Portland Public Schools News highlights Step Up’s work with ninth graders at Marshall High School’s campus in its most recent issue. Citing Step Up’s integral role in giving students a “strong start in high school,” the article credits the program with helping PPS meet Milestone 4: on track to graduate. A short video features Step Up students and staff discussing the program’s impact. Visit the PPS website to read the article and watch the video to learn why students thrive from their involvement in Step Up!

The short season for the high school’s basketball team is almost over. They will play two more games at the Pearl Court February 19 and 26 against Helensview and Youth Employment Institute. Though the team has experienced a number of losses, playing competitively has been a great experience for the students. Coaches Hoover and Dion note that the team improves with each game and practice. In a game against Mt. Scott, players showed heart, spirit, and court skills heavy on teamwork. Teamwork, after all, is what it’s all about! We wish the Open Meadow Goats great play as they finish out their season!

Many thanks to The Safeway Foundation for supporting Open Meadow’s “Student Voices” program, offering students the opportunity to share their creative voices through painting, drawing, photography, poetry, and more! Open Meadow High School student Bronson read his poetry for our friends at Safeway’s MLK store at the check presentation. Executive Director Andrew Mason and Bronson happily accepted the giant check!

Don Barney’s interest in education began in his early days in upstate New York where many of his relatives had joined the field.  But after earning a degree in Journalism from Syracuse University, and five years in the U.S. Navy, Don took a job in a leading news magazine reporting on political issues in Washington, D.C. and London, England.  After ten years, Don moved with his family to Oregon where he got involved in local city politics as a lobbyist, and then as a government consultant.

As retirement approached, Don decided it was the right time to pursue his interest in education.  He took on a volunteer position at PSU, giving lectures on “Key issues in the Portland Metro area.”  Being an active retiree, he also joined the Portland Pearl Rotary where dedication to civic volunteerism quickly won him the position of Club President.  Under Don’s leadership Pearl Rotarians sought to find an education-related project, which led them to Open Meadow.

For those of you who may not be up on the headlines, February 4th is Private Schools Appreciation Day in the State of Oregon.  In Governor Kulongoski’s recent official proclamation he extends appreciation for the diversity of services provided for by private schools. 

At Open Meadow, we are proud to be a private school partner of a public education system that knows how to partner.  Our role is to serve the students that the traditional system struggles to serve.  Our role is to fill in the gaps, to individualize and personalize the educational experience for students who find themselves feeling like square pegs in round holes.  We want our students have the opportunity to fit, belong, and ultimately thrive.  We want our students to arrive at the same place as everybody else: connected to a career, college, and community by age 25.  We are proud of our public education system and proud to be a supporter and partner in its critical work.  Many thanks to Governor Kulongoski for recognizing private schools in this way!

- Andrew Mason, Executive Director

Thanks to the generosity of True North films, countless volunteers, and Open Meadow staff and students, we now have a short video about the essence of Open Meadow.  We are overjoyed to be able to share this short documentary, which captures the spirit and stories of Open Meadow so well.  Click on the video link or go to our video page to view a larger version.  Many thanks to all the people who made this film possible!

Current Open Meadow Board Member and Open Meadow High School graduate, Josh Monda, has achieved an all-American ranking from the USA Triathlon organization.  Josh’s quick rise to this achievement began in 2005 when he first started running.  He credits his dedication and determination to excel in the sport to lessons learned at Open Meadow.  Josh has applied the same hard-working spirit to his professional life, becoming a success in his field and starting his own business.  He graduated one year early from Open Meadow, so he knows about putting in extra time to meet a goal.  You can read more about Josh in an article published in The Columbian.

Open Meadow congratulates Josh on his achievements!

We are pleased to announce that Open Meadow has been awarded a three-year grant from the National Youth Employment Coalition to run its Year 13 program for Open Meadow youth who have just graduated high school.  The grant is part of the Gates and Nellie Mae Foundations’ Postsecondary Success Initiative, awarded to a few organizations through a highly competitive process. It is a great honor to be one of only seven organizations chosen nationwide to participate in this 3-year pilot program.  You can read more about the Initiative here.  Congratulations to the Career Services staff!

