A transcript of an oral history of Betsy Biller, Assistant Superintendent of Hillsboro School District, on Century High School. Betsy Biller is Assistant Superintendent, and former Communications Director for Hillsboro School District 1J. As Communications Director in 1992 she formed a task force to address the overcrowding in the secondary schools, part of which resulted in the need to build a new high school. She kept the public informed about Century High School.
A transcript of an oral history of Mr. Caughell (no first name given) on Century High School. Mr. Caughill was president of the Hillsboro Education Association in 1996, while Century High School was being built. He interviewed for a teaching position at the high school and started teaching in 1999. He expresses his feelings that Century High School has a very diverse population that is also very large.
A transcript of an oral history of Pat Cochran on Century High School. Pat Cochran was teaching English at Hillsboro high school when he became a part of the planning team for Century High School. Mr. Cochran was interested in becoming head of the Art Department at Century. He was personally very excited about planning the school, integrating art into it, trying new and innovative ideas and expresses being very tolerant of the diverse student population.
A transcript of an oral history of Jim Dunlop on being a band director at Century High School. Jim Dunlop was the band teacher at Jefferson High School when he applied to be band director at Century High School. He started with 22 students and which grew to 150 students. They now compete with the best bands in the state. He also started a program for 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students – C.H.O.M.P. – to encourage them to play and join band as freshmen.
A transcript of an oral history of Stan Panfilov. Stan Panfilov was the first president of Century High School’s Booster Club. The goal of the booster club was to raise money and support all the student groups. The club had great leadership from principal Barnekoff and later, Mrs. Montgomery.
A transcript of an oral history of Michelle Gray on teaching at Century High School. Michelle Gray was doing her student teaching and coaching basketball at Westview High School when she interviewed for a teaching position at Century High School in 1997. She eventually became a Spanish teacher and coach. During the interview she expresses great joy over the process of starting a team and bringing them to playoffs.
A transcript of an oral history of Susan Guiger on Century High School. Susan Guiger was the registrar at Hillsboro high school from 1990-1997 while Mr. Barnekoff was the principal. When he was named principal of Century High School, Ms. Guiger applied for the registrar’s job at Century. She felt that her biggest contribution was to help implement the block schedule, and doing the computer scheduling.
A transcript of an oral history of Martha Guise on Century High School. Martha Guise was on the site council for Century High School. The purpose of the council, according to Ms. Guise was to incorporate local input and representation in school decisions. A majority of the research was done block scheduling. Generally speaking, the interview covers the process the Site Council used in their research.
A transcript of an oral history of Nancy Haack on Century High School. Nancy Haack was hired by principal Barnekoff to be the activities director at Century High School. Ms. Haack explains that previously, she had been a permanent substitute teacher at Glencoe High School. Her vision for the school was inclusionary, she wanted all of the students to feel a sense of belonging and emphasized community service.
A transcript of an oral history of Oralia Aguilar-Becerra, student at Century High School, on Hispanics in the Hillsboro schools. Ms. Aguilar-Becerra emigrated from Mexico with her family. She expresses her feelings that the school provides a lot of support for Hispanic students and the teachers and staff are supportive. In her spare time Aguilar-Becerra volunteers in the Western Farmworkers’ Association.
A transcript of an oral history of Dawn Montgomery, Principal of Century High School, on Hispanics in the Hillsboro schools. Ms. Montgomery began 9 years ago at Evergreen Middle School, later she became Assistant Principal at Century High School when it opened in 1997. During 1998 Montgomery particpated in the Hispanic Youth in Oregon program at Lewis and Clark College. The program focused on total bilingual schools and outreach programs. Afterwards Ms. Montgomery went on to spend two weeks in Waupaca, Mexico, looking at the school systems and social systems. It was after that she became part of the Strategic Plan team. The Hispanic population at Century High School has been as high as 35%, currently at 20%. As a result of an increase in hiring bilingual teachers at Century High School, their ESL program has grown as well as JAG TV, Hispanic News, after-school tutoring, and Hispanic clubs. The school has grants from Lewis and Clark College to train ESL teachers. Pacific University, PSU, and PCC also have programs to help Hispanic youth get into college. Century High School and Glencoe have in place special drop-out prevention teams that stay in contact with students who drop out. Ultimately, this has effectively decreased drop-out rates in the last five years. A newer addition to the school has been a program for teachers and administrators about “Understanding Racism”.
A transcript of an oral history of Ana Alonso, student at Century High School, on Hispanics in the Hillsboro schools. Ana emigrated from Mexico City with her family after her father had already been here. Later the family settled in Hillsboro because there were more opportunities in the area and other family was located in Hillsboro. Ana participated in ESL during 7th and 8th grade and found it very helpful. She explains that she would like to see more programs for Hispanic students at Century High School. At the time of the interview, Ana was on the dance team and participated in Jag TV doing the Spanish News. She feels that she is role model for other Hispanic students. Another activity Miss Alonso was involved in was Project Plus, which has been very supportive in helping with college and scholarships. She has also been president of the club Latinos Sin Fronteras.
