Beverly Cleary School
Encyclopedia
The Beverly Cleary School (BCS) is a public school in Portland
, Oregon
, United States
. The school educates children in kindergarten through eighth-grade and is part of the Portland Public School District (PPS)
. Formed in 2007 as Hollyrood-Fernwood School, it was renamed for children's author and Fernwood alumnus Beverly Cleary
in 2008. The school uses two buildings located on the north and west edges of Grant Park
. The school's eighth-graders ascend to Grant High School as ninth-graders.
, who founded The University of Oregon School of Architecture and Allied Arts
in 1914. Many design changes and additions accumulated over the next several decades, with the most significant changes occurring in the 1970s. On April 26, 1971, Superintendent Robert Blanchard proposed constructing a new Fernwood building to accommodate the school's conversion from grammar school (K-8) to middle school (6–8). The new building site was to have been 1 1/2 blocks west of the existing site. In 1972, Fernwood's attendance swelled to 915 middle schoolers. In 2002, a PPS-commissioned Long Range Facilities Plan suggested the building undergo major facility redevelopment.
The Hollyrood building was constructed in 1958 at a cost of $198,000, in a direct response to the growing population of northeast Portland and the limitations of the Fernwood School. Hollyrood was considered at the time to be a temporary name. It was originally referred to as the Fernwood Annex and it was considered by PPS that the school would be constructed as an actual annex adjacent to the Fernwood building; however, the cost of construction would have been nearly twice as much. In 1964, two new classrooms were added to the east end of the building. In 1977, the school was converted for use as a K-3 school, with fourth-graders proceeding to Laurelhurst School for the final two years of their K-5 education.
On May 24, 2007, the School Board passed a resolution by a vote of 4–3 to merge Hollyrood Elementary School and Fernwood Middle School. The result was a full K-8 program beginning in the 2007–08 school year (with that year's 5th and 6th grade students returning from Laurelhurst Elementary). In addition, a facilitated conversation among Northeast Portland Schools (including Hollyrood, Fernwood, Beaumont Middle School and Alameda Elementary) helped to develop a plan to reassign some of the Rose City Park Elementary attendance area (the area assigned to Grant High, west of 57th Avenue) to elementary, middle or K-8 schools that feed into Grant. This resolution was revised after the School Board's decision to address the longtime split in the Rose City Park students between Madison and Grant high schools. As a direct result of the community conversations and subsequent School Board vote, the Hollyrood building remained open to house the kindergarten, first-grade and second-grade of the newly established Hollyrood-Fernwood K-8, while the upper grades were schooled in the existing Fernwood School. (In September 2009, the second-grade class was moved to the Fernwood building, leaving the kindergarten and first-grade classes as the sole occupants of the Hollyrood building, with grades 2–8 at Fernwood.)
On June 9, 2008, the School Board approved the recommendation by a board committee and Superintendent Carole Smith to name the school after Beverly Cleary. The resolution further noted that the school buildings would be designated as campuses (the Hollyrood Campus and the Fernwood Campus.
The superintendent's recommendation came following several surveys of students, parents and community members. In accordance with PPS Administrative Directive 2.20.011, a naming committee had been formed at the school to solicit feedback and provide the superintendent with recommended name choices and supporting information including their level of interest, and significance to the community. The committee's work resulted in four recommended new names—Beverly Cleary, Fernwood, Grant Park, and Hollywood—which were presented to the superintendent with supporting information. The committee did not identify a clear favorite as each choice had its pros and cons but the superintendent noted that the Beverly Cleary name received the highest number of votes in the community survey and that the Cleary name has special significance, as she is an alumnus of Fernwood (and Grant High School) and based many of her well-known children's stories on her experiences in the Fernwood neighborhood.
On July 1, 2009, Teri Geist became principal of the school. Geist had been serving as the interim director for Portland Public Schools' Talented and Gifted Education Office. She started her career with PPS as a speech language pathologist, and has been a special education supervisor, assistant principal of Gray Middle School and principal of Laurelhurst and Alameda Elementary Schools.
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The school educates children in kindergarten through eighth-grade and is part of the Portland Public School District (PPS)
Portland Public Schools, Oregon
Portland Public Schools is a public school district located in Portland, Oregon, United States. It is the largest school district in the state of Oregon, and in the Pacific Northwest. It is a Pre K-12 district with an enrollment of approximately 47,000 students...
