Category Archives: Schools

By Leo Newman | Contributing Writer

A century of Concordia athletics continues as the University of Oregon, Portland Recreation Complex prepares to welcome Stumptown’s newest soccer club, the Portland Bangers, this summer. The current athletic complex, laid with artificial turf made from recycled Nike sneakers, was built in 2012 by the now defunct Concordia University. Before the complex was built, Concordia University’s baseball teams batted fly balls onto NE Dekum Street as far back as the 1920’s. The dynamic history of the ballfield stretches as far back as the Lutheran institution itself along with the neighborhood that bears its name.

1905-1925: Lutheran Boarding School

The Oregon-Washington district of the Lutheran Church-Missouri synod founded the Concordia College of Portland in the basement of the Trinity Lutheran Church of Albina in 1905. 24-year old F.W.J. Sylvester was called from his seminary in St. Louis to Albina to serve as the school’s president and lead professor

In 1907, the Missouri synod purchased a five acre tract on NE 28th and Riggen (now NE Holman) Streets and erected a two-story building fit for a boarding school. The main floor contained classrooms, a library, a large dining room and a few private apartments. Students boarding at the college slept and studied upstairs and used the lavatories and washroom in the basement. With Dr. Sylvester at the helm, the school offered a secular education as well as a seminary program taught in German and English.

1926-2008: College Baseball Diamond

By 1926, Concordia College had amassed a baseball team and carved a baseball diamond into the northwest corner of campus.

By 1958, the campus contained a highschool, junior college and girls’ dormitory. In 1977, the college became a university and the highschool was moved off campus to accommodate facilities for undergraduates.

All the while, Lutheran families built homes around the college, sent their children to its new high school and junior college, and formed a diverse community. In his later years, Dr. Sylvester served the college as a librarian.“To forget him is to forget Concordia,” read a tribute to the beloved patriarch after his death in 1972.

2009-2021: Athletic Complex for Baseball and Soccer

In 2009, the university began seeking permits to develop an athletic complex containing a baseball diamond and soccer field between NE 27th and NE 29th Avenues. Longtime benefactors and founders of the Concordia University Foundation, Robert and Virginia Hilken, put up $1.5 million in support of the $7.5 million project.

The complex was renamed in their honor and the grand opening of the Concordia University Hilken Community Stadium took place midday on Saturday, March 3rd, 2012. Following the afternoon’s festivities, community members enjoyed free entrance to the stadium’s inaugural game, a baseball double header between the Concordia Cavaliers and Patten University.

Concordia’s soccer teams also played at Hilken, as did various community soccer clubs, including FC Mulhouse Portland and FC PDX.

The university entered into a business partnership with HotChalk, an education technology company, at a loss of tens of millions of dollars annually. In 2015, the university was fined $1 million by the Department of Education who alleged that the college illegally outsourced some of its online programs.

In February 2020, after 115 years of operation, the university announced that it would close the following spring. The university, the third Portland-area private college to shut down since 2018, identified declining enrollment and financial deficits as the key factors in its decision to close down.

2025 and Beyond: U of O and Home of Professional Leagues

The University returned the property to the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod and one of its lenders, the Lutheran Church Extension, who sold it to the University of Oregon, its current owner, in 2022.

Concordia residents can look forward to attending Bangers games and Oregon Ultimate Alliance frisbee events at the U of O Portland Recreation complex this year.

Leo Newman is a paralegal and aspiring writer based in NE Portland. Trained as a historian, he enjoys exploring the history of Portland and the Pacific Northwest.

By Keith Daellenbach | Contributing Writer

An innovative academic program to transform children’s behavioral healthcare welcomed its first cohort of students last fall at the University of Oregon Portland campus (2800 NE Liberty St.). The program is the first ever comprehensive academic program in this discipline and it is aimed at establishing a new profession: the child behavioral health specialist. The students completed their first term in December.

“Welcoming our first cohort of trailblazing students to the Ballmer Institute marks an enormous milestone in our work to expand access to behavioral health services for Oregon youth and families”, says Kate McLaughlin, Executive Director. There is a sense of collaboration, passion, and excitement from administrators, faculty, and students and the sense that this academic start-up really will change the world.

