Benson Polytechnic High School
Motto	United by Spirit, Bonded by Name.
Contact Information	Phone: 503-916-5100 Fax: 503-916-5100
Established	1919
Type	Technical
Principal	Christie Plinski
Location	546 NE 12th Ave Portland, Oregon United States
District	Portland Public School District
Enrollment	1508 students
Grades	9 to 12
Publication	Tech Pep
Mascot	Techman
Website	http://www.bensonhs.pps.k12.or.us/

Benson Polytechnic High School is a coeducational, public technical school in the Portland Public Schools District. Its nine-acre campus is located in the center of Portland's Eastside commercial area. Matriculants are given a normal high school education with special emphasis in a technical area. Image File history File linksMetadata Benson_Polytechnic_High_School_logo. ... 1919 (MCMXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Nickname: City of Roses, Stumptown, Bridgetown Official website: http://www. ... Coeducation is the integrated education of men and women at the same school facilities; co-ed is a shortened adjectival form of co-educational. ... The term public school has different (and in some cases contradictory) meanings due to regional differences. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... To view enlargement of PPS district map, click on image. ... Nickname: City of Roses, Stumptown, Bridgetown Official website: http://www. ...

Benson is accredited by the Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges. It is a member of SkillsUSA (formerly Vica) and Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA). The Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU) is an independent, non-profit membership organization recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) as the regional authority on educational quality and institutional effectiveness of higher education institutions in the seven-state Northwest... SkillsUSA logo, 2004 - present SkillsUSA is a United States career and technical student organization serving more than 279,771 high school and college students and professional members enrolled in training programs in technical, skilled, and service occupations, including health occupations. ...

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. 1908 (MCMVIII) is a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Nickname: City of Roses, Stumptown, Bridgetown Official website: http://www. ...

In 1909, a course of study for girls was added. The Portland School of Trades was coeducational until 1913 when the girls' departments were moved to the Lownsdale School which later became the Lincoln High School. 1909 (MCMIX) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ...

Beginnings and the First World War

The Portland School Board voted to change the school's name to Benson Polytechnic High School after civic leader and philanthropist Simon Benson gave $100,000 in 1917 to the Portland School District for the construction of a building to house a technical school. The School Board appropriated an equal amount of money. 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 in September 1918 to 46 boys. Simon Benson was a noted businessman and philanthropist from Portland, Oregon. ...

Benson Polytechnic School served not only the educational needs of the city's youth, but also the defense needs of a nation at war. During World War I the federal government took control of the school. Twenty-four hours a day, recruits were stationed and trained on the campus. North and south wings were added to the back of the school building to serve as a barracks for the troops. Combatants Allies: • Serbia, • Russia, • France, • Romania, • Belgium, • British Empire and Dominions, • United States, • Italy, • ...and others Central Powers: • Germany, • Austria-Hungary, • Ottoman Empire, • Bulgaria Casualties Military dead: 5 million Civilian dead: 3 million Total: 8 million Full list Military dead: 3 million Civilian dead: 3 million Total: 6 million Full...

Expansion and the Second World War

After World War I, the barracks became shop classrooms, and surplus government property was purchased and used as shop equipment. Mr. Benson gave the student body $10,000, 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 1923, Benson's own radio station, KFIF, signed on. In 1930, when KFIF became too expensive for the student body to operate, the District accepted ownership of the station. The station was renamed KBPS (for Benson Polytechnic School) and has continued to this day to operate on the Benson campus and to be staffed by Benson students. In 1926, an aviation department was added to the school. By 1940, Benson had 2,800 students and was the largest school in Portland. Combatants Allies: • Serbia, • Russia, • France, • Romania, • Belgium, • British Empire and Dominions, • United States, • Italy, • ...and others Central Powers: • Germany, • Austria-Hungary, • Ottoman Empire, • Bulgaria Casualties Military dead: 5 million Civilian dead: 3 million Total: 8 million Full list Military dead: 3 million Civilian dead: 3 million Total: 6 million Full... 1920 (MCMXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar) // Events January January 7 - Forces of Russian White admiral Kolchak surrender in Krasnoyarsk. ... The following radio stations broadcast from Oregon. ... 1926 (MCMXXVI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1940 calendar). ...

During World War II, the federal government once again utilized Benson Polytechnic School. Training men during swing and graveyard shifts, the War Production Board kept the Benson building in use twenty-four hours a day for every day of the war. The building was a high school for Portland's young men from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and a training facility for federal industry from 2:30 p.m. until 8 a.m.

Deterioration of both the facility and the student body was a concern following World War II. Because the building had been in continuous use during the war, it was left in extremely poor condition. Because compulsory education law went into effect, many boys who didn't want to be forced to attend school. Benson became a "dumping ground" for troubled students from 1945 to 1952.

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 once in September 1973. Seven 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. Coeducation is the integrated education of men and women. ...

An arsonist's fire damaged offices and classrooms in the main section of Benson on January 3, 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.

Student profile

As a magnet school, Benson is highly selective among the Portland area. All students must complete an application for admissions. This is, however, no longer true because of the No Child Left Behind Act. As of Fall 2003, there were 1508 students enrolled in Benson. 84% are seeking a higher degree after graduation. In the U.S. system of education, a magnet school is a public school that draws students interested in specific subjects such as academics or the arts from the surrounding region (typically a school district or a county). ...

• By grade: 486 freshmen, 420 sophomores, 314 juniors, 288 seniors
• By gender: 44% women, 56% men
• By ethnicity: 23% Asian Americans, 2% Native Americans, 30% African Americans, 6% Hispanic, 39% Caucasian.

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 and Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA): SkillsUSA logo, 2004 - present SkillsUSA is a United States career and technical student organization serving more than 279,771 high school and college students and professional members enrolled in training programs in technical, skilled, and service occupations, including health occupations. ...

• Communications Technology
• Construction Technology
• Computer Hardware/Software Technology
• Drafting/Engineering Technology
• Electric/Electronics Engineering Technology
• Health Occupations
• Manufacturing Engineering Technology
• Transportation Technology

Athletics and extracurricular programs

Benson is a member of the Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA). It offers a number of interscholastic varsity sports, such as baseball, softball, basketball, wrestling, track, swimming, tennis, golf, cross country, soccer, football, volleyball, rally, and dance. It also has various intramural sports. Made up of both public and private high schools, the ‘’’Oregon School Activities Association’’’ is a non-profit, board-governed organization that regulates equitable competition amongst its members. ...

In addition, Benson offers a number of extracurricular pursuits, such as interschool, local, state, and national mathematics competitions through the math school, Math Engineering Science Achievement (MESA) club, Boy Scouts of America Explorer Program, Junior Achievement, a chess club, a science club, and student government. It also has a National Honor Society chapter. This article is about the national organization. ... Junior Achievement is a youth organization started in 1919 by Horace Moses, Theodore Vail, and Senator Murray Crane as a collection of small, after-school business clubs for students on the East Coast. ... A students union, student government, or student council is a student organization present at many colleges and universities, often with its own building on the campus, dedicated to social and organizational activities of the student body. ... Started in 1921, the National Honor Society, or NHS, is an organization whose intent is to recognize middle and high school students in the United States. ...

External link

• Benson Polytechnic High School