Maplewood Elementary · Southwest Portland
From a one-room schoolhouse with 69 students in 1912 to the school on the hill today: buildings, closures, campaigns to save it, and the community that keeps showing up.
In the fall of 1912, Maplewood School opens with 26 boys, 43 girls, and one teacher. The one-room portable schoolhouse features a gable roof, weatherboard siding painted white, five windows, a front and back door, and a pot-bellied stove. Maplewood School joins the Multnomah County School District.
Maplewood School quickly outgrows the one-room schoolhouse. A larger building, with two large classrooms, two outhouses, and a rooftop bell, is constructed during Winter 1913-1914.
The new larger schoolhouse is raised off the ground for the addition of a new basement, restrooms to replace the outhouses, water fountains, and a furnace.
Maplewood School wins first prize in rural exhibits at the Multnomah County Fair in Gresham. “The work done by the school children through the clubs includes sewing, cooking, canning, garden and field crops, and the raising of sheep, calves, hogs and goats. The children themselves are greatly interested in the work and some keen competition has developed.”
Maplewood students are able to check out books from Multnomah County's Central Library via a book wagon that visits the community on Fridays over summer break.
Maplewood District No. 52 is annexed into Portland School District No. 1.
Maplewood's first one-room schoolhouse is sold to the Maplewood Sunday school for $10 and subsequently moved across the street for $52. The building is used for community and religious gatherings until it is demolished in 2001.
The school board decides to close Maplewood School. The Maplewood community launches a campaign to save the school.
In order to prevent closure by the Portland school district, Maplewood's sub-district is granted permission to withdraw from District No. 1 and joins District No. 11.
In place of a victory garden, Maplewood students raise a pig named “Victory,” feeding her with scraps from the school cafeteria. Victory and the school children are featured in a photo spread published in The Oregonian, with the caption: “But behind all the fun lies serious purpose. Victory is a war pig. When fat enough, the children will eat her.”
A new gymnasium is constructed for $84,000 and is still in use today.
12 cases of scarlet fever reported among 150 students enrolled at Maplewood School. Students stay home that Monday due to a power outage caused by hurricane-force winds in the area and for the rest of the week due to the scarlet fever outbreak.
Between 1951-1954, the second schoolhouse building is demolished and the school's third building is constructed.
A dedication ceremony for Maplewood School's new building is held in the gymnasium.
The first day of school for Maplewood's 322 students is delayed a week “to allow completion of a new building.” The building is still in use for Maplewood's current 304 students.
Maplewood School is annexed into School District No. 1. 375 students attend Maplewood.
Maplewood's blacktop playcourt is converted to classroom space.
After many previous failed votes, residents of the Maplewood Water District vote in favor of annexation to the City of Portland.
The Maplewood Citizens Advisory Committee holds a community forum seeking feedback to a PPS proposal that would consolidate and close schools in the then Wilson HS cluster. Attendees are asked "is it important to maintain a school in Maplewood? Why? Why not?" Answers include: "the building is in good shape," "the area is developing," "lack of statistics to back this," "boundary changes should be explored," and "locking it up would be like striking a death blow to the community."
A photo spread in The Sunday Oregonian features a new program at Maplewood matching student support "hires" and schoolmates with special needs.
Portland School Board votes to close Multnomah School at the end of the 1978-1979 school year and assigns Multnomah School's K-5 students to Maplewood and 6-8th grader to Hayhurst beginning in September 1979.
Maplewood School is “inadvertently” put on a district closure list due to “an arithmetic error.” This error is especially challenging for Maplewood families who recently transferred from the closed Multnomah School.
Maplewood students win first place in the Great Portland Glass, Tin and Paper Chase in Pioneer Courthouse Square, beating a City of Portland team that included Mayor Bud Clark and City Commissioner Mike Lindberg. Maplewood students were selected "because they recently recycled 18 tons of paper in one week during a school project."
Maplewood is among 12 elementary schools that PPS expects to exceed capacity by 1992, including Bridlemile, Hayhurst, and Stephenson. The report suggests moving Maplewood kindergarteners to another school for the next year, reopening Rieke, and redrawing boundaries in the area.
Maplewood commissions Georgia Gerber to sculpt two bronze bears for the school library. The art project was among 22 others made possible by $250,000 in funding to purchase art for schools.
Accessibility improvements to the school building include an elevator, ramps, gender-neutral bathroom, and drinking fountain. The gym roof is also replaced and the fire safety system upgraded.
89 years after its construction, Maplewood's original one-room schoolhouse is torn down. In two locations, it served many purposes, including dance hall, community gathering space, preschool, primary school, and place of worship.
Maplewood librarian Pepye Ladd and second-grade teacher Marianne McClenagh are among 16 educators honored by the Portland Schools Foundation for “boosting achievement.” The school receives $1,000 for books or materials for each award.
Maplewood celebrates the 20th anniversary of its Bookbagger event. Students participate in reading activities and camp out in the school gymnasium. Other popular long-running PTA events over the years include: B.Y.O.B. (Bring your own bear or other stuffed animal) P.J. Storytime, Carnival, Halloween Parade, Back to School Picnic, and many more.
4th and 5th grade teams participate in the inaugural Oregon Battle of the Books (OBOB) under the leadership of Maplewood’s librarian, Elin Kordohl. The next year, 3rd graders join.
Elin Kordahl, Maplewood’s librarian, is named the Oregon 2010 Elementary School Librarian of the Year by the Oregon Association of School Libraries.
Maplewood School celebrates 100 years since its founding in 1912.
Due to a PSU report that forecasts overcrowding at Chapman, Capitol Hill, and Maplewood, boundaries are redrawn to balance enrollment.
At the request of school counselor Kendall Cunningham, Maplewood parent Kris Kirkman writes a new school song, highlighting Maplewood's values of safe, responsible, and kind. Ms. Cunningham leads students in the song at school assemblies.
Watch the school songGovernor Kate Brown orders statewide school closures in response to COVID-19 pandemic. The initial 6-week closure extends to the cancellation of in-person instruction for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year.
Families and community members line up to wave to a caravan of Maplewood teachers and staff as they drive by.
Maplewood's bike bus launches in 2021 and is still going strong. On 16 October 2026, 400 students, parents, teachers, and community members ride and line the route to rally for Maplewood.
Maplewood collaborates with muralist William Hernandez, through an art in residence program, to create a mural that reflects the school community values of inclusion, collaboration, diversity, and education inspired by Portland and neighborhood history. Students paint the colorful leaves on lower walls of the main building.
Maplewood's "HELLO!" mural is installed. The mural says "hello" in 25+ languages and features art created by and representing Maplewood students. "This is a small effort by us, the PTA, to acknowledge the diversity that exists within the community (the school and Portland)."
Markham Elementary school is forced to close for hazardous material cleanup from extensive ice storm damage. Maplewood welcomes four Markham classrooms - kindergarten, first grade, and ISC.
Will Chou, Maplewood's beloved Teacher Chou, is recognized by the Oregon Department of Education as a statewide finalist and Regional Teacher of the Year 2026-27.
