2021 Year End Letter from Our Executive Director

To Our Community, Partners and Supporters, The entire Team and Board of Directors would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude for your donations and in-kind support over this past year! We hope this message finds you all safe, warm, and protected amongst those you love most.  Because of your generosity, […]

“Open will not abandon our kids” – Cristin Carter, parent of OSE graduate shares her experience

Christin Carter, parent of a OSE 2021 graduate, spoke at the 2021 graduation ceremony about her gratitude to Open School staff for supporting her son, Kejon. Watch her speech or read her powerful words below…    [Open School is] doing what nobody else believed was possible. Our graduates are here […]

Associate Principal

The mission of Open School is to develop connection, capability, and confidence in disconnected youth through relationship-based, quality learning experiences that result in their academic, personal, and community success. Over 80% of our students are youth of color, low income and from marginalized communities. We encourage you to explore our […]

“Where I Come From, Where I’m Going” by Nevaeh

I used to live in a rural area. I went to a small school. It was a big culture shock to relocate to Portland. At the time, my family was experiencing homelessness. We were living in a car. I was never in one school for more than a few weeks […]

Open School East welcomes students for in-person learning!

Our first cohort of students returned to school for hybrid learning on Monday, April 19. Their Advocates welcomed them back with music, encouragement, and socially-distanced air-fives. After a year of distance learning, both students and teachers were ready to connect in a safe and supportive environment. Like many of our […]

Open School is in solidarity with the Asian American/Pacific Islander community. 

We were devastated to learn of this week’s murders of Asian women in Atlanta, but unfortunately, we were not surprised. These tragic deaths come amidst a spike in racist violence and hate speech directed at members of the AAPI community. A recent report by Stop AAPI Hate examines 3,795 documented […]

Hybrid Learning a Possibility for Open School East Students

On March 5th, 2021, Governor Kate Brown Announced that all Oregon public schools will offer a form of in person learning starting April 19th. (Read more here) Open School East administration will be working hard in the next two weeks to draft a plan for Hybrid learning for all our students. We want […]

Open School welcomes our new Executive Director, Kimberlee Pierce Sheng!

Open School is excited to announce that Kimberlee Pierce Sheng will be the organization’s new Executive Director. Sheng will be the fourth person, and first African-American woman, to lead Open School in its 50-year history. A committee of Open School staff and board members selected her after a national search. […]

Open School East’s Distance Learning Model Is Nationally Recognized!

Open School has received national and community attention for our response to distance learning. An article about our work entitled “Advancing Equity: Connecting students with the support of social-emotional learning during COVID-forced school closings”, written by our Board Member Dr. Beth Tarasawa, will appear this month in School Administrator magazine. […]
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