Mission & Identity

Mission Statement: Why We Exist

Oregon Episcopal School prepares students for higher education and lifelong learning by inspiring intellectual, physical, social, emotional, artistic, and spiritual growth so that they may realize their power for good as citizens of local and world communities.

Identity: Who We Are

Our Oregon home matters: Perched on the Paciﬁc Rim, nestled between the ocean and the mountains, bordered by natural wetlands and urban development, we nurture intrinsic curiosity about complex environments and foster connections between people of diverse backgrounds.

Our Episcopal tradition matters: Rooted in a rhythm of gathering and reﬂection, we educate toward a larger purpose— toward inclusion and respect, service and social justice, and commitment beyond ourselves.

Our School philosophy matters: Grounded in the belief that the advancement of knowledge ﬂows from open and rigorous inquiry, we cultivate the life of the mind and the whole person by connecting questions with exploration and discovery, theories with scrutiny, expressions with art, and self with subject.

Our Commitment to Justice

As an Episcopal school, we are rooted in the values of compassion for our human family, the strength of dialogue to promote understanding, and a commitment to inclusion. Our Episcopal roots further challenge us to create an environment—both within and beyond our school—that recognizes each person’s lived experiences and where everyone thrives and is valued.

We recognize that we must actively work to create and strengthen a community steeped in diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racist actions. In order to grow our intentions of diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racism (DEIA) to actionable steps, we outline here our commitment to justice.

See our full statement in the Equity & Inclusion area of our website.

Land Acknowledgment

See more detail for bolded terms in the glossary .

We honor the Indigenous first nations’ ancestors and survivors of this land, known today as Southwest Portland, Oregon, who have lived in this place since time immemorial: the two bands of Chinookan people—the Clackamas and the Multnomah—and the Tualatin Band of Kalapuya.
We honor the struggle and resilience of these ancestors
And their descendants living here today.

By acknowledging this is colonized land
wherever we now sit or stand,
and on which Oregon Episcopal School rests,
We strive to put our school’s settler community into right relationships with indigenous people of the past, present, and future.

We acknowledge that we are guests
upon these lands
And must act as stewards of this place.

And we pledge,
To uplift the voices, experiences, and histories of the Indigenous peoples of this land and beyond.
We commit to learning and action beyond acknowledgement.

By doing so,
we bring honor to ourselves,
to Oregon Episcopal School,
and to the ancestors who came before us.

Glossary

Southwest Portland

The two bands of Chinookan people—the Clackamas and the Multnomah—and the Tualatin Band of Kalapuya

Right Relationship

We commit

Honor