The Catlin Gabel School (Catlin Gabel, Catlin, or CGS) is a private K-12 school located in Washington County, Oregon Annual enrollment is approximately 780 students from across the Portland metro area
History
With roots that go back to 1859, the school was formed by the 1957 merger between the Catlin Hillside School (founded in 1911 as Miss Catlin's School, named after the founder Ruth Catlin) and the Gabel Country Day School (originating as the Portland Academy, named after founder Priscilla Gabel). The school had initially hoped to expand onto the Gabel school property, but lost it to eminent domain. Since the Catlin property was too small to support the school, Catlin Gabel purchased the Honey Hollow Farm in 1958, relocating the Upper School there in the fall. Nine years later, the Middle School relocated there, followed by the Lower School a year later, in 1968. The school sold the Catlin Hillside buildings to the Portland Art Museum for its art school. The buildings were later converted to a community center for the Hillside neighborhood.
Catlin Gabel received a $3.8 million bequest from Howard Vollum (co-founder of Tektronix) in the late 1980s, growing the non-profit school's endowment. In 2005, the Malone Family Foundation endowed Catlin Gabel with a $2 million grant for financial aid under its Malone Scholars Program.
Students
As of the 2020–2021 school year, there were 780 students. The student body is divided into three groups: Upper School (grades 9–12), Middle School (grades 6–8), and Beginning and Lower School (preschool–grade 5).
Between 2017–20, a Catlin Gabel student was named a U.S. Presidential Scholar, a recognition given each year to 161 high school seniors nationally for their accomplishments.
Accreditation
Catlin Gabel is accredited by the Northwest Association of Independent Schools.
Student competition activities
Catlin Gabel has a long history of science research competition success. Over the years, many students have placed highly in competitions such as the Intel Science Talent Search, the Siemens Competition, the Davidson Fellows Scholarship, and the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. As of 2023, school review website Niche ranks Catlin Gabel as the number one overall private high school and number one best high school for STEM in the state of Oregon.
Since 2005, Catlin Gabel has operated a team called "The Flaming Chickens". The team competed in the FIRST Robotics Competition and qualified for the FIRST Championships Competition almost every year since its inception. In 2020, Tiffany Toh, a member of The Flaming Chickens, was named one of ten Dean's List winners at the FIRST Robotics World award ceremony out of more than 90,000 students.
A team of five Catlin Gabel students won the 2019 BPA Regional Science Bowl out of 114 regional teams, a win that sent them to the Department of Energy National Science Bowl in Washington, D.C. later that same year. Student Avi Gupta was also recognized individually as an all star.
Catlin Gabel has been a successful participant in the Oregon Mock Trial competition, and has often gone to the national competition.
Since the founding of its chess club, Catlin's Varsity Chess Team has taken 1st in the Oregon High School Chess Team Association Championships three years in a row.
Athletics
The Catlin Gabel Eagles are one of the most successful small-school athletic programs in Oregon, having claimed 78 state championships since 1974. The Upper School competes in soccer, cross-country, basketball, baseball, track, golf, swimming, skiing, women's volleyball, and tennis. The school also offers a robust Middle School athletics program.
Catlin Gabel's traditional athletic rival is Oregon Episcopal School, which is also based in Portland.
Catlin Gabel School competes as a member of the Lewis & Clark League, which comprises public and private high schools in the Portland metropolitan area, and operates under the supervision of the Oregon Schools Activities Association (OSAA). With around 300 students in grades 9–12, the school was classified by the OSAA for the 2022–23 school year as Class 3A school for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 146 to 310 students in that grade range.