Lincoln High School is a public high school located in the Goose Hollow neighborhood of Portland, Oregon, United States. It was established in 1869 as Portland High School, making it one of the oldest public high schools west of the Mississippi River.
Student profile
Lincoln's student population is 74% white, 9% Asian/Pacific Islander, 7% Latino, and 5% African American. About 86% of its students live within the school's neighborhood, the second-highest percentage in the district, behind Wilson.
In 2008, 89% of the school's seniors received a high school diploma. Of 372 students, 330 graduated, 34 dropped out, four received a modified diploma, and four were still enrolled in high school the following year. For the 2010-11 school year, Lincoln had the highest overall graduation rate among Portland Public high schools, at 84 percent. About 90% of Asian-American students graduate on time, as do 88% of Latino students, yet only 38% of its African-American students do so, which is the worst rate in the district.
Academics
In July 2006, former Lincoln High Principal Peter Hamilton described it as "a classic college preparatory school." It is home to more National Merit scholarship semifinalists than any other public or private high school in Oregon.
In 2006, Lincoln was one of seven in Oregon ranked among America's 1,200 best high schools (based on Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, or Cambridge test scores) by Newsweek. In 2008, Lincoln was voted second out of 261 of the public high schools in the state, behind the School of Science and Technology from the Beaverton School District in first place.
Lincoln is a part of the International Baccalaureate (IB) program, and averaged roughly 38 successful IB diploma candidates over 2009, 2010, and 2011.
Lincoln has 60 classroom teachers, 2.5 special instruction teachers, 4 educational assistants, 5 student counselors, an alternative education teacher, and a library/media specialist. Programs provide high-quality academic and extracurricular opportunities with a strong college preparatory program. Basic high school curriculum is enhanced with advanced coursework in English, social sciences, foreign languages, mathematics and physical and life sciences.
The school received a silver ranking in the U.S. News & World Report's 2010 "America's Best High Schools" survey.
In 2010, a Lincoln student was honored as a Presidential Scholar, one of three from Oregon.
State championships
- Boys' cross country: 1951, 1954, 1955
- Girls' cross country: 1978
- Boys' soccer: 2015
- Girls' soccer: 2007, 2008
- Boys' basketball: 1919, 1952, 1957
- Girls' swimming: 1948, 1982, 1989
- Baseball: 1956
- Boys' tennis: 1985, 1988
- Girls' tennis: 1988, 1989, 2010-2013
- Boys' track & field: 2007
- Girls' track & field: 1980, 1995, 2007
- Dance: 2002-2007, 2009, 2010
- Speech: 1985
- Boys' lacrosse: 2008, 2010-2012
- Constitution Team: 1987-2001, 2003, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016
- Speech and Debate: 2017
Activities
Lincoln's constitution team has won 23 state championships and six national titles.
The Lincoln Dancers were State Champions from 2002 to 2007 and in 2009 and 2010. They have also won the PIL District Champions title for ten consecutive years.
The school newspaper, The Cardinal Times, was established in 1897 and is the oldest continually-published high school newspaper on the west coast.
History
19th century
With an initial enrollment of 45 students, the school was established in 1869 as the Portland High School in the North Central School sited on Block 80 of Couch's Addition (bounded by NW 11th & 12th and Couch & Davis Streets). The principal was J.W. Johnson. The high school moved from the top floors of the North Central School to the Central School in 1873 (located where Pioneer Courthouse Square is today) and moved again to the Park School (block bounded by Park, 10th, Madison, and Jefferson (now the Portland Art Museum)) in 1878. The first building to be known as Lincoln High School was built at SW 14th and Morrison in 1885, but was still named West Side High School at the time. The land for the 14th and Morrison School was given to the school district by Mrs. Simeon G. Reed (wife of the founder of Reed College) in 1869 and the building was designed by William Stokes, an architect who had recently moved to Portland from Oakland, California. The building was situated in the block bounded by 14th, Morrison, Lownsdale (now 15th) and Alder Streets.
In 1889, a "very successful" night school program was started at the first purpose-built building at SW 14th and Morrison.
20th century
The school was renamed Lincoln High School in 1909, and moved to the 45-room South Park Blocks location (now known as Lincoln Hall) when construction was completed in 1912. The building occupies the block bounded by Market & Mill Streets and Park & Broadway. (After the 1912 move, the old building of 1885 was used by the Girls' Polytechnic School. In fall 1928, that school moved to a new building on the east side, leaving the 1885 building vacant, and it was demolished by 1930.)
In 1937, the school had grown to 1580 students and 53 teachers. In 1972, it had 1253 students, 7% of whom were black (a contemporary report noted they were mostly "voluntary transfers"); 4.3% of the students were on welfare.
Due to the baby boom and passing of a $25 million building levy by the school district in 1947, a new high school was slated. The existing building was sold to the Vanport Extension Center (now Portland State University) in April 1949 for $875,000, with the intention that the high school would not leave for "at least two years." Land was cleared for the school by June 1950 on the former Jacob Kamm House property.
21st century
Lincoln is slated to be completely rebuilt as part of a $790 million bond measured passed in 2017.
Notable alumni
References
External links
- Official website