This content was published: May 8, 2007. Phone numbers, email addresses, and other information may have changed.
Portland Teachers Program graduation set for May 18 at Cascade
Photos and story by James Hill
A host of aspiring teachers will be honored this month when the Portland Teachers Program holds its annual Celebration of Students event. Sixty-five people will be recognized at the Celebration, from college freshmen to graduate students, as well as program alumni. The event runs from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 18, at Portland Community College’ Cascade Campus in the Moriarty Arts and Humanities Building. A reception precedes the program from 4:30 to 5:30 pm in the Campus’ Student Center Dining Room. This year’s Celebration marks the program’s 18th anniversary.
Attending the event will be program participants and their families, leaders from the African American, Native American, Latino and Asian American communities, and representatives from education, business and government. The Celebration of Students is sponsored by Washington Mutual.
This year, seven outstanding students are graduating with their Oregon teaching license, including future elementary teachers Francisca Alvarez, Amanda Hans, Silvia Lewis, Everline Young and Yolanda Fields, along with future secondary language arts teachers Darryl Miles and Miranda Lobert.
The Celebration honors a culturally diverse group of people who have chosen a career that will benefit their communities and society as a whole. The event recognizes each participant in the program for the positive choices he or she has made, and highlights the program’s graduates for the effort and sacrifices they have made to complete both their bachelors’ degrees and a grueling year of graduate school to become licensed teachers.
The Portland Teachers Program is a partnership between Portland Public Schools, Portland Community College, Portland State University, the University of Portland and Beaverton School District, designed to increase the number of culturally competent teachers for Portland and Beaverton schools, with a special focus on the recruitment of historically underrepresented groups. Implemented in late 1989 as a response to the critical shortage of culturally and ethnically diverse teachers, the program has graduated over 100 teachers, most of whom continue to teach in Portland schools. Several have also become principals and vice principals.
For more information, call Deborah Cochrane, 503-978-5444.
About James Hill
James G. Hill, an award-winning journalist and public relations writer, is the Director of Public Relations at Portland Community College. A graduate of Portland State University, James has worked as a section editor for the Newberg Graphic... more »