| Definition of Terms |
Benson Polytechnic High School |
| School Level |
High school |
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| Grades Offered |
Grades PK - 12 |
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| County |
Multnomah County, OR |
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| Total Students |
1437 students |
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| % Male / % Female |
59% /
41% |
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| Total Classroom Teachers |
65 teachers |
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| Students by Grade |
| Grade 9 - 393 students | | Grade 10 - 352 students | | Grade 11 - 353 students | | Grade 12 - 339 students |
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| Teacher : Student Ratio |
1:22 |
1:20 |
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| Students by Ethnicity |
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| % American Indian |
2% |
4% |
| % Asian |
24% |
3% |
| % Hispanic |
10% |
11% |
| % Black |
27% |
3% |
| % White |
38% |
76% |
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| Additional Student Information |
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| % Eligible for Free Lunch |
35% |
26% |
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| % Eligible for Reduced Lunch |
15% |
7% |
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| % Migrant Students Enrolled |
n/a |
2% |
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(OR) Statewide Testing Performance |
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| School District Name |
Portland 1j School District |
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| Number of Schools Managed |
98 |
4 |
| Number of Students Managed |
45,932 students |
1,323 students |
| District Total Revenue |
$524,337,000 |
$8,138,000 |
| District Expenditure |
$470,489,000 |
$8,843,000 |
| District Revenue / Student |
$11,416 |
$6,151 |
| District Expenditure / Student |
$10,243 |
$6,684 |
| District Graduation Rates |
63% |
82% |
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| View all past news stories |
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- Benson Polytechnic High School is a technical public high school in the Portland Public Schools district. Its campus is located in the center of Portland's Eastside commercial area. Students are given a special emphasis in a technical area. It is a member of SkillsUSA and Health Occupations Students of America.
- History of Benson
- Benson's predecessor
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Benson Polytechnic High School began in 1908 as the Portland School of Trades in the Atkinson Building at 11th and Davis in Northwest Portland.
- Beginnings and the First World War
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The Portland School Board voted to change the school's name to Benson Polytechnic High School after civic leader and philanthropist Simon Benson gave $100,000 in 1915, with a stipulation that at least the same amount of money be spent by the Portland School District to start the school.
- KBPS radio
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In May 1921 the Benson Tech Radio Club received a government license to operate telegraph station 7YK, later changing the call sign to 7XAD in October 1923. This would lead to Benson's first broadcasting station on May 4, 1923 at 6:00 PM when station KFIF signed on the air. This was only the second radio station operated by an educational institute.
- KFIF would become KBPS on March 17, 1930 when KFIF became too expensive for the student body to operate, the District accepted ownership of the station. The station was renamed KBPS (for Benson Polytechnic School) and has continued to this day to operate on the Benson campus and to be staffed by Benson students.
- Expansion and the Second World War
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By 1940, Benson had 2,800 students and was the largest school in Portland.
- Due to the baby boom and passing of a $25 million building levy by the school district in 1947, 29 portables dating back to World War I were scheduled for replacement.
- Modern times
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In 1953, the Portland School Board launched a five-year building program to upgrade Benson. A library and automotive wing were completed in 1954. The north shop wing was remodeled in 1955 and the south shop wing in 1960. Benson became co-educational once again in September 1973. Six females attended that year. When the health occupations program was moved from Washington High School to Benson in 1980, Benson's female population grew substantially.
- An arsonist's fire damaged offices and classrooms in the main section of Benson on January 2, 1991. Coincidentally, the School Board had already scheduled the Benson facility for major improvements. In 1991, a new health occupation wing, a new library, a new student services center, and a new band room were added; and halls and offices were modernized.
- Academics
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In 2008, 88% of the school's seniors received their high school diploma. Of 271 students, 239 graduated, 27 dropped out, and 5 are still in high school.
- Student profile
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As a magnet school, Benson is highly selective among the Portland area. Until recently, students were required to complete an application for admissions. This is no longer the case due to the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act; instead a lottery is used to determine which students are admitted. As of Fall 2003, there were 1508 students enrolled in Benson. 84% are seeking a higher degree after graduation.
- By ethnicity:
- 28.7% Caucasian
- 27.3% Asian-American
- 25.4% African-American
- 14.5% Hispanic
- 2.0% Native American
- By grade:
- 486 freshmen
- 420 sophomores
- 314 juniors
- 288 seniors
- By gender:
- 44% female
- 56% male
- Curriculum
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In addition to a standard high school curriculum, students specialize in a self-selected major during the final two years of enrollment. Students may specialize in the following areas, provided by a partnership with SkillsUSA and Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA):
- Communications Technology
- Construction Technology
- Computer Hardware Technology
- Computer Software Technology
- Drafting Technology
- Engineering Technology
- Electric Technology (House Wiring)
- Electrical Engineering Technology
- Health Occupations
- KBPS Radio Technology
- Manufacturing Engineering Technology
- Transportation Technology
- Homebuilding program
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Benson is one of three Portland-area high schools (as well as Canby High School and Forest Grove High School) that builds a single-family home in the community.
- Notable alumni
- Tom Dodd- MLB
- Jim Elliot- Evangelical Christian killed in Ecuador on mission work.
- A. C. Green- NBA
- Mfon Udoka- Nigerian Olympian
- Richard Washington- NBA, Milwaukee Bucks
- Kim Rhodes- actor
- Joel Moore- actor
- External links
- Benson Polytechnic High School Alumni Association
- Source: Wikipedia; it is used under the GNU Free Documentation License. You may redistribute it, verbatim or modified, providing that you comply with the terms of the GFDL.
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Add/edit information about this school (e.g., awards, news stories, notable alumni, fun facts)
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| About This Zip Code (97232) |
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| Population (Approximate) |
10,618 people |
3,360,404 people |
| % (age 25+) w/College Degree |
53% |
26% |
| Population Average Age |
37 years old
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36 years old |
| Average Household size |
1.8 persons
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2.4 persons |
| Median Household Income |
$35,755
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$42,595 |
| Avg. # of Rooms in Household |
3.7 rooms |
5.4 rooms |
| Median Age of Housing Structure |
71 years old |
36 years old |
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 View current housing listings in this area |
Median Value of Housing Unit
Zipcode (97232)
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Subject to Zillow Terms of Use | |
| % Owning / % Renting |
33% / 67% |
63% / 37% |
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Note: Data has been gathered from several government and commercial data sources. School data reflects 2006 statistics (most recent year available).
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