle was expelled from Barlow High School and, after being out o f school for almost two years, he moved to Portland and enrolled in Gateway. He now wants to be come a doctor and will apply to Portland State University to do pre Gateway to College students Dylan Bartle and Rebecca Williams med once he's finished his transfer are high school age students who feel more at home at Portland degree at PCC. Community College. "It's my own responsibility to be University and whose dad didn't starts and stops along the way that here," Bartle said. "If I didn't want to finish high school, would have had many in her situation go through, be here they'd just drop me. Even to take night classes and summer she got back into the program last though there is more homework school to catch up. But her counse winter and is on target to get into here, I wanted my education more at lor at the school mentioned Gate PCC's nursing program. Gateway because I'm treated as an way as an alternative. After some "I like the college style o f leam- adult." Partnering to support Diversity in local government, urban planning and design professions. Couple to Teach in Africa The Vancouver campus ofW ash- ington State University has two pro- fessors who are headed to Ethiopia as Fulbright scholars. Barry Hewlett is a professor o f anthropology at WSU Vancouver, His wife, Bonnie Hewlett is a vis- iting anthropology professor at the school. Both have earned Fulbright Scholar grants to de- Page 5 V ancouver WASHINGTON The City of Vancouver and The Oregon Chapter, American Planning Association Ambassador Program
