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Richmond Japanese Immersion School
2276 SE 41stPortland, OR 97214
Phone: 503-916-6220
Fax: 503-916-2665
E-mail: bpruitt@pps.k12.or.us
School-created web pages: http://www.pps.k12.or.us/schools/richmond/
School-brochure: http://www.pps.k12.or.us/schools-c/profiles/brochure/Richmond.pdf
Grade levels: PK-5
Principal: Beverly Pruitt
Student Enrollment: 504
About:
Richmond is a magnet Japanese immersion elementary school serving more than 500 students in pre-school to grade 5. Families enroll their children at Richmond from every region in Portland Public Schools, as well as from districts across the Portland metropolitan area that are not able to offer Japanese immersion. Students spend half their day learning in Japanese and the other half in English. They study traditional school subjects and immerse themselves in Japanese language and culture. The excellence of our school has been recognized by several prominent businesses and organizations: ·2005 Award for Excellence in International Education from the Goldman Sachs Foundation and the Asia Society ·Exceptional school status for outstanding academic achievement in 2006 and 2007 awarded by the Oregon Department of Education ·The George Lucas Foundation produced a video about Richmond entitled, “Ohayo Portland!” in 2004. Mr. Lucas’s foundation documents and disseminates information about exemplary schools to help these practices spread nationwide. You can see his video on our school’s website at www.richmondjmp.org.
Pre School: Fee-for-service Japanese immersion full day program.
Kindergarten: Four full-day fee-for-service kindergartens with two Japanese interns.
Kindergarten Round-up: 30 starting in January.
Childcare: On-site childcare offered by Art4Life (grades 2-5) and Vermont Hills (PreK-1).
Focus options: Richmond is a schoolwide Japanese immersion program.
Information Sessions: Wednesday Feb. 18 at 7:00 PM; Tuesday Feb. 24 at 7:00 PM; Mandatory Meeting for School Choice Lottery for 2009-10 School Year: Thursday, March 12 at 7:00 PM or Wed. March 18 at 1:00; School Choice Lottery: Jan.30-March 13
Testimonials
- From the November 2006 article "Japanese Immersion
Schooling in Portland" published in the Portland Family
Magazine:
"I chose Japanese immersion schooling for my son Harrison
because I believed it would be a wonderful opportunity for
him to learn another language. I also knew several
families already in the Richmond program who had all had
really great experiences." Michelle Fusak, Richmond parent - From the October 2006 article "Jewel in the Crown of
Portland Public Schools and the State of Oregon" published
by the Yuuyake Shimbun:
"Richmond continues to be a stunning success. I feel
most of this is due to the unsurpassed commitment of
everyone involved in the program, from the students, to the
teachers and administrator and the remarkably supportive
parents." - From the article "Voices of the Immersed" published
November 24, 2006, in the Portland Tribune:
"Richmond's immersion program opens up (students') eyes to
a world outside of Portland, Oregon." M. Fukushima,
Richmond 5th grade teacher
"Learning another language is fun and helps you learn about
different cultures. It can also help you learn English."
Maya Quai Emmerson, Richmond 5th graders
"If kids aren't able to go to an immersion school they will
not get a proper education. We go to an immersion school,
and we like learning the other language because it is a
challenge." George, Mike, Kosumo, Richmond 5th graders
"Immersion education unites us." J. Zeller, Richmond 5th
grade teacher
Before and after school programs
- Japanese kendo and karate classes offered weekly after school.
- The MUSE band program teaches brass and percussion on Mondays and Strings on Wednesdays after school.
- Before and after school care for grades 2-5 is provided by Art4Life. Child care is available Monday through Friday, including school vacations, from 6:30 AM to 6:00 PM.
- Before and after school care for PreK-1 students is provided by Vermont Hills. Child care is available Monday through Friday, including school vacations, from 6:30 AM to 6:00 PM.
- Homework Club for students in grades 3-5 is offered every Thursday afternoon from 2:15-3:30 PM starting in December to provide help for Japanese language homework.
- Kurabu, a Japanese summer camp, is offered for 4 weeks through a partnership between Richmond and Portland Parks and Recreation.
Community partnerships
- Japan-America Society of Oregon
- Japanese Consulate of Portland
- Nikkei Legacy Center
- Opus Construction Corporation
- Oya No Kai
- Portland Japanese Garden
- Richmond Neighborhood Association
- Sapporo Sister City Association
- Washington Mutual Bank
- Yuuyake Shinbun
Student learning environment
- Our mission is to provide an excellent education for our students while developing and maintaining fluency in both the Japanese and English languages.
- Richmond provides students with a warm and supportive learning environment and a bilingual curriculum that is stimulating, rigorous and fun.
- The self-esteem of our students grows as their speaking, reading, writing and listening fluency develops in Japanese and English.
- Learning about another culture fosters diversity of thought among our students and nurtures a global view of the world.
- Our students' innate passion for learning is enriched and
encouraged by Richmond's highly skilled and committed staff. - Our history of strong achievement assures families that academic excellence is the norm.
