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Tualatin Valley Academy

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Coordinates: 45°30′59″N 122°54′10″W / 45.5162712°N 122.902658°W / 45.5162712; -122.902658
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Tualatin Valley Academy
Address
Map
21975 W Baseline Road

Hillsboro
,
Washington County
,
Oregon
97123

 United States
Coordinates45°30′59″N 122°54′10″W / 45.5162712°N 122.902658°W / 45.5162712; -122.902658
Information
TypePrivate
Religious affiliation(s)Seventh-day Adventist Church
Opened1916
PrincipalEd Tillotson
GradesPre-8[1]
AccreditationNAAS
Websitehttp://www.tualatinvalleyacademy.org
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Tualatin Valley Academy (TVA) is a kindergarten-through-eighth-grade private school in Hillsboro, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1916 as Tualatin Valley Junior Academy, the school is affiliated with the Seventh-day Adventist Church. TVA previously was affiliated with the Ring of Fire handbell choir from its inception in 1997 until 2004.

It is a part of the Seventh-day Adventist education system, the world's second-largest Christian school system.[2][3][4] [5]

History

The academy was founded in Washington County in 1916 as Tualatin Valley Junior Academy (TVJA).[6] The school relocated in the fall of 1957 to a 10-acre (4.0 ha) site on Southwest Baseline Road near Cornelius Pass Road.[6] TVA is still located there in what is now the city of Hillsboro.[6] From late December 1989 to January 1990, 14 students from the school spent their Christmas vacation assisting in the construction of a church in Mexico.[7] In 1997, teacher Jason Wells formed the Ring of Fire handbell choir at the school.[8] Ring of Fire performed at the inaugurations of President George W. Bush in both 2001 and 2005.[8] The choir was opened up to non-students in 2004 when Wells left the academy.[8]

In October 2001, revelations of sexual abuse by two male teachers at the school surfaced.[9][10][11] Abuse by one teacher, who was also an administrator, began in 1996 and involved three female students.[9][10][11] The second teacher abused one girl, who had first been a victim of the first teacher.[9][10][11] Both men pled guilty to sexual abuse and were sentenced six years and six months in detention, respectively.[9][10][11]

TVA joined with neighbors in 2003 to fight against allowing Wal-Mart to build a store one block from the school.[12] The city did not approve plans for the store and it was not built. Also in 2003, the academy received accreditation from the Northwest Association of Accredited Schools for its middle school program.[13] In 2009, the school's name was changed to Tualatin Valley Academy.[14] That year some students' artwork was sold at Cornell University's ornithology lab as a project to raise funds for the academy's science and arts programs.[15]

Academics

The school has been accredited through Northwest Association of Accredited Schools since 2003.[13] It is affiliated with the Seventh-day Adventist Church and has students from preschool through the eighth grade, with over 30 staff members.[16][17] As of 2015 the private Christian school had full enrollment in its preschool program, and students from kindergarten through eighth grade, for a total enrollment of about 200.[16] The middle school portion of the school is accredited by the Northwest Association of Accredited Schools.[13] Additionally accreditation is through the North American Division Commission on Accreditation and from the North Pacific Union Conference Board of Education.[14]

TVA receives funding from tuition, seven local Seventh-day Adventist churches, and the Oregon Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.[14] Tuition varies from around $5,840 per year to around $6,980 per year at the higher grade levels.[14] The academy is also a member of the Oregon Federation of Independent Schools.[14] Ed Tillotson serves as the school’s principal.[18]

Activities

Athletic teams' logo

The school, when it offered ninth and tenth grade, competed in the OSAA’s The Valley 10 League at the 1A-1 level as the Eagles.[18] Student Aimee Furber became the youngest person to summit Africa’s Mount Kilimanjaro in 1998.[19]

Ring of Fire

The Ring of Fire handbell choir was founded at the school in 1997.[20] Named after the Pacific Ring of Fire, the group performed at both inaugurations of U.S. President George W. Bush.[8][21][22] Membership was limited to youths ages 14 to 17 and members could never miss a practice session.[8] They also had to re-apply every year to remain in the group.[8] There were a total of 61 bells used by the 13-member group.[8]

Ring of Fire has performed around the United States and in Europe.[8] Performances have included concerts with the Boston Pops;[23] at Portland Trail Blazers games;[24] at events in New York City and Washington, D.C. to memorialize the 9/11 terrorist attacks;[25] in Omaha, Nebraska;[26] in Iowa,[27] Geneva, Illinois;[28] and throughout Oregon.[29] Ring of Fire has also been on televised concerts, including those broadcast internationally.[30]

The group performed between 75 to 100 concerts annually while rehearsing around five hours each week.[31] The instrumental group played only bells, which totaled 61.[31] These bells weighed as little as ten ounces, and up to 15 pounds while covering a total of five octaves.[31] Each member was required to learn each of the bells.[31] Ring of Fire produced DVDs and CDs.[31][32] In 2004, the group’s founder left the school and enrollment was opened up to non-TVA students as the group is no longer sponsored by the school.[8]


