Benson Polytechnic High School
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Benson Polytechnic High School is a
technical Technical may refer to: * Technical (vehicle), an improvised fighting vehicle * Technical analysis, a discipline for forecasting the future direction of prices through the study of past market data * Technical drawing, showing how something is co ...
public high school in the Portland Public Schools district. It is temporarily located in Portland's Lents neighborhood while a renovation project is underway at its campus in the Central Eastside commercial area of
Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...
,
Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
, United States. Students are given a special emphasis in a technical area. The school is a member of
SkillsUSA SkillsUSA is a United States career and technical student organization serving more than 395,000 high school, college and middle school students and professional members enrolled in training programs in trade, technical and skilled service occu ...
and
Health Occupations Students of America HOSA – Future Health Professionals, formerly known as Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA), is an international career and technical student organization (CTSO) endorsed by the U.S. Department of Education and the Health Science Tech ...
.


History of Benson


Benson's predecessor

Benson Polytechnic High School began in 1908 as the Portland School of Trades in the Atkinson Building at 11th and Davis in Northwest Portland. It was established to give "boys who wished to enter a trade a better opportunity than do shops and factories of the present time." Any boy from Portland who was at least fourteen years old, or who was a grammar school graduate, could attend. The course of study was three years. Students could also attend night school and/or summer sessions at the trade school. In 1909, a course of study for girls was added, with classes in sewing, cooking,
millinery Hat-making or millinery is the design, manufacture and sale of hats and other headwear. A person engaged in this trade is called a milliner or hatter. Historically, milliners, typically women shopkeepers, produced or imported an inventory of g ...
, and homemaking. The Portland School of Trades was coeducational until 1913, when the girls' departments were moved to the original Lincoln High School.


Beginnings and World War I

The Portland School Board voted to change the school's name to Benson Polytechnic High School after civic leader and philanthropist
Simon Benson Simon Benson (September 9, 1851 – August 5, 1942) was a noted Norwegian-born American businessman and philanthropist who made his mark in the city of Portland, Oregon. Biography Background Simon Benson was born Simen Bergersen Klæve in th ...
gave $100,000 in 1915, with a stipulation that at least the same amount of money be spent by the Portland School District to start the school. Six blocks of land at Northeast 12th and Hoyt were purchased and a building was built, and the new Benson Polytechnic School opened its doors on September 4, 1917. The building was designed by
Floyd Naramore Floyd Archibald Naramore (July 21, 1879 in Warren, Illinois – October 29, 1970 in Seattle) was a Seattle architect. He was Seattle Schools Architect from 1919 to 1932, and he was a founding partner, in 1943, of the firm that today is known ...
. Portable classrooms were required early on and were still used into the 1950s. Mr. Benson gave the student body $10,000 during
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, and the first Tech Show was presented to the Portland community. Benson Polytechnic School grew rapidly in course offerings and in student population. In 1920, the printing department was set up and the school paper, the ''Tech Pep'', was published. In 1926, an aviation department was added to the school. Benson Polytechnic School served not only the educational needs of the city's youth, but also the defense needs of a nation at war. Shortly after World War I, beginning in 1919, the federal government contracted with the school, and 50 disabled soldiers were educated.


KBPS radio

In May 1921, the Benson Polytechnic School received a government license to operate "Technical and Training School" station with the call sign 7YK. This station utilized a spark transmitter, which was limited to
Morse code Morse code is a method used in telecommunication to encode text characters as standardized sequences of two different signal durations, called ''dots'' and ''dashes'', or ''dits'' and ''dahs''. Morse code is named after Samuel Morse, one of ...
dot-and-dash transmissions. In October 1923, the student body was issued a license for an experimental statiom, 7XAD. In the early 1920s broadcasting was introduced, and arrangements were made to establish a school station. Equipment previously used by a short-lived station, KYG, was purchased by the student body in March 1923, and an application filed for a new broadcasting station to be operated by the students under the direction of teacher Fred Brainard."KYG Radio Set Now Owned by Benson Tech", ''Oregon Sunday Journal'', March 18, 1923, Section 3, page 3. A broadcasting station license, with the call letters KFIF, was issued on March 23, 1923, to the Benson Polytechnic Institute. Equipment tests were begun in April, followed by an informal debut broadcast at 6:00 p.m. on May 4, 1923. A more formal station introduction, coinciding with the start of the fifth annual Benson Technical Show, was broadcast from 9:30 to 10:30 p.m on May 9, with scheduled addresses by school director W. F. Woodward, Benson principal C. E. Cleveland, and student body president Bill Norvell, plus singing by Marguerite Carney. KFIF became KBPS in March 1930, and the District later took over ownership of the station. It has continued to this day to operate on the Benson campus and to be staffed by Benson students.


