Catlin Gabel School

The Catlin Gabel School is an independent preschool through 12th grade institution located on 67 acres in Portland, Oregon 5 miles west of downtown.[5]

Catlin Gabel School
Address
8825 SW Barnes Road

Portland
,
Oregon
97225

United States
Coordinates45.509819°N 122.767373°W / 45.509819; -122.767373
Information
TypeIndependent private
Opened1957
HeadTim Bazemore
GradesPreschool–12[1]
Enrollment760[2] (2014)
Student to teacher ratio6.3:1[2]
CampusSuburban, 67 acres (27 ha)
Color(s)Royal blue and white   [3]
Athletics conferenceOSAA Lewis & Clark League 3A-1[3]
MascotEagles[3]
RivalOregon Episcopal School
AccreditationNAAS[4]
NewspaperCatlinSpeak
Websitewww.catlin.edu

Upper School Walkway

The quad during a snowfall

History

With roots that go back to 1859, the school was formed by the 1957 merger between the Catlin Hillside School (founded in 1911 as Miss Catlin's School, named after the founder Ruth Catlin) and the Gabel Country Day School (originating as the Portland Academy, named after founder Priscilla Gabel).[6] The school had initially hoped to expand onto the Gabel school property, but lost it to eminent domain. Since the Catlin property was too small to support the school, Catlin Gabel purchased the Honey Hollow Farm in 1958, relocating the Upper School there in the fall. Nine years later, the Middle School relocated there, followed by the Lower School a year later, in 1968. The school sold the Catlin Hillside buildings to the Portland Art Museum for its art school. The buildings were later converted to a community center for the Hillside neighborhood.[7]

In 2005, the Malone Family Foundation endowed Catlin Gabel with a $2 million grant for financial aid under its Malone Scholars Program.[8]

Students

As of the 2020-2021 school year, there were 780 students.[9] The student body is divided into three groups: Upper School (grades 9–12), Middle School (grades 6–8), and Beginning and Lower School (preschool–grade 5).[10]

In the last four years, (2017-20), a Catlin Gabel student has been named a U.S. Presidential Scholar, a recognition given each year to 161 high school seniors nationally for their accomplishments.[11][12][13][14]

Accreditation

Catlin Gabel is accredited by the Northwest Association of Independent Schools (NWAIS).

Science research

Catlin Gabel has a long history of science research competition success. Over the years, many students have placed highly in competitions such as the Intel Science Talent Search, the Siemens Competition, the Davidson Fellows Scholarship, and the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair.[15][16][17]

As of 2020, school review website Niche ranks Catlin Gabel as the number one best overall private high school and number one best high school for STEM in the state of Oregon.[18]

Activities

Catlin Gabel has operated a team in the FIRST Robotics Competition since 2005, called "The Flaming Chickens". The team has consistently qualified for the FIRST World Championships competition almost every year.[19]

Catlin Gabel has been a successful participant in the Oregon Mock Trial competition, and has often gone to the national competition.[20]

Sports

Catlin Gabel's traditional rival in athletics is the Oregon Episcopal School.[21] The Middle School fields teams of soccer, volleyball, cross-country, basketball, and track. The Upper School competes in soccer, cross-country, basketball, baseball, track, golf, swimming, skiing, women's volleyball, and tennis. The CGS Eagles are currently ranked #1 in the state for both boys and girls soccer.[22][23]

School traditions

Some of the early traditions at Catlin Gabel School included the beginning-of-the-year “Bacon Bat” picnic. Bacon Bat is an event involving games, competitions and a cookout with the intention of building school spirit.[24]

The first “Clean-Up Day” took place in 1937, and the school has continued that tradition since. Though the name of this tradition has been renamed to Campus Day, the central idea of taking care of the school's campus is still at the heart of it.

Additionally, in 1931 students first performed “St. George and the Dragon,” a tradition which has been going on since. Students still remember “St. George” as one of the highlights of their time in middle school.