“Kind of like how a map is complete, this program is different in that it is something of uncharted territory,” says Ari Pyle, a student originally from Seattle who, in preparation for the program, completed an Associates Degree in Science at the Richard Bland College in Virginia. As Gen Zer Pyle puts it, “We’ve all had really hard childhoods with corrosive social media that negatively affected our mental health,” and she “wants to do something about it!”.

18 other cohort students plan to do something about it, too. According to Julie Wren, Senior Director and Chief of Staff, the first cohort is intentionally small to allow a personalized learning experience and the curriculum is agile to integrate insights from students, the Community Advisory Board and the National Behavioral Health Advisory Board. Students will have access to over 20 newly developed courses focused on foundational skills in professional practice, behavioral health promotion, prevention and intervention, and cultural responsiveness and inclusion.

The first two years are focused on completing prerequisites. Some, like Pyle, completed prerequisites at a junior college, while others completed prerequisites at the U of O campus in Eugene. The final two years of the program are completed exclusively at the Ballmer Institute at the U of O Portland campus.

Ernie Leyva is one of the students who completed his prereqs at the Eugene campus. He grew up with two sisters, the younger of which sadly died from a congenital heart defect just prior to the start of fall term last September. “The whole reason I’m here is because of my little sister, she had a lot of love to give”, said Leyva. He saw the “extreme value of positive psychology” that benefited her and he wants to “work with children to help them from getting worse.”

The majority of current students receive scholarship support including some who live in on-campus housing. The institute will grow, according to Wren, and she anticipates enrolling up to 150 students per cohort. At full capacity, this will result in a total of up to 300 undergraduate students.

While special accreditation is not yet available, the program, the first of its kind in the nation, is fully approved by the U of O and Oregon’s Higher Education Coordinating Commission. According to Wren, by the time students graduate with a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree in Child Behavioral Health, they will have completed over 700 hours of supervised applied practicum experience at K12 schools, health care facilities, and community organizations- locations at which they may end up someday being employed.

Upon program completion, students will be eligible to register as Qualified Mental Health Associates, a certification offered by the Mental Health & Addiction Certification Board of Oregon. They will be exceptionally well-prepared to enter the youth behavioral health workforce to change the world after graduation in Spring 2026.

Keith Daellenbach is a mechanical engineer and outdoor enthusiast who lives climbing, skiing, biking, canoeing, and beekeeping with his wife Amy and son Micah.

What could be better than joining a group of friends, parents, and family for a morning bike ride? Even better if your destination is Vernon K-8 School (2044 NE Killingsworth St.) Vernon’s weekly bike bus commute to and from school is a way for students to bike together safely to school. Riders are safe in large groups with a typical number of 15 to 25 people. Vernon is one of more than a dozen Portland schools that supports the Bike Bus movement.

“BikeBusPDX promotes biking as a healthy and eco-friendly commuting option for school children. A lifelong habit of biking encourages kids to embrace cycling as a fun and social activity,” says Sam Balto, a P.E. teacher at Alameda Elementary who started the Portland Bike Bus in 2022. A trip to Barcelona, Spain, where he learned about European Bike Busses, inspired him to start the program. Balto also started the nonprofit Bike Bus World to promote and support Bike Buses everywhere. You can read more about him at bikebus.world.

On January 12th, by Balto’s invitation via social media, musical artist Justin Timberlake surprised the Alameda Bike Bus and joined them for the ride. According to The Oregonian, Timberlake rode about half a mile with about 200 students and parents while Timberlake’s entourage boomed hits like “Mirrors” from speakers on their bikes along the route. The pop star posed briefly for photos with children before leaving the school. What a great surprise.

I Interviewed parent and Concordian Oscar Murden about his experience as a Bike Bus participant as he rides with his two sons, Milo, 9 and Maxwell, 7.

“It’s fantastic. It’s a real mood booster. Our family and friends look forward to it. And it’s easier to get the kids out the door and they get to school on time,” says Murden. He says it creates community, and he’s makes new friends. They even get together during the summer for block parties. Satellite groups have popped up and the movement is growing.

There are lots of happy kiddos and sometimes music playing or holiday decorations. There are also bikes that can be borrowed from Balto for up to a month to see if your student is a good fit for the Bike Bus.

