Emily, an intelligent and outspoken eighth grader, shakes hands firmly when guests arrive at Community Transitional School. Having gone to the school for two and a half years, she claimed that she hasn’t dwelled on her shortcomings since she knows that someone will be there to support her in the event that something goes wrong.
Emily, 14, was homeless when she originally enrolled at the Community Transitional School, just like the other 87 students attending the private PreK–8 institution. For privacy and security reasons, The Oregonian/OregonLive is not revealing the last names of the students.
Portland’s Community Transitional School has been serving homeless pupils directly since 1990. Students receive free tuition and are picked up from their lodging by one of the many busses the school operates on its campus in Northeast Portland’s Cully district. Some students continue to attend after they have found more secure lodgings, but most only stay for three to five months. The Oregonian/OregonLive’s 2024 Season of Sharing holiday fundraising drive includes the school as one of its featured nonprofits.
The little school is a haven of peace for 14-year-old Diva.
Diva, who recently accompanied Emily on a tour of the school grounds, stated, “I feel safe here and accepted for who I am.” It’s really peaceful and uncrowded.
Emily stated, “Our teacher, Jennifer, helps us through it mainly when things get emotionally tough at school, but I have to give credit to our class.” They are quite tolerant.
> Contribute to the Season of Sharing general fund or the Community Transitional School. The code Season2024 can also be texted to 44-321.
According to government data, nearly 4% of Oregon’s public school-age children are homeless. That is greater than the less than 3% national average. According to a federal census of America’s homeless population conducted in 2023, Oregon has the greatest percentage of families with children who are both homeless and without shelter in the nation.
Portland is home to a large number of those families. During the 2022–2023 school year, 1,475 Portland Public School students experienced homelessness, according to data from the state department of education. For at least a portion of that year, 1,714 more students who went to school in David Douglas, Reynolds, Centennial, and Parkrose were reported as homeless.
According to The Center for Public Integrity, federal support for homeless students in public schools was $32 per homeless student in Oregon in 2018–19, which is far too little to cover all the services that are required.
Supporters contend that the Community Transitional School gives homeless students in the Portland area an additional choice, despite concerns from some educators that it separates homeless children from their peers.
According to Cheryl Bickle, the school’s founder, principal, and third- through fifth-grade teacher, the tiny school gives children a sense of belonging immediately away.
The 78-year-old Bickle leads a tiny team that consists of a full-time grant writer, three additional teachers, multiple aides, and a transportation coordinator. The school has raised money in previous years to construct a shed for its buses in order to guard against theft of the fuel and catalytic converters. Along with a basketball court, a track, and a small playground for PreK–2 children, they recently added a new playground for the older children to their outdoor area.
Multnomah County contributes roughly $85,000 to the school, and the pupils here qualify for federal funds that offer free lunches and targeted academic support in reading. Otherwise, a direct mail campaign, small donations, and a few foundation grants are how school administrators raise the $1.3 million they need each year. Dylan Koller, the school’s grant writer, stated that the school’s leaders would like to resume both their art program and their after-school program, which were discontinued when the epidemic struck.
A sizable amount of their $257 million is also used to pay, fuel, and maintain their busing program’s coordinator and drivers. According to Bickle, door-to-door bus service is a huge benefit for kids here because they constantly change addresses.
Instead than using mandatory state standardized test scores to gauge performance, Bickle concentrates on the success stories of specific children she has witnessed. As in the case of the 1990s student who stopped by to announce that she is now a preschool instructor. Or the boy who is doing well now but refused to do any schoolwork last year. Or the self-assured tour guide Emily.
Bickle claimed that when Emily first started attending the school in the sixth grade, she would hardly open her mouth. Before long, though, Emily was volunteering to accompany a trembling preschooler to class. The principal thanked Emily and gave the younger child to her, although she was taken aback by the offer.
According to Bickle, she thought it was important to give her pupils the opportunity to experiment and discover leadership opportunities.
“You will never feel confident and like you can do this if you don’t have some success that you, the child, have,” she added.
Emily will go to Northeast’s Benson Polytechnic High School in the fall. Diva will start her freshman year at North Portland’s De La Salle Catholic High School.
OregonLive/The Oregonian
What your donation can do
$25: Cover the cost of school lunch delivery for a week.
$50: Cover 16 gallons of school bus gas.
$100: Contribute to a prospective new art program’s pay.
— For The Oregonian, Lillian Mongeau Hughes writes about mental health and homelessness. For advice or inquiries, send her an email [email protected]. You may also follow her at @lrmongeau on X.
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