Contributions to Cottonwood School of Civics and Science are critical to ensuring that our students can continue to have the unique and inspiring education we offer. We are grateful for the support of school families and the greater community. As a charter school, we receive 60%* of what public district schools receive, so it is essential that we raise funds to cover the cost of providing a learning environment where students develop a sense of place, become stewards of the natural world, and grow into active citizens within our community.
This is where we need your help! Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to CSCS to support the valuable education our students receive.
Here are a few examples of what your support makes possible:
- Kindergarteners made many trips to Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge to investigate pond life and learn about native plants
- 3rd-graders learned all about the Chinook tribe by traveling to the Ridgefield Wildlife Refuge to tour a life-size replica of a Chinook longhouse and had a Ridgefield archeologist both on-site and back in the classroom to specifically learn about how the tribe traveled and traded.
- 6th-graders trekked out to Central Oregon for their annual 3 night OMSI camp. This study of environmental science in Fossil, Oregon included a night hike to learn about triboluminescence and day hikes to learn about the people who lived there and how they interacted with the environment.
- 7th- and 8th- graders journeyed to Smith Rock for four days for an Outward Bound rock climbing camp. Students sleep under tarps, cook their own food, learn how to climb, and rappel off of the top of Smith Rock!
- 7th grade bused down to Salem to present their Project Citizen portfolio on the need for resources for male and transgender survivors of domestic abuse. The thoroughness of their project impressed the judges and won them the state title!
These educational experiences cannot be created in the classroom and they take a lot of planning and resources. In order to continue offering the curriculum, we do we need your help. We are asking families to make this possible with a suggested monthly donation of $25 per family, or an annual gift of $300. All contributions at any level are most welcome and all donations are tax-deductible.
Matching gifts are an easy way to double (sometimes even triple!) a charitable contribution. Many companies and corporate foundations match their employees’ gifts to nonprofit organizations, like CSCS.
Click here to learn about additional ways to support our students!
Emily Conner joined Southwest Charter in 2016 as our 7/8 Humanities teacher. Emily has a Masters in Teaching at Lewis & Clark, where she focused on social justice education and promoting an inclusive and inquiring classroom community. Her interest in place-based education began when she lived in Alabama, working toward her MFA in creative writing and farming in Coker on weekends. In her free time, Emily likes to bake bread, doodle, and go on long walks with audiobooks and her dog Ellie.
Chris joined the staff as the 7/8 Math and Science teacher in 2014. Chris received his Bachelor’s degree in Biology Education from Ithaca College. He has completed Master’s level work in Educational Technology at Walden University. He spent four years teaching Middle School science at Lower Manhattan Community School in New York City. Chris feels that every interaction and situation presents an opportunity to learn. He has a passion for outdoor education and learning through community. Chris believes that knowing the children we teach is as important as knowing the content we teach. 
Elizabeth joined CSCS in 2016. She recently graduated with a MAT from the Arbor Center for Teaching in conjunction with Marylhurst University. As part of this program, she had the privilege of co-teaching for two years in a K-1 classroom at the Arbor School of Arts and Sciences, as well as teaching language arts and math units in a 5
Kathy Price, a former preschool teacher, has been working with CSCS since the opening in 2007 (as Southwest Charter School). In addition to teaching preschool, Kathy has worked with Neighborhood House’s SUN program teaching after school classes to grades K-8. Kathy has a coached many sports over the years including soccer, basketball, gymnastics and dance. Outside of school, Kathy enjoys reading, hiking and long walks on the beach. Kathy has lived in Portland for most of her life and is proud to be bringing up her son in the same neighborhoods in which she grew up. Kathy has taken great joy in raising her teenage son and is grateful she gets to spend time with the amazing kids of CSCS.
