Eugene School District (4J) is a public
school district
A school district is a special-purpose district that operates local public primary and secondary schools in various nations.
North America United States
In the U.S, most K–12 public schools function as units of local school districts, wh ...
in the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...
of
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 ...
. It is one of two school districts that serve the city of
Eugene.
Demographics
Eugene School District 4J spans in the southern Willamette Valley, including the city of Coburg and a small part of Linn County to the north. About 85 percent of the City of Eugene lies inside 4J's boundaries.
About 16,500 students attend school in the district's 20 elementary school programs, 8 middle schools, 4 comprehensive high schools and various alternative high school programs
[ — making it one of the most populous of Oregon's approximately 200 school districts. The five public charter schools located in the district serve about 600 additional students.
Approximately 25 percent of the student body and 10 percent of the teaching staff are members of racial/ethnic minority groups.
Nearly 50 percent of students in the Eugene School District qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a key measure of poverty in school districts. In the 2009 school year, the district had 743 students classified as homeless by the ]Department of Education
An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...
, or 4.2% of students in the district.
History
The district that would evolve into Eugene School District 4J started in 1854, five years before Oregon attained statehood. The district is numbered ''4J'' because it was the fourth school district incorporated in Lane County and is a joint (J) district — its boundary includes a small part of Linn County to the north. The district's name changed in 1964, when it absorbed Coburg School (since closed), whose attendance boundary goes nearly to Harrisburg
Harrisburg is the capital city of the Pennsylvania, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the List of c ...
.[
]
School district structure
Eugene School District 4J is a K–12 public school district with elementary schools serving grades K–5, middle schools serving grades 6–8, high schools serving grades 9–12, and special education transition programs up to age 21. Every residence in the district is within the attendance boundary of a neighborhood elementary, middle and high school. A majority of students attend their neighborhood schools, but the district's school choice policy allows students to enroll in a different neighborhood school or an alternative school through the school choice process, and a large percentage do so. The district also accepts enrollment from students who reside outside the district boundaries.
School choice policy
Choice is a key element of the Eugene School District, which is home to several alternative education programs (sometimes known as magnet schools
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 ...
, in Eugene such programs are called "alternative schools") including five language immersion programs in four languages—Spanish, Japanese, French and Chinese. The district's sometimes-controversial open school choice policy means that families who live in the district may enroll their children in any 4J school, provided there is space available. Most parents choose to have their children attend the neighborhood school near their home, but others elect to enroll their children in a different neighborhood school or in an alternative school. For students requesting enrollment in a school other than their own neighborhood school, open slots are granted in an order determined by the district's annual school choice lottery.
School programs
Alternative schools and language immersion
Among the district's 20 elementary schools, five schools immerse the students in a foreign language for half or all of the day: River Road/El Camino del Rio Spanish/English dual immersion, Buena Vista Spanish immersion, Yujin Gakuen Japanese immersion, Charlemagne French immersion and, starting in fall 2017, a Mandarin Chinese language immersion program. Language immersion offerings continue K–12, allowing students to continue their intensive Spanish, French or Japanese programs through middle school and high school. The Chinese immersion program launching in 2017 is planned to grow to continue through middle and high school. The district also has two non-language-immersion alternative (magnet) elementary schools that have no neighborhood catchment area and enroll students solely by request and lottery placement: Corridor Elementary School and Family School. Eugene International High School offers programs within three of the district's four regional high schools — Churchill, Sheldon and South Eugene.
Elementary schools
The Eugene School District's elementary schools serve grades K–5. Full-day kindergarten is provided in all of the district's elementary schools.
*Adams Elementary School
*Awbrey Park Elementary School
*Bertha Holt Elementary School
*Buena Vista Spanish Immersion Elementary School
*Camas Ridge Community Elementary School
*César E. Chávez Elementary School
*Charlemagne French Immersion Elementary School
*Chinese Immersion Elementary School (opened fall 2017)
*Edgewood Community Elementary School
*Edison Elementary School
*Family School
*Gilham Elementary School
*Howard Elementary School
*McCornack Elementary School
*River Road/El Camino del Río Elementary School
**Neighborhood elementary school offering Spanish/English dual immersion program
*Spring Creek Elementary School
*Twin Oaks Elementary School
*Willagillespie Elementary School
*Yujin Gakuen Japanese Immersion Elementary School
**Roughly translated from Japanese, the name means "happy garden of learning"
Note: Coburg, Crest Drive, Meadowlark and Parker Elementary Schools were closed in 2011, and a number of other schools previously closed over decades of declining enrollment after the Baby Boom.