The Vernon bike bus commute takes place every Friday and starts at NE Cesar Chavez and NE Going Streets. Show up anywhere along the route, and join up as the Bike Bus comes by. Bring a bike lock and park at the covered area at the SW corner of Vernon K-8. You don’t have to sign up in advance. Just join in and have fun.

After living east, south, north and west, Marsha Sandman is home at last. And she wants to hear your story. Contact her at MarshaJSandman@ gmail.com.

By Heidi Hiaasen | Contributing Writer

Newly renovated buildings on the University of Oregon (UO) Por tland campus started reopening in September, allowing employees and students to look inside for the first time in a year. Many marveled at the transformation of tired, dark and outdated buildings into light-filled, reimagined academic spaces.

Students moved into on-site apartments while faculty and staff set up labs, classrooms, offices and student spaces. After a year of being split between locations, UO students and employees have reunited on the campus, enjoying outdoor spaces and exploring the neighborhood.

Neighbors are invited to tour the campus during the next UO Community Connection on Thursday, November 7th. The walking tour is from 4-5 pm, starting in the lobby of the Library and Learning Center (2800 NE Liberty St.) The meeting will start at 5 pm back in the Library and Learning Center with a brief update about the campus. ZGF Architects will next provide an in-depth look at the early design stage of the proposed Child Behavioral Health Building from 5:15-6:30 pm. Community members will have the opportunity to provide feedback at the meeting. Neighbors are welcome to join for all or part of the session.

“We are happy to return with another community meeting, as our neighbors have been so involved and welcoming,” says Jane Gordon, vice president. “Our Community Connection series has always been a great way for members of the community to get updates about our campus and establish relationships with our staff.”

Some renovation work continues around campus, but large portions of the construction fence have come down. NE 29th Avenue remains closed between NE Holman Street and NE Rosa Parks Way for the construction of the Child Behavioral Health Building. It will remain closed to vehicular traffic, but pedestrians can use the sidewalk outside the fence.

In addition to KISS Coffee, UO has partnered with Truckster to have a rotating mix of food trucks on Mondays (4-7 pm,) Tuesdays (11 am -2 pm), and Wednesdays (4-7 pm) in the open lot at the corner of NE Liberty St. and NE 27th Ave. Visit gotruckster.com/neighborhoods-office-buildings/uo-portland for the complete schedule. Community members are encouraged to order from the trucks to help make sure this service remains available.

KISS on Campus is open from 8:30- 3:30 pm, Monday-Friday in the Library and Learning Center. That building also has the UO Portland Library and children’s library on the second floor, which is open to the community.

Have questions about UO Portland or the campus? Email pdxinfo@uoregon. edu or visit pdx.uoregon.edu.

Heidi Hiaasen is the Assistant Director of Portland Communications for the University of Oregon.

By Mark Ross, PP&R Public Information Officer

Portland Parks & Recreation (PP&R), in collaboration with Portland Public Schools (PPS), recently launched the ‘Schools to Pools,’ program, an initiative that offers free swimming lessons to PPS second graders. PPS is providing transportation to and from the pools, and Portland Parks & Recreation is supplying lifeguards, swim instructors, and pool space.

Initially, over 300 students from six schools will participate, with plans to expand the program to nearly 3,000 students across the district and establish it as a permanent offering. “This partnership will save lives,” says Commissioner Dan Ryan, who oversees PP&R. “The Schools to Pools program is an exciting investment in Portland’s children, and in our city’s future.”

Funded by the 2020 Parks Local Option Levy, Schools to Pools was inspired by Portland Parks & Recreation Director Adena Long, who championed a similar program while with the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation. Under Director Long’s guidance, PP&R Sports and Aquatic Manager Nancy Roth worked closely with PPS Senior Director of Athletics Marshall Haskins and other district leadership to finalize this exciting partnership.

“Learning to swim is vital for young people, and we’re proud to make beginner lessons available through this innovative partnership,” says Director Long. “I’ve long had my eye on establishing this cooperative effort with PPS, and then the pandemic upended our plans – until now. I’m so pleased we’re able to move forward with Schools to Pools and these free swim lessons, made possible both by the Parks Levy, and the vision and energy of our Portland Public Schools leadership.”