Expansion and World War II

By 1940, Benson had 2,800 students and was the largest school in Portland. Due to the baby boom and passing of a $25 million building levy by the school district in 1947, 29 portable buildings dating from World War I were scheduled for replacement.


Modern times

In 1953, the Portland School Board launched a five-year building program to upgrade Benson. A library and automotive wing were completed in 1954. The north shop wing was remodeled in 1955 and the south shop wing in 1960. Benson became
co-educational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...
once again in September 1973. Six females attended that year. When the health occupations program was moved from Washington High School to Benson in 1980, Benson's female population grew substantially. An arson fire damaged offices and classrooms in the main section of Benson on January 2, 1991. Coincidentally, the School Board had already scheduled the Benson facility for major improvements. In 1991, a new health occupation wing, a new library, a new student services center, and a new band room were added, and halls and offices were modernized. Benson is undergoing a $216.6 million modernization, which started in 2021 and is scheduled to end in 2024. During the renovation, Benson classes will take place at the campus of the former John Marshall High School in Portland's Lents neighborhood.


Academics

In 2008, 88% of the school's seniors received a high school diploma. Of 271 students, 239 graduated, 27 dropped out, and five stayed for a fifth year. Oregon moved to the Cohort System the next year to identify graduates, which yields a lower rate than years previous. 76% of students graduated from Benson in 2009, which was higher than the district average of 66%. Benson is the only school in the Portland Public School district to graduate more minorities than white students.


Student profile

As a
magnet school In the U.S. education system, magnet schools are public schools with specialized courses or curricula. "Magnet" refers to how the schools draw students from across the normal boundaries defined by authorities (usually school boards) as school ...
, Benson was highly selective in the Portland area until fairly recently. Students were once required to complete an application for admissions, but this is no longer the case due to the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act; instead a lottery is used to determine which students are admitted. As of the fall of 2008, there were 1134 students enrolled in Benson, and 61.7% qualified for free or reduced lunch. As of 2022, school lunch is free for all students in Benson High School. In the 2017–2018 school year, Benson's student population was 38.7% White, 25.5% Hispanic, 15.1% African American, 9.6% Asian, 0.6% Native American, 0.6% Pacific Islander, and 9.8% mixed race.


Curriculum

In addition to a standard high school curriculum, students specialize in a self-selected major during the final two years of enrollment. Students may specialize in the following areas, provided by a partnership with
SkillsUSA SkillsUSA is a United States career and technical student organization serving more than 395,000 high school, college and middle school students and professional members enrolled in training programs in trade, technical and skilled service occu ...
and
Health Occupations Students of America HOSA – Future Health Professionals, formerly known as Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA), is an international career and technical student organization (CTSO) endorsed by the U.S. Department of Education and the Health Science Tech ...
(HOSA): ;Arts & Communications Academy *Communications Technology *KBPS Radio Broadcasting ;Health Occupations Academy *Dental Assisting *Medical Assisting *Nursing Assisting *Emergency Medicine ;Industry & Engineering Academy *Automotive Technology *Building Construction Technology *Electrical Technology *Manufacturing Technology


Homebuilding program

Benson is one of four Portland-area high schools (as well as Canby High School, Sherwood High School, and
Forest Grove High School Forest Grove High School is a public high school in Forest Grove, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1907, it is the only high school in the Forest Grove School District. Academics The school has been awarded the Bronze Medal in the '' U.S. New ...
) that builds a single-family home in the community.


Athletics

Benson's athletic teams are known as the "Benson Techmen", or "Techsters" for women's teams. The school competes in a variety of sports, and has won numerous district and state championships. Benson competes in the Portland Interscholastic League under 6A classification.


