Patrick Burke

PATRICK BURKE, MLC principal from 1991 to 1993, prepared this very welcome reminiscence in 2018 but submitted it just too late for inclusion in the 50th Anniversary publication. We are pleased to include it here at last. (We think that is our Patrick Burke in the accompanying photo, from his Facebook page; if mistaken we hope to be corrected soon!)

While many found these changes to be dramatic and unfamiliar, MLC had used such assessment from its beginning. MLC utilized then, as it does now, individualized projects, portfolios of student work, connections to the community and interdisciplinary work as evidence of student mastery of the course and grade level expectations. It also demonstrated how such information could be collected and shared with parents in meaningful conferences instead of the vagueness of a letter grade. As a result, MLC, although it was already well known, became more sought after by district and state leadership as an example of how project-based learning and evidence of student mastery could be collected and managed in ways that connected to individual student interests, as well as providing sound evidence of student growth toward academic standards.

Although, unfortunately, the Oregon Legislature eventually moved away from this very creative model for the state, it is a testament to the original MLC vision, and to the continuing staff and community commitment to personalized, engaged learning, that these activities continue at MLC today. I have always felt privileged that I had the opportunity to be a part of the MLC community. In my experience, MLC permanently transforms students, staff and parents in the ways they understand learning and community, even when they are no longer directly connected with the school.

At least, that is what happened to me. Because of the work at MLC, I was asked to come into the central office of PPS in 1992 to manage district-wide implementation of changes contained in HB3565. I continued to serve as Assistant Superintendent for Grants Management and Partnership Development and as Deputy Superintendent for Educational Policy. In 2002 I was asked to join the Oregon Department of Education as Assistant Superintendent for Federal Programs and then Chief Policy Officer. Since 2009 I have been on the faculty at Portland State University in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy in the Graduate School of Education.

(Patrick Burke, former principal, 1991-93)

Pat Burke ... right?

My time as principal at MLC overlapped a period of statewide change in Oregon schools with the passage of the Oregon Education Act for the 21st Century, better known as HB3565 (1991). This change moved the entire state toward evaluating student learning on the basis of projects, tasks, and portfolios of student work.