Oregon Episcopal School

St. Helens Hall (1906)

Oregon Episcopal School (OES) was known as St. Helen's Hall at the time of its founding and was originally a boarding and day school for girls. It was established in 1869 in Portland, Oregon by the Rt. Rev. Benjamin Wistar Morris, Bishop of Oregon, and is "the oldest Episcopal school west of the Rocky Mountains."[11]

OES's original site at 4th and Madison is now the location of Portland's City Hall. The school moved several times during its first century to different locations in downtown Portland. It was located at 13th and Hall Streets before moving to its present location in the Raleigh Hills neighborhood of Portland in 1964. The Bishop Dagwell Hall was soon added, expanding the academic program to boys.

In 1972, St. Helen's Hall merged with Bishop Dagwell Hall to become Oregon Episcopal School.[12][13] Currently, the school serves children from prekindergarten through 12th grade and includes day-school and boarding programs.[14]

A number of facilities have been added over the years. Meyer Hall was built in 1996 as a new facility for Middle School students; the Drinkward Center for Math, Science and Technology opened in 2003; and in 2016 a 45,000-square-foot Lower School facility opened for Pre-K through 5th grade students. Today, approximately 870 students in Pre-K through Grade 12 attend OES.

The Beginning, Lower, and Middle schools consist entirely of day students, but the Upper School includes a boarding program. Approximately one-fifth of the Upper School's student body resides on campus, and around three-fourths of those boarding students hail from outside the United States.

In 2007, Portland Monthly magazine named the school as one of the best in Oregon. In 2014, Oregon Episcopal School was ranked the best high school in the state of Oregon and the 13th best private school in the United States.[15][16][17] OES ranked #2 on Oregon's 25 Best K-12 Schools for 2018, according to the Portland Business Journal.[18]

OES's 59-acre campus lies in the hills of Southwest Portland. Facilities include:

• Meyer Hall: Built in 1996 for Middle School students. Topped by a "green" roof with soil and plants in 2006.
• Drinkward Center for Math, Science and Technology: Opened in 2003. Serves as a facility for STEM related fields in the Upper School.
• Bishop Dagwell Hall: This is OES's fine arts building. This building was the boys school at OES that later merged with St Helens Hall in 1960 to form OES.[28]
• Lower School: The 45,000-square-foot facility for Pre-K through 5th grade students was completed in 2016.
• Ferris Hall: This building was the old OES lower school, but due to the new lower school building being constructed in 2016 Ferris Hall is now a shared space with three main areas. This building was initially slated for demolition after the lower school was constructed, but due to the need for more space this never happened. These are:
  • EC3 Design Center: Founded in 2017 this facilities mission statement is to cultivate curiosity and creativity while collaborating with peers. This facility is used by the whole school and is composed of three rooms: Think (lounge), Make (Maker space) and Move (used for performance arts).
  • Ferris Hall Athletics: Ferris Hall athletics is composed of an exercise gym and a dance studio.
  • Lower School: Some lower school classes are still held in parts of Ferris Hall.
• Jackson and Rodney Houses: Founded in 1963 these are OESs two student dormitories. As a boarding school OES houses 60 boarding students.[29]
• OES Athletic Center: Opened September 2021 this building includes two courts, one named after Kris Van Hatcher and the other, main court named after the Morissette family.[30] These courts are mainly used for basketball and volleyball as well as other miscellaneous activities.[31] The OES athletic center was constructed using sustainable wood and is doted with solar panels and large windows, these building choices make it 82% more efficient than gyms of similar characteristics.[30]

One of the worst climbing accidents in U.S. history occurred in May 1986 when seven sophomore students and two faculty froze to death while climbing Mount Hood while participating in an adventure program required by the school. Of the four survivors, three had life-threatening injuries, and one had his legs amputated.[40] The OES disaster spurred the development of the Mountain Locator Unit, an inexpensive transmitter which helps searchers find climbers in distress.[41] OES participates in a day of service in observance of the disaster each year on the second Wednesday of May.

• Harriet Fitch Luckett, a teacher who served as one of the first women to serve in the Idaho House of Representatives
• Clara C. Munson, 1880 – mayor of Warrenton, Oregon and one of the state's earliest women elected to office
• Vivian Marshall, 1906 – vaudeville and film actress[42]
• Alma Francis – Broadway and silent film actress[43]
• Betsy Johnson - member of the Oregon House of Representatives and Oregon Senate[44]
• Ben Westlund, 1967 – Oregon State Treasurer[45]
• Virginia Euwer Wolff, 1955 – writer[46]
• Peter Holmstrom, 1987 – musician, The Dandy Warhols[47]
• Tianhui Michael Li, 2003 – Data scientist and Tech entrepreneur
• John Robinson, 2005 – actor[48]