PSU Magazine Spring 1993

eter Burchell, Patricia Mack, Kathryn Porterfield and Dawn Smith have never met each other. The four education professionals-all products of PSU's School of Education-have varying philosophies about teaching and the role of education in children's lives. But there are common threads among the four. All believe in the value of the individual. They believe in helping students learn to solve problems, speak out and cope with life. They're confi– dent and outspoken in their views about the education system-about what works and what doesn't. These four educators have another thing in common: they're 1992 winners of the Milken Family Foundation's Na– tional Educator Award . The awards, given out annually by the Santa Monica, Calif.-based foundation, recog– nize outstanding educators in a very public way. The award winners each receive $25,000, and they are invited to a three-day awards retreat in Califor– nia, where they attend workshops, discussions and presentations by national leaders in the education field. Burchell, Mack, Porterfield and Smith were among 120 educators from 20 states honored in 1992. The latter three were among the six Oregon award winners, while Burchell was among Alaska's six honorees. 4PSU Peter Burchell Peter Burchell can be found these days in Alaska, where he is founder and principal of the Mat-Su Alternative School in Wasilla, about 50 miles from Anchorage. Burchell's innovative school is all about breaking down barriers. It's for youth between the ages of 16 and 21 who have had a tough time in trad– itional high schools. "I work under the belief that all stu– dents can learn. And when you analyze students, you find that each has barriers of some kind," says Burchell, 49. "As professionals, we remove barriers so these students are able to progress and be productive." Mat-Su serves as a feeder school for so-called "drop-outs" of five Anchorage– area high schools. Mat-Su is, in many ways, a school for youths that the traditional schools are unable to serve. The 115 Mat-Su students often have special needs. Thirty to 40 per– cent of them are teen parents. About 80 percent are from low-income families, and 18 percent are minority students. Burchell organized the school to fit the students' special needs. It's open from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and students are required to attend at least three hours of classes a day. "If they're not here, they're at a job somewhere," says Burchell. There's even a day-care center at the school. Four former PSU students, now educators, attract national recognition for their teaching methods. By BrianWhite Burchell's innovative ways likely stem in part from his experience as one of the founders of Portland's innovative Metropolitan Leaming Center. He joined the center in the late 1960s after earning his B.S. degree in social studies from PSU. Later, he became a teacher at Portland's alternative and now– defunct John Adams High School. Burchell earned an M.S. degree in school administration from PSU in 1977 before joining the Estacada School District. There, he served as vice principal and principal at Estacada High School before pursuing new opportunities in Alaska. Now in its fifth year, Mat-Su Alter– native School can be hailed a success. Five other Alaskan schools are modeled after Mat-Su, and two more that follow the Mat-Su approach are scheduled to open this fall. Says Burchell, "Not all of the kids succeed, but a large, large number of them do." Patricia Mack Perhaps the business-education partnership in Oregon is strongest in the Salem-Kaiser School District, where Patricia Mack has been plying her trade for the better part of the past decade. Mack, principal of Walker Middle School, believes the business com– munity can play a vital role in the