Schools to Pools is offered as an elective at PPS elementary schools currently able to take part in the initial winter and spring sessions. The winter session is scheduled for January 30th – March 19th, and the spring session is April 2nd – May 21st. Lessons will be held during school hours, for 30 minutes on Tuesdays and Thursdays at Matt Dishman Community Center Pool as well as two other Portland pools.

“Second grade is the perfect age. It is an ideal time for students to learn to swim, they are eager to learn, and have few inhibitions related to water,” says Senior Director Haskins. “Quite simply, swimming is a life skill, and it has the potential of saving kids’ lives and the lives of others.”

In a study of Oregon’s substance abuse disorder services conducted by the OHSU Department of Public Health in September 2021 – September 2022, Oregon ranked 48th out of 50 states for teens per capita needing but not receiving access to drug treatment services. Concordia’s newest neighbor, Rivercrest Academy, hopes to be one part of the solution.

Principal Todd Nicholson worked with a real estate agent to search the city for an ideal location for the school, somewhere close to existing Portland Public schools that East County partners could access. He was excited to find the site they did and to be in the Concordia neighborhood. Rivercrest Academy opened its doors to students this fall, but is located currently at Leaven Community Center, while waiting for its permanent location on NE 30th and Ainsworth to be finished.

Nicholson says, “Nearby neighbors, including KISS Coffee and Ainsworth United Church of Christ, have been wonderful and embracing.” KISS Coffee co-owner Sarah Pearson adds, “We are excited about the growth and all the new educational facilities in the neighborhood.”

Rivercrest Academy currently hosts 15 high school students who have committed to abstinence from drugs and alcohol and to their education. These students are served by two full-time teachers, three recovery faculty and one school psychologist. Soon, there will also be a special education teacher on site. The current staff could, in the future, serve up to 30 students.

The recovery high school was developed through the Multnomah Educational Service District (MESD), which serves eight school districts in Multnomah County. Its creation was aided by an advisory committee made up of local nonprofits and schools.

Data collected by Vanderbilt University shows that 70% of students who return to a previous school environment relapse within weeks of treatment, compared to 70% of youth who are clean and sober one year after enrolling in a recovery high school.

Before Rivercrest Academy opened its doors, there was only one recovery high school for teens in the state of Oregon. There are currently zero in-patient locations for adolescent drug treatment in Oregon, and teens wanting that option need to travel out of state to Washington or California.

House Bill 2767, which was recently passed by the Oregon Legislature and signed by Governor Tina Kotek, is an attempt to address the gap for youth by supporting more treatment options. Rivercrest Academy will eventually receive some of its funding from the state.

Rivercrest Academy will partner closely with the Oregon Department of Human Services and Portland Public Schools (PPS) Drug and Alcohol Program and is in conversation with the University of Oregon about how the two schools can support each other.

If neighbors have questions or want more information about recovery programs, they can email Principal Nicholson directly at tnicholso@mesd.k12.or.us.

Jordana Leeb is a longtime Concordia resident who is passionate about the neighborhood, its residents and trees. She lives with her partner and dog on a street she calls home. You can see a film about her street and Concordia at TinyURL.com/Diaryofastreet.

By Kathy Crabtree | Contributing Writer

After a year of anticipation, months of behind-the-scenes planning, and a recent frenzy of activity, the former Concordia University campus will be populated with University of Oregon (U of O) students this month. U of O bought the campus over a year ago and has been preparing for all Portland programs and courses currently housed in Old Town to be moved to Concordia by the academic year 2024-25. The first students to attend the new campus will be third-year law students and in September, additional programs will begin on the new campus. According to Heidi Hiaasen, Assistant Director of Communication for U of O; the College of Education’s Masters School of Psychology and the Ballmer Institute for Children’s Behavioral Health will likely also be moving to the new campus.

“We are pleased to announce that KISS Coffee will take over the coffeeshop in the Library and Learning Center and is expected to open in late fall,” she says.

Students will initially be housed in the 27th Street Apartments which are equipped with kitchens and independent living spaces offering two, three, or four bedroom units. Hiassen says that security precautions will be provided by the University of Oregon Police Department (UOPD); the Director of Security will oversee campus safety. Additional UOPD community service officers and unarmed private security officers will be on-site.