One of the most common traditions has been the recitation of the School Chapter, a tradition dating back to 1935 for ninth graders to memorize I Corinthians 13 in their English 9 classes.[25]

This rummage sale was similar to a large garage sale –– people would donate items that would be sorted and then later sold. The “Rummage Sale” became a school tradition.[24]

Faculty sexual assault and misconduct allegations

Beginning in 2017, several former students began writing about sexual abuse by faculty on social media. Coinciding with the Me Too movement, the number of accounts increased, prompting the school to commission an investigation in October 2019.[26]

The investigation issues a report on November 11, 2019. It found that at least 21 Catlin Gabel faculty had taken advantage of their positions at the school in committing various degrees of sexual impropriety. This ranged from the rape of a 6th grade minor to generally inappropriate behavior and relationships between faculty and students that went back as early as the 1960s and was recorded occurring as recently as 2016.[27] In December 2019, the Washington County Sheriff's Department opened a criminal investigation of the school.[28] In January 2020, The Oregonian documented allegations by over 15 former students from age 21 to 61.[26] Six more former students sued the school in April 2020 saying they were fondled, groped, and sexually abused by former teachers Richardson Shoemaker, Robert Ashe, Art Leo and Sam Crawley.[29] A total of 16 former students have filed suit against Catlin Gabel.[30]

Notable alumni

References
  1. "Oregon School Directory 2008-09" (PDF). Oregon Department of Education. p. 139. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-05-26. Retrieved May 28, 2009.
  2. "Catlin Gabel School". National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences. Archived from the original on December 24, 2014. Retrieved December 24, 2014.
  3. "Catlin Gabel". www.OSAA.org. Retrieved November 18, 2017.
  4. http://www.northwestaccreditation.org/schools/Oregon.pdf%5B%5D
  5. "About Catlin Gabel". Catlin Gabel. Catlin Gabel School. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  6. Ted Kaye. "Catlin Gabel School". The Oregon Encyclopedia.
  7. "Hillside Community Center". The City of Portland. Retrieved January 9, 2018.
  8. "Malone Scholars Program". Malone Family Foundation. Retrieved July 23, 2017.
  9. "About Catlin Gabel". Catlin Gabel. Catlin Gabel School. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  10. "Catlin Gabel Beginning and Lower School". Catlin Gabel. Catlin Gabel School. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  11. "161 Students From Across the Country Named 2017 U.S. Presidential Scholars". U.S. Department of Education. U.S. Department of Education. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  12. "161 Students From Across the Country Named 2018 U.S. Presidential Scholars". U.S. Department of Education. U.S. Department of Education. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  13. "161 Students from Across the Country Named 2019 U.S. Presidential Scholars". U.S. Department of Education. U.S. Department of Education. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  14. "U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos Names 161 Students as 2020 U.S. Presidential Scholars". U.S. Department of Education. U.S. Department of Education. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  15. "Student among top 10 in science talent search". Pamplin Media Group. Pamplin Media Group. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  16. "Valerie Ding - Catlin Gabel - The Oregonian 2015 Academic Achievers". Oregon Live. The Oregonian. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  17. "Intel ISEF 2010 Grand Awards Ceremony" (PDF). Society for Science. Society for Science. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  18. "Explore Catlin Gabel School". Niche. Retrieved 2020-10-11.
  19. "Home". Team 1540 - The Flaming Chickens. Retrieved November 18, 2017.
  20. Allyn, Bobby (March 12, 2011). "Catlin Gabel School takes state mock trial title for second year; not all participants have attorney ambitions". The Oregonian. Retrieved February 16, 2015.
  21. Toshio Suzuki (November 22, 2009). "OES edges rival Catlin Gabel for fourth title in five seasons". OregonLive.com. Retrieved November 18, 2017.
  22. "OSAA - Activities". www.osaa.org. Retrieved 2020-11-12.
  23. "OSAA - Activities". www.osaa.org. Retrieved 2020-11-12.
  24. "A brief history of Catlin Gabel School and its traditions". CatlinSpeak. Retrieved 2020-10-08.
  25. "Reflections on the School Chapter's relevance today as an evolving tradition". CatlinSpeak. Retrieved 2020-10-08.
  26. Manning, Jeff (January 11, 2020). "Catlin Gabel's dirty secret: Former students go public for first time about private school's dark side". The Oregonian. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
  27. "SUMMARY OF KEY FACTUAL FINDINGS FROM INVESTIGATION OF SEXUAL MISCONDUCT AT CATLIN GABEL SCHOO" (PDF). Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  28. Manning, Jeff (December 20, 2019). "Catlin Gabel sex abuse scandal escalates as sheriff's office opens criminal investigation". The Oregonian. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
  29. Oregonian/OregonLive, Jeff Manning | The (2020-04-29). "Six more former Catlin Gabel students claim they were sexually abused by their teachers". oregonlive. Retrieved 2020-06-17.
  30. "Six More Catlin Gabel Students File Lawsuits". KXL. 2020-04-30. Retrieved 2020-06-17.
  31. "Portland Rites Of Interest". Statesman Journal. Salem, Oregon. August 9, 1945. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  32. "Advice to the Class of 2018". Catlin Gabel. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
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