Honoring
Marshall
Haskins
‘City
of
Roses’
Volume XLVII • Number 5
MLK tribute
to PIL athletic
director
See story, page 7
www.portlandobserver.com
Wednesday • January 31, 2018
Dream
Center Opens
New resource
for students
facing barriers
See Local News,
page 3
Established in 1970
Committed to Cultural Diversity
Photo by d anny P eterson /t he P ortland o bserver
Deep community ties and a personal connection to the neighborhood helps Natasha Butler understand the needs as she plans for the reopening of Harriet Tubman
Middle School. Butler is the planning principal for the north Portland school which is scheduled to open this fall.
Tubman’s Revival
Educator with deep community ties plans school’s future
by d anny P eterson
t he P ortland o bserver
Natasha Butler’s extensive resume and experience
in education and school administration might make her
more than qualified as the planning principal for the
re-opening of Harriet Tubman Middle School this fall.
But the personal connection she has to the area and the
north Portland school in particular can’t be replicated in
just anybody’s repertoire.
Butler sees the opportunity to strengthen commu-
nity ties and support for a robust program at Tubman.
The plans are part of a larger effort by Portland pub-
lic Schools to bring equal access and quality academic
programs to schools across the district.
“I have two younger brothers that were in education
that actually attended Harriet Tubman. And my dad
owned a business right on Williams Avenue. And so as
a result of that, I used to come to Harriet Tubman quite
C ontinued on P age 5