See also

References

  1. ^ "About Us". Tualatin Valley Academy. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
  2. ^ http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Opinion/2010/1115/For-real-education-reform-take-a-cue-from-the-Adventists"the second largest Christian school system in the world has been steadily outperforming the national average – across all demographics."
  3. ^ http://www.religionfacts.com/christianity/denominations/seventh_day_adventist.htm
  4. ^ "Department of Education, Seventh-day Adventist Church". Retrieved 2010-06-18.
  5. ^ Rogers, Wendi; Kellner, Mark A. (April 1, 2003). "World Church: A Closer Look at Higher Education". Adventist News Network. Retrieved 2010-06-19.
  6. ^ a b c "Our History". Tualatin Valley Junior Academy. Retrieved 2008-12-30.
  7. ^ Bodine, Harry. “Hillsboro teens labor on Mexican church”, The Oregonian, February 1, 1990, West Zoner, p. 5.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i Tareen, Sophia. “Ring of Fire chosen for inaugural events”, The Oregonian, January 18, 2005, West Zoner, p. B2.
  9. ^ a b c d Danks, Holly. “Teachers facing sex abuse charges”, The Oregonian, October 29, 2001, West Zoner, p. C1.
  10. ^ a b c d Anderson, David R. “Ex-teacher sentenced for sex with 17-year-old”, The Oregonian, January 10, 2002, West Zoner, p. B2.
  11. ^ a b c d Anderson, David R. “Teacher admits sex abuse of students”, The Oregonian, June 11, 2002, West Zoner, p. B2.
  12. ^ Anderson, David R. “Wal-Mart foes hone tactics”, The Oregonian, June 29, 2003, p. B1.
  13. ^ a b c "Accredited Schools 2007-2008" (PDF). Northwest Association of Accredited Schools. p. 83. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 18, 2009. Retrieved 2008-12-30. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help) Cite error: The named reference "naas" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  14. ^ a b c d e 2009-2010 Handbook. Tualatin Valley Academy. Retrieved on September 7, 2009.
  15. ^ Luna, Taryn (November 10, 2009). "Tualatin Valley Academy students show, sell bird paintings at Cornell Lab of Ornithology". The Oregonian. Retrieved 2009-11-11.
  16. ^ a b "Private School Directory 2008" (PDF). Oregon Department of Education. 2008. p. 49. Retrieved 2008-12-29.
  17. ^ “Private school in Hillsboro sets open house, concert”, The Oregonian, May 3, 1994, West Zoner, p. B2.
  18. ^ a b "Tualatin Valley Academy". Schools. Oregon School Activities Association. Retrieved 2008-12-30.
  19. ^ “SPORTSCENE: Record climb”, The Oregonian, February 22, 1998, p. E2.
  20. ^ Parker, Paige. “Bell choir heading east for inauguration”, The Oregonian, December 28, 2000, West Zoner, p. D2.
  21. ^ Hauser, Susan G. “Teens ring bells for Bush”, Wall Street Journal, January 22, 2001, Section A, p. 22.
  22. ^ Kennedy, Kelly. “Handbell choir visits D.C. to ring in new presidency”, The Oregonian, February 1, 2001, West Zoner, p. 16.
  23. ^ Beggy, Carol and Mark Shanahan. “Weekend Names: Group Rings True”, The Boston Globe, December 12, 2003, Living, p. E2.
  24. ^ “Best Bets: Ring of Fire Bell Choir will perform at church”, The Oregonian, Southwest Zoner, p. 2.
  25. ^ Dang, Shirley. “Rockin’ and ringin’ with teen from Hillsboro’s Ring of Fire: The Tualatin Valley Junior Academy students will add a Boston Pops show to a list of musical accomplishments”, The Oregonian, December 9, 2003, p. E1.
  26. ^ “Best Bets”, Omaha World Herald, November 16, 2002, p. 3E.
  27. ^ Pierre, Amanda. “Groups from all over the world to perform in Iowa; MUSIC”, Des Moines Register, September 1, 2002, p. 1E.
  28. ^ Elliot, Stefanie. “Religious, government leaders celebrate National Day of Prayer”, Chicago Daily Herald, April 28, 2001, Fox Valley faith, p. 1.
  29. ^ Gustafson, Alan. “A nation mourns”, Statesman Journal, September 12, 2002, p. 1A.
  30. ^ Knott, Bill (April 26, 2001). "Playing with a Ring of Fire". Adventist Review.
  31. ^ a b c d e Romans, Phil. “Patriotic tunes join bell choir repertoire”, The Oregonian, December 6, 2001, Southwest Zoner, p. 2.
  32. ^ Beck, Byron. “Teens show off a real whack for hand bells”, The Oregonian, January 1, 2000, p. C7.
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