Murdock-Portal Elementary School

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This article is about Murdock-Portal Elementary School, a school in San Jose, California. For other uses of the terms, see Murdock-Portal.

Murdock-Portal Elementary School logo
Murdock-Portal Elementary School
Established 1996
School type Public
Principal Leslie Mains
Location San Jose, California
Enrollment approx. 435
Grades K to 5 (formerly K to 6)
School song There's A Place
Homepage http://www.cupertino.k12.ca.us/Portal.www/
School mascot Penguins
School colors black, white, and teal

Murdock-Portal Elementary School (commonly known as Portal Elementary School) is a public elementary school and magnet school in San Jose, California serving students from Kindergarten through Fifth grade(formerly Kindergarten through Sixth grade). It is a member of the Cupertino Union School District, and is consistently one of the top five elementary schools in California, often second-best. Graduates usually go to Miller, Hyde, Kennedy, Lawson, or Cupertino Middle Schools, and the FUHSD high schools.

Contents

[edit] History

Louis Portal Elementary School existed for some time during the 1960s and '70s (in the front of the school—there is a plaque commemorating the original founding—but the school in its current form began in the school year of 1994–1995. For that year, the school was K–5, as the school administration thought it foolish to keep students for just one year (it still keeps that policy). The next year, the school expanded to K–6, and stayed that way for seven years afterward, until it decided to contract back to K–5, due to declining Sixth grade enrollment figures.

Originally, the magnet school was to focus on both science and technology. However, when it became clear that the science curriculum was not different enough from other district schools to warrant the special distinction, Portal became known exclusively as the district's "technology" alternative school.

[edit] The Move

In 2003, with the planned conversion of Collins Elementary School into a needed new middle school because it was located on one of the district’s largest sites, the Board of Education chose to move Collins – a neighborhood school – to the nearby Portal site. Portal, an alternative school that served children from throughout the 26-square-mile district, was moved not only to another site, but to another city – San Jose (CUSD has schools in six neighboring cities). The site chosen was that of a closed neighborhood school, Murdock Elementary, which had been named for a respected CUSD teacher and administrator, Carol Murdock. Murdock Elementary was closed in 1980 due to low enrollment. Since its closure, the site housed different educational programs such as a Chinese language school and Gymboree. The school site was located beside one of San Jose’s neighborhood parks, Murdock Park.

A multimillion dollar renovation of the school site was accomplished before the move in December 2003.

[edit] Name

Carol Murdock was considered the "first lady of the district". In fact, some neighborhood residents considered "Carol Murdock is the only identity we have had". To address the neighborhood's concerns, Dr. William Bragg, the school district superintendent, proposed to name the school "Portal Elementary School at Carol Murdock Site." However, the neighborhood residents expressed their dissatisfaction during a school board meeting. The board appointed a committee of teachers, administrators, and community members to address the concerns. The committee recommended the name Murdock-Portal Elementary School. After learning this name change recommendation, many parents and teachers made desperate pleas during an emotional Board Meeting. Nevertheless, since the name change recommendation was in accordance to pre-established procedures, the Board accepted the recommended name change.

[edit] Uniqueness

[edit] Technology

Portal is famous for integrating technology into its curriculum, which is probably due to its relationship with Apple, which is based in the same city as the Cupertino Union School District. There are just 2.3 students for each computer. Portal is often seen as having the model classroom, as it was when the China Democratic National Constitution Association of the People's Republic of China visited to see how to best use computers in school.

[edit] Villages

Portal is also unique in its village system. In it, each class is multi-age, so that older students can help the younger students. In most subjects, such as Social Studies and Science, the curriculum simply alternates: i.e. 5th grade one year, 4th grade the next year, then 5th Grade again, etc. However, in Math, where grade levels are not interchangeable, students split up into grades and are taught separately.

There are seven villages in 2005–2006 (which have three classes unless otherwise noted).

Village Name Grade Level Classes
Adelie 2–3 3
Galapagos K–1 3
Gentoo K–1 3
Humboldt (new) 2–3 3
Little Blue K–1 3
Macaroni 2–3 3
Rockhopper 4–5 6

Note: Macaroni had two classes in 2003–2004.

Village Name (1995–2003) Grade Level Classes
Adelie 3–4 3
Galapagos K–2 4
Gentoo 1–2 2
Little Blue K–2 4
Macaroni 3–4 3
Rockhopper 5–6 4

In the school's first year, there were just two, apparently unnamed, villages: one K–2 and one 3–5. Each of them had 3 classrooms and 93 students, for a total of 31 students per class, the district maximum.

[edit] Lunch Clubs

Like many schools, Portal runs 'lunch clubs' for students. These clubs are entirely organized and staffed by volunteers, and include activities such as chess, cooking, and playing computer.

[edit] PEN

PEN (Portal Educational Network) is a video produced weekly during lunch by fifth grade students who sign up and are selected for the job. After the Pledge of Allegiance on Fridays, the 5–10 minute film is shown. It has been produced for a very long time, with a production gap in 2003–2004. It covers things that are going on in the school, like field trips or assemblies (a recent show included an interview with author David Schwartz).

[edit] Yearbook

The Yearbook Club produces the school yearbook each year, also at lunch. The selection process is much the same as that of PEN, with Fifth grade students signing up for the job. The yearbook is mainly a photo scrapbook of the school year, showing pictures of things such as school plays.

[edit] Demographics

The school is 83% Asian (not Filipino), 15% White, 1% Hispanic, and 1% Other. An amazing 87% of parents went to graduate school, compared to 11%, the state average.

[edit] School song

There's a place,
A happy place,
Where penguins run around,
Waddling, Al-ways singing,
And making happy sounds,
It's where kids go to learn and grow,
In villages and towns,
It's a school that's really cool,
Everyone knows that it's Portal!
It's Portal, It's Portal,
For fun and love and joy.
It's Portal, It's Portal,
It's fun for a girl and a boy.
It's Portal, It's Portal,
For fun and love and joy.
It's Portal, It's Portal,
Everyone knows that it's Portal!
Everyone knows that it's Portal!
ICEBERGS SOLD SEPARATELY!!!!

[edit] Class Blog Meister

The Rockhopper Village at Portal Elementary school started to "blog". They started blogging at http://www.classblogmeister.com/

[edit] After School Child Care

Murdock-Portal CDC (Child Development Center) runs the after school-age program and child care facility, co-located next to the school. Contact details: Murdock-Portal CDC. (San Jose). 408-996-1547. Julie Buress, Director.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links


CUSD

Elementary schools: Blue Hills | Collins | De Vargas | Dilworth | Eaton | Eisenhower | Faria | Garden Gate | Lincoln | McAuliffe | Meyerholz | Montclaire | John Muir | Murdock-Portal | Nimitz | Regnart | Sedgwick | Stevens Creek | Stocklmeir | West Valley

Middle schools: Cupertino | Hyde | Kennedy | Miller | Lawson
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