- 4/19: Open School East is offering hybrid in-person learning! Read More
May 3, 2021
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 […]
April 19, 2021
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 […]
March 18, 2021
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 […]
March 9, 2021
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 […]
January 30, 2021
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. […]
January 29, 2021
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. […]
September 28, 2020
As we announced last month, Terry Johnson, who served as Open School’s Executive Director since 2017 has moved on to another career opportunity serving children in Portland. While the organization searches for another incredible leader, we have hired Yvonne Deckard as Interim Executive Director to support the transition. Yvonne had […]
August 24, 2020
It’s with deep regret that I inform you of my pending departure from Open School. On September 18th I will be transitioning to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Portland as their next CEO. This is truly a bittersweet moment for me as I was planning to work with Open […]
August 13, 2020
Hello Open School community, As per the governor’s requirements for safe reentry and many of our major comprehensive districts are making the shift online, we are following suit by going remote for at least the first semester of learning. I know this is heartbreaking news for many. We miss seeing you […]