Middle schools
The Eugene School District's middle-level school model is middle schools serving grades 6, 7 and 8.
*Arts & Technology Academy
**Was Located in the former Jefferson Middle School building until fall 2017
**Neighborhood middle school, grades 6–8 (previously a K–8 school)
**Oregon Model STEM Lab School, with STEM/STEAM studies (science, technology, engineering, (art) & math) infused throughout curriculum
*Cal Young Middle School
**Named for Cal Young
Cal Marcellus Young (June 25, 1871 – January 30, 1957), sometimes known as "Mr. Eugene," or "Mr. Lane County," was an American football coach and a pioneer of Eugene, Oregon. He was the first head football coach at the University of Oregon.
E ...
, prominent pioneer of Eugene, Oregon, and first head football coach of the University of Oregon
**Founded in 1953
**New school building opened in 2006
*Kelly Middle School
**Named for WWII pilot Colin Kelly
Colin Purdie Kelly Jr. ( ; July 11, 1915 – December 10, 1941) was a World War II B-17 Flying Fortress pilot who flew bombing runs against the Japanese navy in the first days after the Pearl Harbor attack. He is remembered as one of the first ...
**Hosts middle level of K–12 Spanish immersion program in North Eugene region
**Hosts middle level of K–12 Japanese immersion program in North Eugene region
*Kennedy Middle School
**Named for President John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...
**Future home of middle level of K–12 Chinese immersion program in Eugene's Churchill region
*Madison Middle School
**Named for President James Madison
James Madison Jr. (March 16, 1751June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father. He served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison is hailed as the "Father of the Constitution" for hi ...
*Monroe Middle School
**Named for President James Monroe
James Monroe ( ; April 28, 1758July 4, 1831) was an American statesman, lawyer, diplomat, and Founding Father who served as the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. A member of the Democratic-Republican Party, Monroe was ...
**Hosts middle level of K–12 Spanish immersion program in Eugene's Sheldon region
*Roosevelt Middle School
**Named for President Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...
**Hosts middle level of K–12 French immersion program in South Eugene region
**New school building opened in 2016
*Spencer Butte Middle School
**Named for a geographical feature of the region
High schools
The Eugene School District includes four comprehensive regional high schools and some alternative programs at the high school level.
Churchill High School (1966) serves the southwest portion of Eugene, as well as rural areas south and west of the city. North Eugene (1957) serves the River Road and Santa Clara neighborhoods northwest of the city center. Sheldon Sheldon may refer to:
* Sheldon (name), a given name and a surname, and a list of people with the name
Places Australia
* Sheldon, Queensland
*Sheldon Forest, New South Wales
United Kingdom
*Sheldon, Derbyshire, England
*Sheldon, Devon, England
* ...
(1963) students come from the Coburg Road area north of downtown Eugene, as well as the city of Coburg and the rural area in between. South Eugene (1901), formerly Eugene High, is the district's oldest high school. It serves the area of Eugene south and east of the downtown area and the University of Oregon.
* Churchill High School
**Listed as one of America's Best High Schools (Silver Medal) by '' U.S. News & World Report'' and ''Newsweek
''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...
''
*North Eugene High School
North Eugene High School is a public high school in the River Road/Santa Clara neighborhoods of Eugene, Oregon, United States.
History
North Eugene High School was open to students on October 21, 1957. The opening was delayed nearly two months, ...
**Nationally recognized as one of America's Best High Schools (Bronze Medal) by '' U.S. News & World Report''
* Sheldon High School
**Nationally recognized in ''Newsweek
''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...
s annual list of the nation's best public high schools of the year in 2010
*South Eugene High School
South Eugene High School is a public high school located in Eugene, Oregon, United States.
