Meriwether Lewis Elementary has a very supportive parent and local community and we take advantage of several partnerships that enrich and enliven the work of our students and teachers.

Reed College: Biology Outreach
The focus of the outreach progam is to develop an inquiry-based science curriculum with Reed biology faculty and place Reed students into the local public schools. The program currently serves children in third through sixth grade classrooms, exposing these young students to hands-on science. The program also introduces Reed students to science teaching, and creates ongoing partnerships between Reed College and Portland public schools while providing Portland public school teachers with skills to last a lifetime.

SMART – Start Making a Reader Today:
Our SMART (Start Making a Reader Today) Program provides adult volunteers to read one-on-one every week with two K-3 children for a half hour each. Along with the OASIS volunteer program SMART provides us with caring adults who help to instill a love of reading and literacy in our students. Our SMART Program is lead by Darby Walker. If you are interested in volunteering with the program please contact Darby in Room 3.

OASIS -
The OASIS program is a professionally developed mentoring program designed for older adults to help young children to become successful readers. OASIS volunteers work in our primary classrooms.

Safe Routes to School:
This partnership with the City of Portland’s Office of Transportation, encourages safe walking and and bike riding. The program includes pedestrian and occupant safety classes for students and parents and also helped fund traffic calming improvements around the school including speed bumps on Glenwood and Evergreen avenues.

Bicycle Transportation Alliance:
The BTA provides bicycle safety classes for our older students and sponsors an after school bike club that teaches and encourages safe riding for fun and wellness.