Chair Deborah Kafoury joined the next Portland Public School Superintendent Guadalupe Guerrero at a community-wide celebration Aug. 29 to open the “Faubion School + Concordia University, a 3 to PhD® community.”
The new education model and facility in Northeast Portland prepares the next generation of educators inside a public pre-K-8 school, taking into account the needs of the whole child – from prenatal care through “pursuing one’s highest dreams.”
“I’m awe-struck by what this community has done working across organizations, industries and institutions,’’ Chair Kafoury told the hundreds gathered at the opening. “This new campus represents our community’s strength, creativity and determination at it’s very best.’’
The facility is the first completely new Portland public school in two decades. The Portland Public Schools bond provided $38.3M from a bond Portland voters passed in 2012, while Concordia University Portland and its supporters contributed an additional $15.5M plus land.
Chair Kafoury said she grew up here in Northeast Portland and as a legislator, knocked on almost every door in this very neighborhood. “I saw then, and I see now, the challenges young families face in trying to nurture and support their kids and I can’t think of a better opportunity for those kids and this neighborhood than this partnership.”
The new building consists of a full preK-8 Faubion School and Concordia University classrooms, conference rooms and faculty office spaces. But it also includes an early childhood education center for up to 120 children, a 2,500 sq. ft. Kaiser Permanente 3 to PhD Wellness Center serving Faubion students and Concordia students; mental and behavioral health by Trillium Family Services; and a food club with healthy, organic foods.
“We know more than ever about the importance of supporting brain development – with nurturing, nutrition, learning and love. And those community-based solutions and best practices are represented here in the new Early Childhood Education Center,’’ Chair Kafoury said.
Hundreds of Faubion parents gathered to hear from Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, City Commissioner Nick Fish, Oregon Chief Education Officer Lindsey Capps, Oregon State Senator Lew Frederick, PPS Board Chair Julia Brim-Edwards and Concordia University President Charles Schlimpert.
The six core providers behind the project include Concordia University Portland, Portland Public Schools, Faubion School, Trillium Family Services, Kaiser Permanente and basics (formerly Pacific Foods). Multnomah County funds many of the wraparound social services.
Chair Kafoury said, “I firmly believe that our children's health and success is our responsibility -- all of us - not just our schools, universities or places with education in their names. We each have a role in making and keeping our community a place of safety, trust, belonging and thriving.
“And our kids -- all of them -- are counting on us.”