. Formed in 2007 as Hollyrood-Fernwood School, it was renamed for children's author and Fernwood alumnus Beverly Cleary
Beverly Cleary
Beverly Cleary is an American author. Educated at colleges in California and Washington, she worked as a librarian before writing children's books. Cleary has written more than 30 books for young adults and children. Some of her best-known characters are Henry Huggins, Ribsy, Beatrice Quimby, her...
in 2008. The school uses two buildings located on the north and west edges of Grant Park
Grant Park, Portland, Oregon
Grant Park is a neighborhood and park in the Northeast section of Portland, Oregon. The neighborhood is bordered by Alameda and Beaumont-Wilshire to the north, Rose City Park to the east, Hollywood District, Laurelhurst, and Sullivan's Gulch to the south, and Irvington to the west, and best known...
. The school's eighth-graders ascend to Grant High School as ninth-graders.
History
The original Fernwood Grammar School was constructed in 1911. A Portland City Council requirement that all schools constructed after January 1, 1911, would have to be of fireproof construction led to Fernwood's brick and concrete design. The building was designed by the firm of Ellis F. LawrenceEllis F. Lawrence
Ellis Fuller Lawrence was an American architect who worked primarily in the U.S. state of Oregon. In 1914, he helped found and was the first dean of the University of Oregon's School of Architecture and Allied Arts, a position he held until his death.Lawrence concurrently served as campus...
, who founded The University of Oregon School of Architecture and Allied Arts
University of Oregon School of Architecture and Allied Arts
The University of Oregon School of Architecture and Allied Arts is a public school of architecture and visual arts in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is the only school in Oregon to offer architecture degrees accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board. The school, founded in 1914 by...
in 1914. Many design changes and additions accumulated over the next several decades, with the most significant changes occurring in the 1970s. On April 26, 1971, Superintendent Robert Blanchard proposed constructing a new Fernwood building to accommodate the school's conversion from grammar school (K-8) to middle school (6–8). The new building site was to have been 1 1/2 blocks west of the existing site. In 1972, Fernwood's attendance swelled to 915 middle schoolers. In 2002, a PPS-commissioned Long Range Facilities Plan suggested the building undergo major facility redevelopment.
The Hollyrood building was constructed in 1958 at a cost of $198,000, in a direct response to the growing population of northeast Portland and the limitations of the Fernwood School. Hollyrood was considered at the time to be a temporary name. It was originally referred to as the Fernwood Annex and it was considered by PPS that the school would be constructed as an actual annex adjacent to the Fernwood building; however, the cost of construction would have been nearly twice as much. In 1964, two new classrooms were added to the east end of the building. In 1977, the school was converted for use as a K-3 school, with fourth-graders proceeding to Laurelhurst School for the final two years of their K-5 education.
On May 24, 2007, the School Board passed a resolution by a vote of 4–3 to merge Hollyrood Elementary School and Fernwood Middle School. The result was a full K-8 program beginning in the 2007–08 school year (with that year's 5th and 6th grade students returning from Laurelhurst Elementary). In addition, a facilitated conversation among Northeast Portland Schools (including Hollyrood, Fernwood, Beaumont Middle School and Alameda Elementary) helped to develop a plan to reassign some of the Rose City Park Elementary attendance area (the area assigned to Grant High, west of 57th Avenue) to elementary, middle or K-8 schools that feed into Grant. This resolution was revised after the School Board's decision to address the longtime split in the Rose City Park students between Madison and Grant high schools. As a direct result of the community conversations and subsequent School Board vote, the Hollyrood building remained open to house the kindergarten, first-grade and second-grade of the newly established Hollyrood-Fernwood K-8, while the upper grades were schooled in the existing Fernwood School. (In September 2009, the second-grade class was moved to the Fernwood building, leaving the kindergarten and first-grade classes as the sole occupants of the Hollyrood building, with grades 2–8 at Fernwood.)
On June 9, 2008, the School Board approved the recommendation by a board committee and Superintendent Carole Smith to name the school after Beverly Cleary. The resolution further noted that the school buildings would be designated as campuses (the Hollyrood Campus and the Fernwood Campus.
The superintendent's recommendation came following several surveys of students, parents and community members. In accordance with PPS Administrative Directive 2.20.011, a naming committee had been formed at the school to solicit feedback and provide the superintendent with recommended name choices and supporting information including their level of interest, and significance to the community. The committee's work resulted in four recommended new names—Beverly Cleary, Fernwood, Grant Park, and Hollywood—which were presented to the superintendent with supporting information. The committee did not identify a clear favorite as each choice had its pros and cons but the superintendent noted that the Beverly Cleary name received the highest number of votes in the community survey and that the Cleary name has special significance, as she is an alumnus of Fernwood (and Grant High School) and based many of her well-known children's stories on her experiences in the Fernwood neighborhood.
On July 1, 2009, Teri Geist became principal of the school. Geist had been serving as the interim director for Portland Public Schools' Talented and Gifted Education Office. She started her career with PPS as a speech language pathologist, and has been a special education supervisor, assistant principal of Gray Middle School and principal of Laurelhurst and Alameda Elementary Schools.