School of dreams

New Aloha-Huber Park School says ‘welcome’ with innovations

By Ray Pitz

The Beaverton Valley Times, Aug 31, 2006, Updated Oct 30, 2009

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Brandon will be joined at the school this year by his two brothers, Edgar, a fifth-grader, and Danny, who will begin kindergarten. They are among the 920 students expected when the school opens on Tuesday.

Aloha-Huber Park is a diverse mix of backgrounds and languages with 50 percent of the students being English Leaning Learners.

Of those, about 60 percent are Spanish speakers, not including those who are second and third generation Latinos.

There are a total of 22 different languages spoken at the school.

What impresses Book is the fact that a new school was built to serve a population that includes 75 percent of its student population listed as being in poverty.

“For Beaverton to do this is a statement of every child’s right to the best facilities and instructional practices,” said Book. “We have more than we’ve ever dreamed of.”

The school that has been rated as exceptional for two years in a row by the Oregon Department of Education and last year received a “closing the achievement gap” award.

Book said the goal in designing Aloha-Huber Park School was to keep a simple architectural scheme, trying to impart the school’s mantra of being a beacon of light in the community. That included massive amounts of glass on the school’s south side along Farmington Road.

“The glass is all about that schools should be transparent,” said Book.

At the school’s entrance, a metal totem pole greets students, featuring the word “welcome” laser-etched in 12 languages.

“We wanted a monument sign that shared our diversity,” said Book. “We already had one of our families call and say how honored she was to have her language represented.”

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