A transcript of an oral history of Joe Rodriguez, Hillsboro School District Superintendent, on Hispanics in the Hillsboro schools. Mr. Rodriguez has been a junior high principal, a high school principal, assistant superintendent, and superintendent in the Hillsboro School District. Hillsboro School District works with students from the migrant summer school program. the school district also runs an extensive ESL program. Within the Hillsbioro School District's program, the majority of the students are Hispanic, nevertheless, there are also Russian, Korean, and Vietnamese students. The Office of Hispanic Outreach works with Hispanic families to help them feel more involved in the community. Mr. Rodriguez works to actively recruit role models who are bicultural and bilingual as teachers, counselors, and administrators. It is his hope to expand dual language immersion programs at W.L. Henry School to other schools. The movement at Groner elementary school hosts a program for students who are deaf or hard of hearing, teaching American Sign Language. Rodriguez explains that some of the long term goals for Hillsboro School District include more Hispanic students involvement in sports and activities and hiring more role models. But most of all, to make all students feel welcome and safe at school. Within the community, poverty is still an issue, Mr. Rodriguez elaborates, stating that 38% of students on free/reduced lunch, 28% in Beaverton, and 54% in Forest Grove. Portland State University has a bilingual program that enables instructional assistants to become teachers. The Migrant Education Program has proven to be very successful; Henry Williams helped start the program and run it for Washington County. they currently have good partnerships with Hillsboro Police Department, Central Culture in Cornelius, and other agencies to meet broader needs of students and families.
A transcript of an oral history of Estella De Jesus Hernandez, student at Century High School, on Hispanics in the Hillsboro schools. Estella immigrated from Guaca, Mexico with her family in 2002 when she was 17. Her father works in a nursery and applied for his family visas in 1995. She feels the school’s programs have been helpful to her and is currently still involved in ESL. Her brother attends the migrant summer school also. She plans to attend PCC to take daily ESL and would like to become a nurse.
A transcript of an oral history of Flori Exiquio, student at Century High School, on Hispanics in the Hillsboro schools. She emigrated from Mexico with her family when she was an infant. They lived in California before moving to Oregon. Her family is very supportive of her education. She had ESL in elementary school and would like to see Hispanic students make more of an effort to use school support. Miss Exiquio is friends with diverse ethnic groups and feels comfortable. Exiquio had a teacher in 5th and 6th grade, Miss Crawford, who was very supportive and motivated her to do well.
A transcript of an oral history of Jose Jesus Guzman, student at Century High School, on Hispanics in the Hillsboro schools. Guzman emigrated from Mexico with his family to California when he was seven. His father had been in California for the previous two years and moved to Oregon to be near family. Mr. Guzman was in the ESL program and he found it very helpful. He learned about the Caesar Chavez movement, however, he did not become involved with it.
A transcript of an oral history of Marle Guzman, student at Century High School, on Hispanics in the Hillsboro schools. Marle is in ESL 2 at Century High School. She can read and understand English but has some trouble speaking which causes her to feel some discrimination. She would like to see more classes with help for ESL students.
A transcript of an oral history of Veronica Guzman, student at Century High School, on Hispanics in the Hillsboro schools. The transcript contains Guzman’s answers to questions only. Miss Guzman and her family are from Michoacan, Mexico. She is in the ESL program and also the Spanish news for Jag TV. She feels it helps Hispanic students become more involved in school. She is also in the Hispanic club, Latinos Sin Fronteras.
A transcript of an oral history of Ismael Millan, student at Century High School, on Hispanics in the Hillsboro schools. Ismael Millan was born in the U.S., only his father emigrated from Mexico. His parents are very supportive of his education, and would like him to graduate high school and go on to college. He explains that two of the programs that help Hispanic students with college applications and scholarships are the “Project Plus” and “Project Connection”. Hillsboro School District provides an ESL program and Spanish news.
A transcript of an oral history of Miriam Ramirez, student at Century High School, on Hispanics in the Hillsboro schools. Miss Ramirez is a student at Century High School and is an anchor person for the Spanish News program. Three years ago she came from Mexico and began participating in both the ESL program and the summer school program. She is a member of Latinos Sin Fronteras, a Hispanic club focused on education and getting students involved in school.
A transcript of an oral history of Edwin Rangel-Ramirez, student at Century High School, on Hispanics in the Hillsboro schools. Ramirez is a sixteen-year-old student at Century High School. His parents emigrated from Mexico, but he was born in the U.S. His family emphasizes a good education for better opportunities. Edwin participated in ESL classes until 8th grade. Mr. Ramirez explains his thoughts about increased interaction between ESL and English classes to help the students feel more comfortable with each other.
A transcript of an oral history of Maricruz Serrata, student at Century High School, on Hispanics in the Hillsboro schools. In 1989 Maricruz Serrata and her family emigrated from Mexico to the U.S. They settled in Hillsboro where they already had relatives. Her parents were well educated in Mexico and often stressed the importance of a good education. She was in ESL only in Kindergarten and later was placed in English classes. Miss Serrata expresses her favor towards emmersion in English classes rather than continual ESL. She has received a college scholarship from the Hispanic Metropolitan Chamber.
