The Emerson School is a K-5 public charter school sponsored by the Portland Public. We are committed to excellence and a welcoming community.
The Emerson School was founded in 2003 by three educators as a Project-Based, free public elementary charter school. Deliberately small in size, with 6 blended classrooms, The Emerson School takes advantage of our downtown Portland location with frequent and meaningful interactions with the urban community. Students engage with the city as an expanded classroom, and take full advantage of its many
06/01/2026
It’s Spirit Week at Emerson! This is a chance for students (and staff!) to dress up, be silly, and be in community. Please note that all dress up days are fully OPTIONAL and no one should be spending a whole lot of time and/or money to make them work. Just do what feels right for you and your family to have fun!
05/29/2026
Walking down the hall and seeing a giant vase of flowers on the wall definitely made me smile today! What made you smile this week?
05/19/2026
Jenny, Miss Jamie, and Ray are ready for Magic School Bus Day: Dinosaur edition!
05/11/2026
We’re still smiling over here at The Emerson School 💛
Thanks to the incredible generosity of our community, The Great Otter Chase didn’t just meet our goal — we surpassed it, raising an amazing $11,156 for Emerson students and programming! 🦦✨
That meant:
🌈 Jenny’s hair went rainbow (thanks for the hair!)
🧊 Students earned Otter Pops
🥧 And one very excited student got to be pied in the face, their choice
We are so grateful to every family, donor, volunteer, and supporter who helped make this event such a joyful success. Happy Monday, Otter community — thank you for showing up in such a big way for our students! 💛
Huge thanks to for the hair color!
05/08/2026
What a great Otter Chase day! Huge thanks to for helping with the medals and after run fun! Thanks too to and for volunteering their time to make the day extra special!
And guess what?! We crushed our fundraising goal so come Monday Jenny’s hair will be a different color!
05/07/2026
We are SO CLOSE, Otters! 🦦🎨
If we want to dye Jenny’s hair, we need to reach our $10,000 Great Otter Chase goal by the end of day Friday! Every donation gets us closer, and there’s still time to help push us across the finish line. 💙🏃♀️
Let’s do this, Emerson! 👀✨
(link to give is in the bio)
04/29/2026
The Great Otter Chase is on! 🦦🏃♀️
Our fun run fundraiser is underway, supporting student learning and enrichment—and we’re chasing our $10,000 goal! Donations (link to give is in our bio) are open through May 8, so there’s still time to give. 💙
✨ Bonus fun: if we hit our goal, YOU too can help in choosing Jenny’s hair color! Cast your vote using the link in our story on Instagram🎨
04/27/2026
♻️🌎 Emerson is teaming up with Ridwell to keep plastic film out of landfills this Earth Month!
🗓 April 27–28
Bring your plastic film to school—think zip-top bags, grocery bags, bubble wrap, and more. Ridwell will turn it into new decking materials instead of landfill waste 🙌
Want to recycle even more from home? Check it out here: https://get.ridwell.com/es
If 10 new members sign up by May 22, Emerson earns plastic-film pickups for the entire 2026–27 school year—spread the word to friends and family nationwide!
Let’s make a difference together, Otters 🦦💚
04/20/2026
Creativity is alive and thriving at Emerson 🦦✨
Our Otters have been busy imagining, collaborating, and bringing their ideas to life through art. From bold colors to thoughtful details, each piece reflects not just creativity—but confidence, voice, and joy in the process.
Take a look at what our students have been creating—we couldn’t be more proud. 💛