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Principal Steve Olczak is fighting for the future of Benson Polytechnic High School.

The school, which prepares students for careers in construction and engineering, as well as health, communications and graphic design, could emerge from restructuring stronger than it is today. Or at least that’s Olczak’s hope.

Portland Public Schools Superintendent Carole Smith last month announced that 90-year-old Benson would be converted from a four-year comprehensive high school to a two-year skills center. Students, faculty and alumni have since packed public meetings and held protest marches advocating for the unique school to remain as it is.

But change has been a long time coming, according to Olczak. In 2007, he saw a report stating that Benson was suffering declining enrollment and disinvestment in terms of staffing and resources.

“We talked about options,” Olczak said. “The recommendation was that by doing nothing, it would be difficult for Benson to sustain itself. We’re down 450 kids in five years. You just can’t stay the same.”

Benson today is a different school than in the past, according to Dick O’Connor, executive director of the Oregon Building Congress. After the No Child Left Behind Act took effect in 2002, many students left their underperforming neighborhood schools for Benson. But they didn’t necessarily come with dreams of being a carpenter or a mechanic.

“The kids coming to Benson didn’t necessarily have an interest in technical education,” O’Connor said. “I have heard repeatedly that Benson is not the school it used to be in terms of technical training. That was due in part to No Child Left Behind. The stature of the school has diminished somewhat.”

“Our graduation rate is 90 percent, but our classes are smaller and smaller every year,” Olczak said. “That makes it tough on our partners to get their money’s worth and get these kids into the work pipeline. If we go after this change in a positive way, we’re talking about having more kids leave with a skill set they need than we currently are doing.”

Under the new plan, Benson would be able to take on 400 juniors. If the school can keep those 400 students engaged, Olczak said the program could be stronger and prepare even more kids for the workforce.

“In this model, we could maintain our programs and maybe add new ones,” Olczak said. “If I start the year out with 400 juniors, that’s a big group of kids who can go deeper into the program. We’re going to have a different configuration, but we have the potential to take the school to a higher place.”

The new Benson may be similar to the ACE Academy, a skills center run by the Oregon Building Congress. O’Connor said the academy has done a good job of motivating kids interested in the trades.

The ACE Academy is a tuition-free, shared-time program for juniors and seniors in the Portland, Centennial, Gresham-Barlow, Parkrose and Reynolds school districts. It offers instruction in architecture, engineering and construction combined with math, science and English curricula. Students split time between the ACE Academy and their neighborhood school; PPS’ new plan for Benson would be similar.

Approximately 92 percent of ACE Academy graduates pursue additional education either in the trades or at a college, according to O’Connor. He said he believes Benson would experience similar success with a two-year program.

“It will provide an opportunity for students who do have an interest in their future career,” O’Connor said. “The student body at ACE is very happy to be there and focused. They are quite serious about their own education.”

The ACE Academy recently applied for a $4 million federal grant to enhance its current school and replicate the model elsewhere in the area. O’Connor has approached Olczak about involving Benson in the effort, and the principal agreed it was a good idea. If ACE were to receive the grant, part of the money would go to Benson to train instructors there and create new curriculum for the school’s programs.

But the devil is in the details, said Dan Graham, president of the Northwest College of Construction. He fears that what happened with shop classes in regular high schools could happen to Benson if the new programming isn’t managed properly. Shop programs in schools over the years became holding tanks for kids who were struggling academically, Graham said, and as the kids continued to flounder, shop programs began to close down.

“The history when academic (education) is separated from technical education is that standards tend to slide,” Graham said. “There will be pressure to turn a two-year technical program into a holding place for students who struggle elsewhere. That will be the challenge – to continue to hang on to rigorous standards so graduates qualify for the real world.”

Olczak is continuing to work with Portland Public Schools on what the new Benson might look like in the future. In the meantime, he’s trying to make the transition as painless as possible for his students and faculty. That, Olczak said, is easier said than done.

“I’ve tried to build and hold this place despite cuts and cuts and cuts,” Olczak said. “The staff is having a really hard time understanding. The kid’s position is they signed up for a four-year school. It’s an emotional thing. I feel like I’m in the middle of all of it.”