Administrative offices set to open this fall include Student Life and Belonging, University Advancement, Government and Community Relations, Facility Management and the university vice president’s office. Those offices will provide support for both campuses.

The Library and Learning Center has landscaping, new paint and carpet, and new University of Oregon banners have sprung up throughout the neighborhood. The Library and Learning Center will be open to both students and the public later this month and may include evening and weekend hours.

The University is hosting a Community Connection Event on August 9th from 4:30-6 pm. It will be held at the Library and Learning Center at 2900 NE Liberty St. Community members are invited to come and learn more about recent building renovation schedules, academic programs and other details related to the move. The April Meeting had more than 100 people in attendance.

Kathryn Crabtree is a retired Nursing Educator and author of books that celebrate women of a certain age- invisible to many, who use their deductive reasoning to solve mysteries. The bad guys never see them coming.

By Rob Cullivan | CNews Editor

One student called it “the never-ending circus.” Another labeled it “Rona.” Still another called it “Virus 19,” and then added he simplified it sometimes to just “The Virus.” “It’s the only virus I’ve known,” he said.

By now, the readers should have figured out fifth graders at Faubion School, 2930 NE Dekum St., were talking about Covid 19 and how it changed their lives forever over the past two years.

In a group interview, students in Nathaniel Williams’ class spoke with CNews on May 16 about how they dealt with online classes during the lockdowns as well as how they adjusted to full-time in-person learning this year. Here’s what the kids said:

Covid Hits

When Covid 19 triggered government mandated lockdowns in early 2020, the fifth-grade students were all in third grade.

One child noted the lockdowns initially seemed like fun: “I was happy I could spend time with friends and family.”

But most of the students said staying at home quickly turned from a novel situation into one they didn’t like.

“I prefer much more in-person school.”

“It’s hard for me personally because I need one-on-one learning.”

“It was soooo isolating.”

“I feel like I lost my social skills.”

Online Learning

The students had somewhat mixed views regarding online learning – staying at home allowed them more sleep, for example, but a number noted working online didn’t always fully engage them the way being in a classroom does. Some even confessed to misleading their teachers about the level of attention they were paying to a subject.

“I would just pretend my computer was having difficulty.”

“If it got too loud, my mom would tell me to turn down the computer volume.”

“I feel like I didn’t learn anything new, and nothing helped me.”

Socialization

A recurring issue for the children was how the lockdowns affected their ability to socialize when they returned to school. Several said they felt it set back their ability to mature and interact well with others.

“In a classroom you can connect with people … but on a computer you can’t really affect that.”

“It was hard to hang out with my friends because you always had to be (six feet) away from them.”

“We were kind of going insane … we got angrier.”

One student said he did learn how to cook for himself, and others said they did enjoy spending more time with their relatives, including young cousins also unable to attend school in person. One child noted a benefit of learning at home was it made him more of a self-starter, perusing learning sites online without being prompted by a teacher.

When they returned, Williams said the children took a while to adjust to being back at school, and asked far more questions than his fifth graders did in years past.

“What I noticed is they needed a lot of affirmation,” he said. “They were looking around like they’d never been in a classroom.” He and the students chuckled when one child reminded him he had said they “were all acting like a bunch of third graders” at first. “If we had to do online school till college, we’d all still be acting like third graders in college!” one student said.

Final thoughts

No generation of American children until now has ever dealt with an event quite like Covid – even during the influenza that swept the nation from 1918-20. Millions of children like the ones at Faubion lost out on a couple of years of in-person learning, and it’s clear after talking to them that the fifth graders at Williams’ class have been changed forever by the lockdowns.

Kaleb Negash said he most missed seeing his extended family during the lockdowns. “If I have kids, they’re going to see their aunts, uncles, cousins, siblings and grandparents five days a week!”

Adelaide Maddox, 11, said they, too, has learned to cherish their family.“I’m going to try to see my family again and again and to never waste any minutes with them because you never know when you will see them again.”

CNews Editor Rob Cullivan is a veteran journalist, publicist and grant writer who has written about everything from rock ‘n’ roll to religion. He possesses a deep affection for writers and photographers who hit deadline.