CAL Update

Dear CAL Students and Families,

As we head into Winter Break, I want to pause and recognize the care, effort, and sense of community that define CAL. This time of year invites us to slow down, reconnect, and appreciate the moments, both big and small, that matter most. Whether you are celebrating traditions, spending time with loved ones, or simply taking a breath, I hope this break brings you rest and joy.

In this newsletter, you’ll find updates from our programs, along with information as we begin recruitment season and look ahead to welcoming the next class of CAL students. I’ve also included important details related to inclement weather, should we encounter it.

As we close out 2025, I am deeply grateful for your trust and partnership. It is a privilege to serve this community, and I am excited for what lies ahead in 2026 for our students and families.

Wishing you a restful and meaningful break. We look forward to welcoming students back in the new year, recharged and ready for the second half of the school year.

With Gratitude,

Mrs. Gallagher

The following highlights reflect the high-quality, career-connected learning taking place across CAL and the impact our students are making.

Seventeen Media Lab seniors earned a professional broadcast credential through the Oregon Association of Broadcasters’ Broadcasting Skills Assessment Program. These students are the first in the state to earn this distinction—a remarkable achievement that speaks to their technical skill, professionalism, and readiness for industry.

Tech Lab students are gaining hands-on experience that connects directly to real-world careers. Two students secured internships with the GBSD Tech Center as part of a brand-new pilot program. Seniors learned how to solder and completed five functional projects they were able to take home, while juniors and seniors participated in a hands-on field trip to Portland State University’s College of Engineering, where they worked directly in an electronics lab.

FAB students are building foundational and advanced sewing skills, including a wide range of hand-stitching techniques and working with fasteners such as buttons and hardware. Students have created quilt blocks, key fobs, leather wallets, and tote bags, and are now designing upcycled bags and looks in preparation for an upcoming pop-up fashion show.

Student teams in Change Lab developed action plans to address real community needs. This fall, 11 local nonprofit organizations reviewed and approved student proposals and scopes of work—meaning students are officially partnered with community organizations to carry out meaningful, real-world projects.

Dental seniors began taking radiographs using new digital film, marking an important milestone in their clinical skill development. Additionally, 18 students are now Bloodborne Pathogen Certified, strengthening both their safety training and professional readiness.

Health Science students continue to demonstrate impressive mastery of complex content and skills. Students successfully assembled a full human skeleton and identified all 206 bones of the body. They practiced suturing techniques while studying the integumentary system and dissected a real cow long bone to examine bone structure firsthand. Juniors are now proficient in donning and doffing personal protective equipment and are building clinical skills in taking vital signs, including temperature, oxygen saturation, pulse, respirations, and blood pressure.

Students are making serious progress on Senior Capstones and will be working with industry mentors in the new year!

This time of year can bring inclement weather. CAL aligns our inclement weather decisions with the Gresham-Barlow School District, as our building resides within GBSD district boundaries.

We will alert our families using Parent Square. This ensures our families have been contacted via phone, text, and email.

Recently, CAL welcomed more than 50 seventh- and eighth-grade students for a day designed to do more than showcase programs; it was about who students see themselves becoming.

Throughout the day, students stepped into hands-on workshops across every program area, from making tote bags and building bristle bots to welding roses, creating dental impressions, and exploring media production.

In Change Lab, students were reminded that futures are not left to chance; they are shaped by choice, support, and opportunity.

Every workshop was led by CAL students, making the experience deeply personal and powerful. Visiting students didn’t just learn about CAL, they saw themselves in our students. They left knowing that CAL is for them, provided by their district and community, and that CAL can be a place where they are known, challenged, and supported to imagine what comes next.