Despite some financial uncertainty, the operators of the French American International School in the Northwest Hills hope to add a dedicated middle-school building as part of an ongoing redevelopment effort.

Proposal information recently submitted to the Portland Bureau of Development Services (BDS) calls for a new 21,000 square-foot, 16-classroom building, to be the new home of FAIS’ Gilkey Middle School, currently located in temporary on-site buildings. Additionally, the pre-K-8 academy intends to work with city planners on issues related to a 5,100 square-foot house on Northwest Cornell Road that the academy had acquired and is now using for school purposes.

The future two-story Gilkey building represents the first of four redevelopment stages for the immersive French-language institution. Earlier plans for a similar building were included in a 2005 Conditional Use Master Plan, which expired earlier this month. Because financing and scheduling of the second and third redevelopment stages are not certain, the school is seeking only approval for a new middle-school building, which requires a less-extensive Type III Conditional Use Permit, according to a project narrative submitted to BDS.

FAIS is a private nonprofit serving 575 students across 61,000 square feet on a 14.8-acre campus roughly bounded by Northwest 87th Avenue, Northwest Cornell Road and Northwest Miller Road. It lies in the vertiginous, housing-development pocked Northwest Hills Plan District and in the Lincoln cluster of schools. About 200 students in the sixth through eighth grades attend Gilkey, and 25 teachers work there.

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The National League of Cities recently issued a report that praises Oregon City officials for a program that introduces high school students to construction trades.

Since 2003, students in Oregon City High School’s advanced construction class have worked on city construction projects, particularly in local parks. Students helped build park bridges and walkways and volleyball courts as well as stairs at the municipal pool and an outdoor event center.�� They have not only worked during their class time, but also after school and on weekends.

Oregon City was among 40 cities (with fewer than 75,000 people) nationwide that were cited for programs that benefit children and families.

Their work, according to the report, includes every aspect of the construction process – from the initial concept to the final nail. Students even apply for grants to buy materials. Students just finished a picnic shelter with built-in utilities in a project valued at $200,000.

Scott Archer, Oregon City’s community services director, said the national report is designed to provide city leaders with new ideas. The report takes information gathered from surveys, interviews and a review of local programs identified by the national organization’s Institute for Youth, Education, and Families.

“This has been a great opportunity for both the students and the city,”��Archer said. “We are proud of the work these students have accomplished and look forward to continuing our partnership with the school for future projects.”

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Brad Avakian, commissioner of the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries, said he learned a lot from wood- and metalworking classes of his youth.

“Enough so that when I was in college I worked construction for part of the time helping to work my way through college, and I think the exposure of that at a younger age is one of the reasons I pointed myself that way,” he said.

Now, Avakian is leading the charge to revitalize career and technical education programs in Oregon’s secondary schools. During the 2011 legislative session, he helped push through , which provided $2 million in grant money to jump-start the CTE classes.

Then the Legislature put the funding on hold because of compounded budget constraints. But Avakian said trade-oriented classes are a necessary part of public education and that he intends to lobby legislators this month to release the grant money.

The CTE classes are essential for providing the state a skilled and ready workforce, according to Avakian. He said that a little over a decade ago, young adults seeking apprenticeships in technical trades were approximately 19 years old; now they’re 26. In addition, he said community college officials are telling him that some students are requiring up to a year of remedial classes before they can start career education.

But there is another reason, Avakian said, why CTE classes are needed.

“… For the kids that are not going to go into a particular profession that is taught in school, it keeps kids interested in school and it gives them a life experience that they never would have had otherwise,” he said. “And that’s why you see the high school drop-out rates much, much lower for kids that are involved in these kinds of programs.”

According to a 2005 study by the National Research Center for Career and Technical Education, “a CTE-to-academic-credit ratio of approximately one to two was estimated to minimize the risk of dropping out,” and a recommendation was made that schools arrange schedules to accommodate that ratio. Also, 90 to 96 percent of the nation’s high school graduates took at least one CTE class during high school, according to the report.

Brian Krieg, president of marketing firm , has campaigned for shop class for the past six years. He represents industry trade groups like the Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors’ National Association, the Plumbing and Mechanical Contractors Association and Sheet Metal Workers Local No. 16.

Krieg said unions and private business owners alike have expressed concerns about how they will replace baby boomers when they retire. He said part of the problem is a false dialogue that is prolific in schools.

“The kids don’t see a career for themselves,” he said. “They’re being told go to college or you’re a failure. Go to college or you can flip burgers – there’s nothing in between there, when the fact is you have great trade careers out there, whether you’re a plumber or electrician.”

Krieg said some trade jobs actually pay more than what average college graduates make. According to the United States Census Bureau, the median income for a high school graduate in Oregon is $24,147. For a college graduate with a bachelor’s degree, it’s $41,884. For a high school graduate in construction, repair and maintenance trades, the range is between approximately $30,000 and $38,000.

But Avakian said it is not uncommon for a senior electrician to make upward of $90,000 to $100,000 a year.

“That is a great way for some young people to get into a career that will enable them to raise a family, save a little money for retirement, pay for health care and education,” he said. “And I do know that a lot of college graduates are struggling to find a job anywhere.”

Rep. Michael Dembrow, D-Portland, has supported HB 3362 and CTE programs. The Portland Community College English professor has 30 years of teaching experience. He said CTE programs are important because they help students apply subjects like math and science outside of classrooms.