Open Meadow was selected as one of 14 programs from across the country featured in “Employers, Low-Income Adults and Postsecondary Credentials” — a new national report funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The report, released by the Workforce Strategy Center in New York City, highlights Open Meadow as among the best in the nation at providing younger, disadvantaged workers with the technical and postsecondary education demanded by the 21st Century workforce.

The 14 sites highlighted in the report were selected from more than 100 candidate sites nationwide reviewed against a rigorous set of best-practice criteria established by the Workforce Strategy Center.

Open Meadow was highlighted, in part, for its success in building strong partnerships with Portland businesses.  Among the statistics highlighted was Career Connections’ 92% placement rate with income gains of 122% over two years.  Among the quotations: “Open Meadow offers as comprehensive a list of [support] services as any community-based organization in the country.”  To learn more about the report and the work Career Connections is doing in the community, read Betsy Hammond’s article in The Oregonian.

We are thrilled that our Career Services program has earned Open Meadow this selection and believe this recognition is to be shared with all of our staff and program partners, without whom this work would not be possible. 

Open Meadow High School senior Egbevado had the opportunity to cut the ribbon on the brand new Mercy Corps global headquarters in Portland’s Old Town Chinatown on October 9.  Joining him at the ceremony were Mercy Corps Executive Director Neal Keny-Guyer, Congressman Earl Blumenauer, Portland Public Schools Superintendent (and former Open Meadow Executive Director) Carole Smith, and John Haines, Mercy Corps Northwest Executive Director and Open Meadow Board Member.  The ceremony also celebrated the brand new Mercy Corps Action Center, which offers hands on learning opportunities focused specifically at students, like Egbevado, and seeks to support them in their exploration of global issues such as hunger and poverty. 

On Monday, November 2nd, The Original in SW Portland will donate 20% of its proceeds from lunch service to Open Meadow.  In order to ensure Open Meadow receives the donation, diners should present this coupon to their server.  The Original serves American diner favorites with a sophisticated twist, and is located at 300 SW 6th Avenue (map). 

Many thanks to The Original for their generosity! 

We wish to thank the ROTC cadets at the University of Portland for choosing Open Meadow as the beneficiary of the First Annual ‘Round UP on the Bluff 5k run/walk event on Saturday, September 19. A portion of race registration proceeds, together with a generous matching gift from an anonymous donor, resulted in a donation of more than $2,200 to support Open Meadow programs! Prizes were awarded to the top 3 finishers overall, including Open Meadow alum and Board member, Josh Monda, who placed second overall in the race! Prizes were also awarded to top finishers in each age category, amongst the winners were Open Meadow Board members Josh Monda and Charles Hudson, and Executive Director Andrew Mason. Despite the cold, rainy day, a fun time was had by students, faculty, and community members who participated in the race. Thank you cadets and participants!

We are thrilled to announce that the determined youth of the Multnomah Youth Commission, spurred early on by Open Meadow graduate, Isabel Burri (2009), succeeded in getting bus passes made available to all Portland Public high school students, including those attending alternative schools.

This has been over three decades in the works and is a triumph for youth voices, and for a strong partnership between TriMet, the City of Portland, the Mayor’s Office, Portland Public Schools and the Portland Schools Foundation.  We’re overjoyed that all Open Meadow High School students will have a free ride this coming school year!

Watch the interview with Isabel at KGW’s website!

Open Meadow programs have been featured recently in the Portland media, highlighting the variety and reach of our programs, and the strong partnerships we maintain to better serve our youth.  Career Services participant Jaci Seeley was interviewed about her internship through the Youth Summer Works program, funded by federal stimulus money and managed by Open Meadow program partner Worksystems, Inc.  Jaci spent her summer at a fulfilling internship with the Rose Schnitzer Manor retirement home.  Read what Jaci has to say about her experience, and more about the program at OPB News.

This summer, Step Up led the largest program in Portland Schools Foundation’s summer program Ninth Grade Counts.  The Oregonian wrote about the program and Step Up’s involvement in its August 17 edition.  You can read the article at The Oregonian’s website.

Step Up Program Director Hanif Fazal was a guest on OPB’s Think Out Loud on a program addressing the issue of offering incentives to students for good behavior and academic achievement.  To hear the lively and timely debate on Think Out Loud, visit their website. 

