For 55 years, we've reinvented what school could be.
By centering relationships and pairing trust with rigor, our students achieve academically and in life. That is self-determined learning.
We believe every child deserves to learn and grow in an environment that meets them where they are.
In response to systemic inequities and the limitations of one-size-fits-all education, we are on a mission to create a more equitable future where underestimated and underserved youth feel seen, supported, and empowered at every stage of their academic journey.
Equity
By investing in belonging and inclusion, students show up, stay, and feel seen everywhere they go.
Academics
By pairing high expectations with high care, students accelerate, grow, and excel in and beyond school.
Advocacy
By building student voice and family power — students lead, and families reshape systems.
Who we serve
About 500 youth each year, from early elementary to high school.
Our story
Open School began in 1971 as Open Meadow, a downtown Portland drop-in center for youth experiencing houselessness. The roots go back to 1967, when Jon Dickenson invited houseless youth into a local theater for food and a space to make art and play.
Over five decades, we’ve evolved into an educational nonprofit dedicated to reinventing education for students who have been historically underserved and overlooked by traditional public education. Step Up began in 2003, bringing mentorship and academic support inside public high schools. Open School East opened in 2014 as a full-day alternative high school in East Multnomah County. In 2015, Open Meadow became Open School.
As Oregon’s education landscape has shifted, we’ve strengthened our focus on policy and advocacy, so students and families have a voice in shaping the systems that impact them. Today we are both a direct-service provider and a leader in shaping what equitable education should look like across the state, including through Literacy Liberators and Open Champions, our newest work.
Our values
Care
We give and receive help, and we look out for one another.
Credibility
We earn trust by doing what we say and holding ourselves accountable.
Compassion
We honor each other’s humanity and approach every person with empathy and respect.
Commitment
We show up, persist, and stay the course for our students, families, and partners.
Candor
We speak the truth with courage, and we do so with love.
New recognition
Open School was named one of 20 awardees nationwide in the 2026 Community Collaboration Challenge, a program of the Partnership for Student Success. The $10,000 award funded a North Portland pilot pairing high school students with elementary readers, using the evidence-based instruction behind Literacy Liberators.
Shaping policy
Open School joined the Foundations for a Better Oregon coalition, Oregon Partners for Education Justice, a statewide network of advocates working to shape a more just and effective education system. Through this partnership, our leaders help inform public policy across Oregon—representing the thousands of students and families we’ve served over the years.
Our students are not failing — and they never have been.
It’s the systems that fail them.
As we look to the future, our North Star is clear: reinventing school. Not reforming, not tweaking around the edges — but reimagining school so that it no longer labels and limits young people, but instead sees them, supports them, and stretches them toward their full potential.
This is why we exist. And together, we can build something better.