- Getting to Richmond is easy! We are located just six blocks southeast of the intersection at 39th and Hawthorne or two blocks northeast of the intersection at 39th and Division. Parking is available in our parking lot off 41st on the north side of the school.Tri-Met bus line #4 (orange) stops within three blocks of Richmond along southeast Division. Bus line #75 (purple) stops within three blocks of Richmond along southeast 39th street. All buses are fully handicapped accessible and can also take your bike at no charge.
Curriculum components
- The Japanese Magnet Program at Richmond is a “partial immersion” program. Students spend one-half of their day learning subjects in Japanese and the other half of their day learning in English. We provide integrated, thematic instruction across the curriculum, including areas of math, science, social studies, music, physical education and art. Japanese is the medium for content instruction rather than the subject of instruction.In 2001, teachers worked with a team of national linguistic experts to develop a comprehensive language curriculum for grades K-12th grade. This well-planned and carefully implemented language curriculum ensures our students learn not just academic language, but everyday, social language as well. Our language curriculum helps students develop their fluency with oral language (forms, functions, grammar and vocabulary), written language (Kanji, Katakana and Hiragana) and cultural insight.
- Our English and Japanese teachers work as partners to determine which part of the curriculum is best taught in each language. This complementary approach allows our students to make connections between their English and Japanese learning experiences and improve their fluency with each language. Often, a concept is introduced in one classroom and the reinforcement and practice will follow in the other class. We use our district English textbook adoptions to plan lessons in both classrooms with methods, strategies and assignments adapted for the Japanese classroom and student work.
Staff
- Staff in the 2008-09 school year include: 21 classroom teachers for pre-school to grade 5; 8 Japanese interns; 1 educational assistant for pre school; 2 educational assistants for kindergarten; 1 special instruction teacher; 1 reading specialist; 1 part-time school psychologist; 1 PE specialist; 2 school secretaries; 1 principal.
- Ongoing staff development emphasizes innovation, curriculum support, and plans for meeting/exceeding state benchmarks.Richmond participates with other regional elementary schools in professional development funded by a \"New Vision\" grant from the Portland School Foundation to help us expand our improvements to writing instruction.
Parent and family support
- The commitment and involvement of our families is something that really sets Richmond apart from ordinary schools.Our Parent/Teacher Association (PTA) promotes parent and staff cohesiveness and provides funds and enrichment opportunities for our classrooms. Our PTA officers are an amazing group of dedicated parents who lead with skill and grace.
- Richmond's Foundation provides funding for core staff at a variety of levels. For the 2007-2008 school year, Foundation support enabled us to add a fourth 1st grade teacher to keep class sizes below 25. The generosity of our school community also made it possible for us to maintain our half-time reading specialist.
- Family members and volunteers from our "Grandparents Brigade" help coordinate a wide variety of school activities: health screenings, Bank Day, classroom tutoring, grant writing, technology and library help. They accompany students on field trips, help with the annual 5th grade trip to Japan, Kurabu Japanese Summer Camp and serve as docents with our weekly school tours. Family and community involvement is encouraged and highly valued at Richmond.
- Richmond's Site Council is a committee of parents and staff charged with school improvement. They write the school improvement plan each spring and meet monthly to monitor the implementation of the plan. A Richmond parent currently serves as the Site Council chairperson.
- Richmond's grant writing committee meets monthly to plan and prepare grants to support our school improvement goals and objectives. During the 2007-2008 school year, we have received grant awards from Lowe's Educational Toolbox for our Japanese teaching garden, and the City of Portland for waste water management.
Special programs and features
- Richmond is an "Exceptional" school according to the Oregon
Department of Education, for outstanding reading and math
achievement in 2006. Richmond received the prestigious 2005
award for "Excellence in International Education" by the
Goldman Sachs Foundation and the Asia Society.
The George Lucas Foundation produced a short film about
Japanese immersion at Richmond in 2004. This film can be
viewed on Richmond's website at: www.richmondjmp.org.
- Japanese interns provide full-time help for students and teachers in every Japanese language classroom (Pre school to grade 5). Richmond families may host an intern to live with their family for several months at a time. Interns also provide extensive tutoring for students at our weekly Homework Club.
- Oya No Kai is a non-profit organization created by parents to support and promote Japanese culture at Richmond Elementary School, Mt. Tabor Middle School and Grant High School. Oya No Kai provides funding for our Japanese interns, our Japanese calligraphy teacher, Taiko drumming classes and other Japanese music and art experiences. They also coordinate the annual 5th grade trip to Japan.
- Experienced teaching teams at each grade level work together to plan carefully integrated instruction for our Japanese immersion model. Teams expand through the middle and high school pathway. Our nationally recognized Japanese curriculum for K-12th grade covers oral and written language (Kanji, Katakana and Hiragana) and cultural perspectives.
- A menu of enrichment classes provides support to language growth and cultural appreciation by extending learning beyond the school day and year (e.g., classes in Taiko, calligraphy, kendo; Kurabu summer camp; 5th grade trip to Japan; hosting interns and visiting students from partner schools in Japan).
- Richmond students transition to Mt. Tabor Middle School and Grant High to continue their Japanese studies through 12th grade.
Statistics and test scores
- Report cards and AYP Scores
Oregon Department of Education school report cards - School Enrollment and Program Data
- Assessment Test Results
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