“I’ve always been a book sort of person,” Dembrow said. “I’ve always felt comfortable learning that way, but a lot of my friends in high school … would have been lost if they didn’t have shop classes.”

This month the Legislature will decide whether to release the money it froze last year so that CTE programs can get rolling.

Dembrow said he believes that at worst, the $2 million in grant money will be subject to the 3.5 percent cut the state is recommending for all education programs. That amounts to a loss of $70,000 – or roughly one program, he said.

He said legislators expect to have a clear sense of what to expect come Feb. 8, when the Oregon Office of Economic Analysis releases its state revenue forecast. In the meantime, they’re seeking letters of intent, due Feb. 10, from school districts interested in offering CTE programs.

One of the requirements is that schools must partner with other organizations, colleges or businesses so that programs can be self-sustaining and not completely reliant on seed money. Krieg said that’s a vital piece because many schools simply aren’t set up to go it alone.

“In some cases, we have high schools that have been built in the last decade that don’t have shop class space in them,” he said. “It wasn’t even part of the design concept.”

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Chloe Roesch, a sophomore at the Arts and Communication Magnet Academy in Beaverton, said she took the school’s urban design course because she was interested in learning about what made her community unique.

“I wanted to learn about how my neighborhood worked and how that was different from other neighborhoods,” she said.

Roesch and 33 of her ACMA classmates got that opportunity when they joined Beaverton city staff for a design charrette on Tuesday. The charrette was part of the academy’s urban design class taught by Jon Gottshall, who is planning to bring it to the rest of the school district over the next year.

For the charrette, students split into eight groups. Each designed a future use for a mostly vacant 3.5-acre trapezoidal lot bounded by Southwest Hall Boulevard, Southwest Millikan Way and Southwest Watson Road. The site is near Beaverton Creek and MAX light-rail tracks.

One student described the lot as the definition of suburban wasteland. Another quickly chimed in and said she would rather be in math class than at the lot in its current state.

“I never had a single class growing up that focused around how to make where I lived a better place, and I thought an urban planning class would let these young adults do that,” Gottshall said. “So, we’ve spent the whole semester learning about urban growth boundaries, transit-orientated development and various other aspects of urban planning. Now I am turning them loose and letting them put these concepts to practice in Beaverton.

“I don’t expect all these young adults to become urban planners. But, at the very least, I want them to have an understanding of the underlying issues associated with growth and development so they can be informed citizens no matter where they live.”

Gottshall asked Ric Stephens, Beaverton planning commissioner, to suggest a plot of land that could be developed in the future, for the class to use. He was shocked when Stephens not only handed him aerial photos of a lot but also sent several city representatives to oversee the charrette and answer any logistical questions the students might have.

Stephens said he conducts charrettes around the world while working as a consultant but has never participated in one with young adults. The collaborative exercises are the future of urban design, and these students will lead the way, he said.

Most of the student groups incorporated bio-swales, permeable surfaces and mixed-use buildings in their designs. But from there, differences emerged.

One group wanted to create the feeling of open space because when the group members saw a picture of the lot on Google Earth they were immediately drawn to its openness. As a result, their design turned the attention outward.

Another group identified the site’s potential as a gathering space, so participants planned a community center at the center and mixed-use buildings around the perimeter.

Cate Werge, a sophomore, said her group first looked at other cities and determined what defined them. Then the group turned its attention to Beaverton and tried to create a sense of place. The group decided that Beaverton was a green city, so it tried to make the site as sustainable as possible.

Another group didn’t want to work with the lay of the land, so it built the ground level up one story and added tunnels for the surrounding roads.

Erin Bernot, a senior, said her group was aware that Beaverton doesn’t have a cultural center despite the presence of many different ethnicities. So the group developed a design that included restaurants and shops around the outside of the lot, with each building representing its culture within.

“A lot of people want Beaverton to be more like Portland,” Bernot said. “We wanted our design to be unique to Beaverton. We are a suburb. Why try to be anything that we aren’t?”

Next, each group will refine its ideas in the next five weeks. The class will then vote on the three best designs, and those groups will make presentations before Beaverton City Council and the planning commission in June.

Marc San Soucie, council president, said the presented designs will be considered for inclusion in the Beaverton civic plan, which will be developed over the next year.

Gottshall said he wants to eventually see the urban design class expanded throughout the state.

“I didn’t want this to be just another academic class,” he said. “The whole point of this is engaging students by letting them put into practice what they have learned.”

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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.”

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Students at Marylhurst University will soon be able to pursue business degrees with an emphasis on sustainable business.

After the success of an online Masters of Business Administration in sustainable business program, the university has decided to offer an MBA in sustainable business at its bricks-and-mortar school as well.

According to Marylhurst spokeswoman Clarin Cromwell, the program will offer concentrations in either renewable energy or green development. The curriculum will include 12 courses, and each course will be offered for a five week time period. Students will only have one evening class per week so that it does not interfere with their work schedule, Cromwell said.

Rather than taking a few classes that focus solely on sustainability issues, the topic will be worked into existing MBA coursework on finance, marketing and other business topics. The program can be completed in 18 months.

An information session announcing the new program will be held on Thursday, April 8 at 6:30 p.m. and again on May 6 at 6:30 p.m. and June 3 at 6:30 p.m. All sessions will be held at the university’s Flavia Salon. The campus is located at 17600 Pacific Highway, in Marylhurst.

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