I was going on some major site visits when I went to a couple of local elementary schools. After that I did some student teaching with Jack who taught me everything I know about teaching young people, how to relate to young people. Later Ron would get a masters degree in teaching from Lewis and Clark and completed principal course work at Portland State. Ron then taught in the Tigard school system, and moved to Felida Elementary for eight years to teach the fifth and sixth grades. Later he spent six years as the principal at Harney School and has spent the last eight years in his present position.
Elementary school aged kids are awesome.
According to Ron, the number one, most significant element in a child's education is parental involvement. According to Ron, another member of the team is the state of Washington. There is a growing public awareness of the effectiveness of our schools and the state is raising expectations. The Vancouver School District has what Ron Porterfield considers a very healthy approach to the increasingly higher expectations. A student's progression is not based on one test score but the school system looks for continuous improvement, and that the student is learning.