Dawn Joella Jackson, principal of Helensview High School
courtesy Dawn Joella Jackson
In the 2019-2020 school year, eight students of Helensview High School have died. Most deaths were gun violence, but students also died from intimate partner violence and street racing. Four others were shot but survived. The students of the alternative school in Northeast Portland come from 10 different school districts, and many of them are struggling with poverty. Some students have children and need childcare that school provides for those children up to age five. Other students land at Helensview because they’ve fallen academically behind, have mental health or behavioral challenges.
The Helensview principal, Dawn Joella Jackson, told “Think Out Loud” that the students’ struggles have been greatly exacerbated by the pandemic.
Stable housing is a challenge
“Although we have a moratorium on evictions, that’s not what’s happening in practice. So we have many, many students facing losing their homes or having to combine homes in order to keep their house. So, for example, we have a student who already had seven people living in his apartment, but now there are three families living in his apartment, and all of those kids are trying to go to school at the same time, and access Internet at the same time.”
Sky-high violence
Jackson says the incredible amount of violence that most affects people who are dealing with poverty has significantly impacted the Helensview community.
“In 2019, we had 399 shootings in Multnomah County, and last year we had over 900.”
Jackson says she’s talked with family members, students and with other staff members, and says what’s happening right now is an unprecedented amount of violence.
“I mean, having started my work with kids in Portland in the 90s, I have not seen this level of violence since that time. I do think that as schools … come back onto campus, it’s going to be very necessary for the leaders of those campuses to become informed about what’s causing this violence. Who’s responsible?”
What’s needed from the city and district
Jackson says because of the students’ high needs, a lot of teacher and staff time is spent trying to help the basics, like food and shelter to help students dealing with the effects of violence and other trauma.
“We do a lot of social service work right now … But as a school, it would be great to be able to focus on what’s happening in the classroom and planning for instruction. We need more assistance with the social work realm of how to connect and support kids.”
Supporting and connecting students takes time, staff and money. All of which are in short supply.
“So we have a lot of kids who are going to be houseless really soon. That’s going to increase gun violence. And I think statistics show that we need to connect kids with health care and specifically the kids who have suffered from gun violence. We need to figure out how to connect them with the services so that they can reconnect with school.”
Distanced in the pandemic
The COVID-19 risks her students face are real, Jackson says, but not being able to provide a physical space for some of the state’s neediest kids, is even riskier.
“We’ve lobbied to stay open through this pandemic, and we are. We’re very lucky that our board and central administration from the M. E S. D. [Multnomah Education Service District] has allowed us to do that. We have limited in-person instruction twice a week. We’ve been able to go out to students’ homes to support them …. and also their education and connection there.”
Jackson says what keeps her going is her belief in her students and her incredible staff and colleagues. She hopes this fall will bring some relief, with more in-person instruction and on-campus and community resources.
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