By David Mayne
The new Kellogg Middle School at 3330 SE 69th Ave. is complete and awaiting its Grand Opening on Saturday, August 28, 10 am. The ribbon cutting ceremony will be followed by informal tours of the new school.
After a more than three years of design and construction, Portland’s newest school represents the vision of Portland Public Schools (PPS) for middle school education with expanded options and programs.
Designed through an extensive public engagement process, Kellogg includes over 100,000 sq. ft. of new construction including a performing arts stage, a multi-purpose gym and assembly space, a large, flexible commons space and dedicated outdoor learning spaces.
The school will become a focal point of its SE Portland neighborhood, offering a resource hub for the community.
Highlights of the new building include a cafeteria/commons area serving as the heart of the school and offering space for student gatherings and after-hours community activities; and Learning Suites, groups of classrooms connected together in an extended learning area, to promote greater collaboration.
A STEAM lab, used for maker space activities and project-based learning opportunities is connected to a learning garden so teachers can extend projects to the outdoor gardening space.
The school’s overall design strongly emphasizes sustainability with numerous energy-efficient features including an extensive solar array that will generate power for the school.
Under the new PPS approved enrollment boundaries, students in grades 6-8 at Arleta, Marysville, Creston and Lent will move to Kellogg starting in the 2021-22 school year.
Those schools will convert from their K-8 structure to K-5. Bridger’s Spanish Dual Language Immersion program and 25 Bridger neighborhood students will move to Kellogg as well.
Veteran educator Richard Smith is the principal of the new Kellogg. Smith had been principal of Lent K-8 School since 2018. At Lent, Smith took over a traditionally under-served campus and improved attendance, school culture and staff retention.
He has been working on Kellogg since January 2021 to get a jump on the many details involved in the opening of the district’s newest school.
Kellogg and the nearby modernized Franklin High School were both made possible through voter support of School Improvement Bonds in 2012 and 2017. The latest 2020 PPS Improvement Bond also provides money for the future master planning of Cleveland High School.
For more information about Kellogg, visit pps.net/KelloggBond. For more on PPS bond projects, visit pps.net/bond.
Photo of the new Kellogg Middle School by Portland Public Schools
