Cleveland High School

Roosevelt High School's seven Ethnic Studies classes organized the school's second annual Unity Fest. (Photo by Leif Sjoquist)

Roosevelt High School's seven Ethnic Studies classes organized the school's second annual Unity Fest. (Photo by Leif Sjoquist)

CLOSE

Roosevelt High School has one of the most diverse student bodies in Oregon, and the school celebrated Friday with its second annual Unity Fest. The event, which was designed and organized by students from the school’s seven Ethnic Studies classes, drew hundreds of students and community members to the North Portland campus.

The event featured a wide range of performances, including indigenous dancers, spoken word poetry, cultural music, Pacific Islander war dances and much more. Food was made by Ethnic Studies students and their families, Senior Inquiry students and teachers.

See a full set of photos from the event

Native American students recognized: Students from 11 PPS high schools were recognized at the annual Honor Day celebration, held last week at Portland State University’s Native American and Student Community Center. In all, 21 students from PPS schools, along with two students from other schools, who are about to graduate and went through PPS’s Indian Education program were recognized.

The students belong to a wide range of tribes in Oregon and elsewhere. The event was held in memory of Corbin Lunceford, an Indian Education student at Grant who passed away last year.

See a full list of honored students
See a full set of photos from the event

Ground broken at Madison High: The ceremonial shovels came in adult and children’s sizes as ground was broken on the two-year construction project that will modernize Madison High School. The ceremony, held Saturday, was led by Principal Petra Callin and featured speeches by U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer, Superintendent Guadalupe Guerrero and 1986 Madison graduate Kent Bottenfield, who pitched for eight different Major League Baseball teams.

After the 2018-19 school year ends at Madison, work will begin on the modernization project that will include more than 170,000 square feet of new construction. Madison students will move to the Marshall High School campus for two years before moving back into a fully modernized campus in 2021.

See a full set of photos from the ceremony
Learn more about the Madison modernization project