Emil Abramovic

THE PRIMARY FOUNDER of the Metropolitan Learning Center, Emil Abramovic, was the son of an immigrant father from Croatia and mother from Slovenia. He began his adult life as a factory worker in Ohio and became one of the first union organizers in his workplace during the volatile 1930s labor movement. (His sixteen-year-old best friend was shot and killed by a Pinkerton guard during one of their labor strikes.)

After serving in the navy during WWII, he utilized the GI bill to attend college and after completing his first major in Geology, he earned a second in Education.

He relocated to Portland (with his new wife Helen) and found a job at the now non-existent Highland School in NE Portland where he taught 8th-grade science. His next position was at Sellwood School where he specialized in teaching science and social studies. During that time, he developed an innovative curriculum that focused on community engagement and critical thinking. His goal was to educate better future citizens of society.

Emil and Helen had a daughter, Lisa, in 1958, and a son, Carl, in 1960.

Emil and his teacher friend, Abe Bialostosky, began discussing ideas about opening their own progressive school. The school would be modeled from the success of Emil’s Sellwood experience and the Summerhill School, in England. After attending an innovative teaching models course at Portland State University, and then spending a summer at the University of Illinois (1966) and another at Oregon State University (1967), Emil, along with Abe and Helen, developed a completed proposal for MLC.

Working alongside his partner Abe, Emil used his prowess as a union organizer to assemble a team of educators and administrators to help bring the dream of MLC to fruition.

After meeting renowned wood sculptor Leroy Setziol on a summer ship voyage to Europe, Emil developed a passion for wood sculpting and retired from teaching in the early 1980s to pursue that interest full time.

After fifteen years as a hard-working and successful artist, Emil began writing personal essays in favor of the physically demanding work of wood sculpting. He completed close to 350 essays over the following fifteen years. His writing themes included memoir stories, personal insights, political perspectives, and philosophy.

In January 2018, at the age of ninety-nine and a half, due to multiple myeloma, Emil gracefully exited the extraordinary life he had led.

The following essay was written by Emil's son Carl for the 50th Anniversary publication in 2018.