This year, Open Meadow has applied to be a community grant recipient from our local Nike store.  With your vote, we have a better chance of being selected!

To vote for Open Meadow, click here. 

You can vote once a day per email address so please keep coming back. 

We appreciate your support!

This spring, the Middle School welcomed instructors from the Homowo African Arts & Culture organization for a trimester of drumming, a yearly collaboration now in its ninth year.  Twelve students in Tab Waterman’s art class spent twelve weeks learning about the art of traditional drumming.  Volunteers Alex and Mark from Homowo met with students twice a week, bringing drums and their enthusiasm for the culture of Ghana.  The experience culminated in a drum circle performance for Open Meadow Middle School students and visitors, during which student performers demonstrated some of the rhythms that they have learned as well as each playing an improvised solo. 

This year’s class found the experience fun and a great change from their regular classroom routine.  In addition to learning about drumming, students spent time reading and learning about the culture of Ghana.  Randy and Josh, participating students, said that at first they thought the class would not be fun, but by the end they both enjoyed drumming so much that they wish that they had drums of their own to play at home.  Josh expressed that the drumming was great for stress relief and said if given the opportunity he would like to continue to learn and practice his drumming.  Harlem, another student, presented thank you cards made by the entire class to the Homowo volunteers before the performance. 

The volunteers from Homowo said that they were particularly proud of this year’s class.  Alex, inspired to volunteer and drum by his father, a master drummer, said that the students this year were the best class he’s had so far.  He said their great listening skills and patience made them a pleasure to work with. 

Open Meadow would like to thank Alex and Mark, and the volunteers of Homowo African Arts & Culture for once again bringing Ghanaian drumming to the middle school and greater community.  You can learn more about the classes and performances offered at Homowo on their website. 

Open Meadow will proudly graduate and promote two student classes this week and next.  The High School and CRUE Graduation Ceremony will be held on Friday, June 5 at 6PM at Open Meadow High School.  Middle School Promotion is on June 11 at 6PM at the middle school.  Congratulations to our 2009 High School Graduates and 8th Grade Promotees!

Two more exhibits of Open Meadow student artwork are going up this week, following another outstanding Annual Student Art Show which was held on May 14th.  The two new exhibits feature work created by Open Meadow Middle School students. 

Atomic Pizza on N. Killingsworth generously offered its wall space to students from our Step Up class, a dyanmic after-school group which focuses on the transition from middle school to high school.  This year they completed a project with the Oregon youth arts organization Caldera, sharpening their photography skills.  The results of the collaboration are on display and for sale, May 15 - June 8.  Proceeds will benefit ongoing student activities.

On Thursday, May 21st a month-long show will open at New Seasons Market on N. Interstate.  The show, entitled Reflections: Self & Surroundings, will be on display in the New Seasons Cafe Gallery through June 30th.  This work was created in collaboration with the Media, Arts & Technology Institute (MATI) which gave staff support for classes in photography and 3-D animation.  The project was completed with the help of a professional photographer, a professional animation artist, and a committed group of volunteers from MATI who helped students weave together their haiku poems and photographic images into creative, personal expressions.  An opening reception will be held on Thursday, May 21st from 6:00 - 7:30 PM at the New Seasons Cafe Gallery. 

Open Meadow would like to thank Atomic Pizza and New Seasons Market for hosting student artwork; the Harvest Foundation, the Hoover Family Foundation, Albina Rotary and The Skanner for supporting the Reflections project; and our project partners MATI and Caldera. 

CRUE student McKenzie Robinson was featured on OPB’s Think Out Loud on May 6th.  Click to hear her talk about her life experience and why she attends Open Meadow. 

Open Meadow is proud to announce its 2009 Student Art Show!  Middle and high school students will share and celebrate their artistic creations at a show to be held on May 14, 2009, from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM at the Water Pollution Control Lab community room at 6543 North Burlington Avenue (on the Willamette River in St. Johns).  Student artists will be on hand to answer questions about the sculpture, painting and photography that will be on display.  Refreshments and appetizers will be served and musicians will perform live. 

Please join us to celebrate the artwork our students have created this year!  Click to view the invitation with directions.