Amanda joined the faculty at Southwest Charter in Fall 2010 as the kindergarten teacher, during the 2014/15 school year she began her transition into administration, becoming the Executive Director in 2016. After being away for 22 years, Amanda returned to her hometown of Portland in 2008 to raise her two boys. Amanda received her Master’s Degree in Education from the Claremont Graduate School, Claremont, California in 1992. With her degree in hand, she has taught in a number of small alternative schools, designed a successful children’s clothing line using recycled materials, and started her own Place-based school in rural Montana. Amanda believes strongly in the power of Place-Based Education and getting children out from behind their desks and into active, hands-on learning! She loves children and is enthusiastic about the outdoors, her community, family, cooking, and crafts.
Lisa joined the teaching team at CSCS in 2007. Prior to teaching at SWCS, she worked with the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) where for four years she developed science curriculum and taught students of all ages around the state. Her love of science and exploration began back in Michigan where she and her sister would explore their neighborhood, looking for insects and tinkering in their father’s work shed. That interest would take her to study at the University of Michigan where she discovered she had a talent for teaching and received a Bachelor of Arts in Education with High Distinction. She recently completed her Master’s degree at Concordia. She has taught in a variety of educational settings from large group assemblies, which encouraged a love of theater, to small group classrooms, where she can give individualized attention. Her strong science background is accented by a passion for storytelling, folklore & mythology from around the world. Inspired by those tales, she creates visual art, plays with the Stumptown-Jugthumpers as a washboard player, and is learning how to make puppets. Lisa brings her enthusiasm and talents to share and loves discovering and honing the talents and skills of each of her students.
Kimberley has spent the last ten years teaching preschool through third grade at Trillium Charter School and spent the past three years in a K/1 blended classroom. Kimberley is committed to relationship-based education and inclusive classroom practices. She became interested in place-based education while working with a colleague who did their student teaching at The Cottonwood School. The next year Kimberley devoted her time to a year long study with her students of Washington Park and the importance of this place to the Portland Metro community. Kimberley has a BA in Early Childhood Education and Human Development from Washington State University. In her free time, Kimberley loves spending time with her daughters, friends and family, reading, hiking and riding her bicycle. 
Sarah K. Anderson, was previously our 7th/8th teacher specializing in language arts and social studies, was originally lured to Oregon by its waterfalls. She spent most of her childhood exploring rivers and forests near her rural Vermont home- experiences which provided inspiration for a passion for nature and all things wild. After graduating with a degree in American Studies from Bard College in New York, Sarah served as an AmeriCorps volunteer for Metro Parks and Greenspaces in Portland. Since then, she has worked as a crew leader at an educational farm in Vermont, a Teacher Naturalist in the California Redwoods and a Middle School Humanities teacher at The 
Natalie recently graduated from Oregon State, grew up in Coos Bay, and is an avid horsewoman. We are excited to have her with us full time as a PE Teacher and Recess/Classroom Aid.
Daniel has a Masters in Education from Portland State University. He spent last year in a 4/5 classroom at MLC where he gained experience with this age group, used the Storyline Method during several projects, infused the school day with music, and more. He is passionate about incorporating the arts into each school day; He plays guitar for the children every day and has begun a novel writing project with the class. He has been hard at work building solid routines in math and other areas of classroom life.
Her teaching journey actually began at our school as a student teacher for Sarah Anderson while earning her Master’s in elementary education at Antioch University. While there she specialized in integrated learning with an emphasis on science and environmental education. She has spent the last four years teaching a blended 2/3 class at Trillium Charter School where she has been committed to creating engaging and relevant projects that connect students to their place. She is passionate about building strong relationships with students and creating a collaborative and inclusive classroom community. We are glad to have her back at our school.
Melissa studied early childhood education before having her own children and moving from California to Oregon in 2012. She worked for several children’s art companies including Kiwi Crate where she designed over 400 of their art tutorials and wrote for their child centered art blog. Melissa’s oldest child started at CSCS her kindergarten year in 2012 and Melissa naturally fell into the art program of CSCS by volunteering in a parent-led art program for two years before coming on board officially as the k-5th grade art instructor in 2015. When she is not teaching art at school and hanging art throughout the halls, Melissa leads a girls group, enjoys cooking, painting and spending time with her family. Coming from a family of 9 siblings she thrives around the energy and the children at CSCS.