History
The school was founded as Eugene High School around 1900, and was located at Willamette Street and West 11th Avenue in a brick building that late ...
**Listed as one of America's Best High Schools (Silver Medal) by '' U.S. News & World Report'' and ''Newsweek
''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...
''
* Eugene International High School
*Transition Education Network
Transition or transitional may refer to:
Mathematics, science, and technology Biology
* Transition (genetics), a point mutation that changes a purine nucleotide to another purine (A ↔ G) or a pyrimidine nucleotide to another pyrimidine (C ↔ ...
, formerly Life Skills Network
*Eugene Education Options
Eugene may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Eugene (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* Eugene (actress) (born 1981), Kim Yoo-jin, South Korean actress and former member of the sin ...
Charter schools
The district also sponsors five public charter schools, which receive public funds but operate independently of the school district: Coburg Community Charter School, Ridgeline Montessori Public Charter School, The Village School, Network Charter School
Network Charter School is a public charter school in Eugene, Oregon, United States.
It is a small public charter school with between 90 and 130 students enrolled in grades 7-12. Classes are offered in a variety of locations through a network of c ...
, and Twin Rivers Charter School.
Ridgeline Montessori, a K–8 program founded in 2000 as one of Oregon's first charter schools, is a publicly funded school based on Montessori
The Montessori method of education involves children's natural interests and activities rather than formal teaching methods. A Montessori classroom places an emphasis on hands-on learning and developing real-world skills. It emphasizes indepen ...
educational philosophy and methods. The Village School, also founded in 2000, describes itself as a holistic, arts-integrated program inspired by Waldorf education
Waldorf education, also known as Steiner education, is based on the educational philosophy of Rudolf Steiner, the founder of anthroposophy. Its educational style is Holistic education, holistic, intended to develop pupils' intellectual, artistic ...
. The school board approved a charter for Coburg Community Charter School after Coburg Elementary School, the public school which had existed in the small town of Coburg since the mid-1800s, was closed in 2011 due to low enrollment and a statewide school budget crisis. The curriculum of the Network Charter School, in downtown Eugene, is drawn from an alliance of local businesses and non-profits. Twin Rivers Charter School is the fifth and newest program chartered in the Eugene School District, in operation since 2014. It serves students ages 14–19 in an experiential school environment.
Administration
Cyndey Vandercar has served as superintendent of Eugene School District 4J since July 2020.
The Board of Directors has seven members elected from the district at large to serve four-year terms; board members serve without pay. The school board
A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution.
The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional are ...
serves as the policy-making body of the school district. The Eugene School Board selects the superintendent as the district's executive officer and delegates the responsibility for implementing its policies and plans to the superintendent. The board also has the annual responsibility of adopting a balanced school district budget, developed in a budget process along with seven appointed citizen members of the district's budget committee.
The school board
A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution.
The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional are ...
meets in regular public sessions at the 4J Education Center, 200 North Monroe, Eugene. Special meetings and work sessions are scheduled as necessary. All regular board meetings are broadcast live on the district's radio station, KRVM-AM 1280, and audio recordings are posted to the district's website. The school board encourages public input. Comments on items that are not on the board's agenda may be made at the beginning of each meeting. Audience members who wish to speak may sign up at the beginning of the meeting. Comments also may be sent to the board via email.
Board members for 2019–2020 school year:
*Alicia Hays
*Gordon Lafer
*Anne Marie Levis
*Judy Newman
*Martina Shabram
*Jim Torrey
*Mary Walston
See also
* Bethel School District
*List of school districts in Oregon
This is a list of public school districts in Oregon, a U.S. state. The Oregon Department of Education has authority over public schools. Oregon has 188 public school districts.
History
In previous eras, the state had around 2,000 school distric ...
* Marist High School
Footnotes
Further reading
* Joseph Schafer
"An Historical Survey of Public Education in Eugene, Oregon,"
''Oregon Historical Quarterly,'' vol. 2, whole no. 5 (March 1901), pp. 55–77.
External links
* {{Official website, http://www.4j.lane.edu
School districts in Oregon
Education in Eugene, Oregon
1854 establishments in Oregon Territory
School districts established in 1854