Save Benson Polytechnic High School

In 1916, Benson Polytechnic High School was opened as an institution to give “boys who wished to enter a trade a better opportunity than do shops and factories of the present time”. Named after Portland, Oregon’s philanthropist and civic leader Simon Benson, not only was it a school that fulfilled the academic needs of its students, but it was a school centered in teaching skilled trades for the working world. In 1973, Benson opened its doors to female students, transforming it into a coeducational professional/technical high school offering courses ranging from Aviation and Building Construction to Architectural Drafting and pre-Nursing. Up until very recently, it was a highly respected public school that top scholars attended. As it was also a magnet school, it required a fairly rigorous application process for admission. Under this theory, Benson’s pupils all wanted to be there and were driven and applied in their classrooms, shops and labs. By the very nature of going through the application process, they were able to demonstrate that they could fulfill the grade point average and academic requirements to get accepted and remain astute in their studies. This reality ensured a higher overall achievement rate within the student body.

The respected nature of Benson and its student body has gone by the wayside with the continued failing state of Portland Public Schools, in addition to the No Child Left Behind Act. Due to this policy, Benson’s admissions process has become a lottery, allowing anyone to be randomly selected to attend. Under this new policy, there appears to be a great deal of apathy in the hallways and classrooms, for it isn’t clear if they all really want to be there. Students aren’t performing as well as they used to in their academic coursework. Students also don’t seem to care as much about the technical programs being offered to them, nor do they understand how unusual of an institution Benson truly is. This coupled with the plague of budget cuts, it’s a wonder the building still stands at all.

Due to inadequate funding, the Architectural Drafting program has since been eliminated, as have the Printing Presses in the Communications Technology coursework. But this is only the beginning. There have been threats to shut Benson down completely, which would put teachers out of jobs, in addition to over crowding the neighboring high schools that would have to take in the Benson students.

Benson still offers professional/technical courses in: Automotive and Aviation, Communications Technology (including Photography, Video, Web Design and Radio Broadcasting), Construction, Electronics, Manufacturing and Health Occupations (including Dental Assisting, Emergency Medicine, Lifespan Nursing Assisting, and Medical Practice Preparation). Students spend their first two years rotating among the various programs to develop an appreciation for a specific trade. For the latter two years, they specialize or major in a given area. It would indeed be a shame to remove this school and its offerings entirely from the community, as it is a one of a kind learning environment. We need to lobby to keep this school in tact, to stop cutting off its resources so that the technical courses stay in tact. We need to modify the No Child Left Behind Act, so that Benson’s student body can regain its respected position once again. We need to work together to save this school.

To learn more about Benson Polytechnic High School, please visit its student website. Some of the information is out of date, but it captures the impact of how important this school is and the potential is truly has to launch its graduates into the real world with skills that they can use in addition to their academic preparation.

www.bensonhs.pps.k12.or.us