Overview

The Northwest Regional ESD provides special education to students in kindergarten through 12th grade with a wide range of specialized classrooms and schools for children with significant developmental, emotional & behavioral disabilities. Students are referred to these individual programs by their local school districts, state or private child caring agencies.

Classes operated by NWRESD deliver instruction by licensed teachers and educational assistants who provide the necessary supervision, special education and related services.

Schools and Programs:

Cascade Academy

Cascade Academy is an educational program located in Beaverton, and serves students in grades 7-12 with serious conduct, behavioral and emotional needs.  Most students are eligible for special education services under the category of emotional disturbance.  Local school district teams refer students who need a small, nurturing and highly structured academic environment along with behavioral and mental health support.  The staff to student ratio is 1:4, and curriculum, instruction and assessment are linked to Oregon State Standards.  Students receive 22.5 hours per week of instruction and an average of 4 hours per week of mental health services.

Levi Anderson Learning Center

Since 1992 the ODE has contracted with the NWRESD to provide educational programs for adolescent boys placed by public and private child caring agencies at St. Mary's Home for Boys on a residential basis, largely due to legal infractions in the community. The average residential stay for boys served by the Levi Anderson School is approximately one year. The majority of the boys receive the largest part of their education at the Levi Anderson School during that residential stay, however, students making satisfactory social and academic progress may receive a portion of their education program on a Beaverton School District campus.

PACE (Positive Advancement Center of Education) Program

The Oregon Department of Education (ODE) contracts with the NWRESD to provide the educational programming for 40 adolescents placed by the Department of Developmental Disabilities in residential treatment at the Albertina Kerr Group Homes.  PACE is a self-contained program located in Forest Grove, and serves students in grades 6-12.  Most students are eligible for special education services under the handicapping conditions of mental retardation and emotional disturbance, and the staff to student ratio is 1:4.  Curriculum, instruction and assessment are linked to Oregon State Standards.

Pacific Academy

Pacific Academy is an educational therapeutic program located in Beaverton, and serves students in grades 6-12 referred by local school district teams when a small, supportive academic environment with a mental health focus is indicated.  A consulting clinical psychologist and psychiatric nurse practitioner team up with mental health staff and teachers to meet the student's social, emotional and behavioral needs.  Curriculum, instruction and assessment are linked to the Oregon State Standards, and staff to student ratio is 1:4.  Students at Pacific Academy receive 20 hours per week of instruction and an average of 5 hours per week of mental health services.

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GED Testing >>

• GED (General Educational Development) tests are administered at the Northwest Regional ESD office in Hillsboro or at the Columbia County Service Center in St. Helens.
• In accordance with the policies established by the Commission on Adult Learning and Educational Credentials, the GED Testing Service, and the Oregon Department of Education, the NWRESD offers GED Testing to qualified applicants at the Washington County Service Center in Hillsboro and the Columbia Service Center in St. Helens. Tests are given in English and Spanish language formats at the Hillsboro office.  The Information Bulletin by the GED Testing Service can offer more information on the GED tests.

Home School Registration >>

Oregon Revised Statutes require ESDs to provide monitoring services for students not enrolled in public or private school, but for whom parents have chosen home schooling. The NWRESD provides a centralized registration-monitoring process for students residing within the 20 component school districts that parents have registered for home schooling. Oregon's 1999 Legislature significantly reduced the reporting requirements of parents choosing to home school their children.

Northwest Outdoor Science School >>

• Northwest Outdoor Science School contributes to the development of environmental literacy and responsible citizenship, provides hands-on learning experiences that are integrated with local school curricula, and promotes learning about, and appreciation for, the natural world.
• Curriculum is based on the standards set by Oregon's Education Act for the 21st Century.  It is aligned with benchmarks for 5th and 8th grades in science, math, English, social science, health education, physical education, and the arts.
• Students are exposed to careers in science and natural resource management. 
  They participate in real scientific research through data collection and analysis.

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