Men's Basketball Program

The men's basketball team has been one of the most successful programs in Oregon. Benson has produced 30 plus D1 basketball recruits in program history. Some previous Techmen players have chosen to play at Hawaii, UCLA, USC, Nevada, Oregon State, Rhode Island, Stanford, and other schools. Three former players have been drafted into the NBA. Benson has won state titles in 1971, 1973, 1974, 1981, 1990. Earl Clark has been head coach since 2013.


State championships

* Baseball: 1976 * Men's basketball: 1971, 1973, 1974, 1981, 1990 * Football: 1988 * Men's swimming: 1949 * Men's track and field: 1928, 1936, 1990, 1992, 1995, 2004 * Women's track and field: 1991, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 * Wrestling: 1927, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1933, 1936, 1939, 1982, 1983 * Women's basketball: 2019


Notable alumni

* Aminé, rapper * Mike Bivins, journalist reporting on civil unrest * Tom Dodd,
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
player *
Jim Elliot Philip James Elliot (October 8, 1927 – January 8, 1956) was an American Christian missionary and one of five people killed during Operation Auca, an attempt to evangelize the Huaorani people of Ecuador. Early life Elliot was born in Portland ...
, evangelical Christian killed in Ecuador on mission work *
A. C. Green A.C. Green Jr. (born October 4, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player. Nicknamed "Iron Man", he holds a National Basketball Association (NBA) record for most consecutive regular-season games played with 1,192. Green played ...
, NBA player * Alex Green, running back for the
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*
William A. Hilliard William Arthur Hilliard (May 28, 1927 – January 16, 2017) was an American journalist. He was editor of ''The Oregonian'', the major daily newspaper in Portland, Oregon, from 1987 to 1994 and was that newspaper's first African-American editor ...
, former editor of ''
The Oregonian ''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 185 ...
'' *
Matt Lattanzi Matthew Vincent Lattanzi (born February 1, 1959) is an American former actor and dancer. He is most commonly recognized as the first husband of singer and actress Dame Olivia Newton-John, and for his acting in films such as ''My Tutor'' and the s ...
, actor and dancer *
Chris Leben Christian Cyrus Leben (born July 21, 1980) is an American former mixed martial artist, referee, and bare knuckle boxer. A professional MMA competitor from 2002 until 2013, he most notably competed in the UFC in the Middleweight division, compili ...
, wrestler; retired professional
mixed martial art Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...
fighter, formerly for the
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*
Joel David Moore Joel David Moore (born September 25, 1977) is an American character actor and director. Born and raised in Portland, Oregon, Moore studied acting in college before relocating to Los Angeles to pursue a film career. His first major role was as Owen ...
, actor * Alex Nimo,
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, Portland Timbers (USL) * Henry F. Phillips, inventor of Phillips-Head screw and screwdriver *
Kim Rhodes Kimberly Rhodes (born June 7, 1969) is an American actress who is known for portraying Cindy Harrison on the soap operas '' Another World'' (1996–1999) and ''As the World Turns'' (2000–2001), Carey Martin on the Disney Channel sitcoms ''The ...
, actress *
Lendon Smith Lendon Howard Smith (June 3, 1921 – November 17, 2001) was an American Ob/Gyn, pediatrician, author, and television personality. He was notable for his advice on parenting and advocating children's health and eating issues. He was known to fans ...
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Mfon Udoka Mfon Sunday Udoka (born June 16, 1976) is a Nigerian-American former professional basketball player who is an assistant coach for the Nigeria women's national basketball team, the D'Tigress. Born in Portland, Oregon, Udoka graduated from Benso ...
, Nigerian Olympian *
Richard Washington Richard Lee Washington (born July 15, 1955) is an American former professional basketball player. Early life A 6'11" center born in Portland, Oregon, Washington played high school ball at Portland's Benson Tech. An all-around athlete and agile ...
, NBA,
Kansas City Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Pacific Division ( ...


References


External links


Benson Polytechnic High School Alumni Association

''Tech Pep'' school newspaper
{{authority control High schools in Portland, Oregon Educational institutions established in 1916 Schools accredited by the Northwest Accreditation Commission Public high schools in Oregon Magnet schools in Oregon 1916 establishments in Oregon Portland Public Schools (Oregon) Kerns, Portland, Oregon Northeast Portland, Oregon Portland Historic Landmarks