Primerly field report
a tuition-free public charter in Oregon City
K–8 · Public · Charter · Environmental Science · Oregon City School District
16491 S Springwater Rd, Oregon City · Miranda Pickner, Principal
Springwater Environmental Sciences School is a public charter school located in a rural fringe setting in Oregon City, accessible to families from Oregon City, Happy Valley, Estacada, Damascus, and the broader Portland metro area. Its mission is to integrate the sciences throughout the core academic curriculum, with environmental sciences serving as the unifying theme for all learning. Rather than treating science as a separate subject, teachers weave it into literacy, mathematics, social studies, and the arts; the school's stated belief being that basic skills are best learned in a meaningful context, and that engagement with the real world increases motivation and achievement.
The curriculum is explicitly built around three intertwined goals: intellectual development (academics, knowledge, and tools for thinking including critical analysis, logic, and inference), character development (self-awareness, interpersonal skills, and social responsibility), and creativity (curiosity, problem-solving, and expression through multiple media). Inquiry and project-based learning are the primary instructional approaches throughout. Distinctive programs include Friday Field Studies, which take students into the field on-site and off-site about twice a month for hands-on environmental learning; Outdoor School for grades 5–8; an Artist-in-Residence program; electives for grades 3–8; and a school garden on the 5-acre campus. An independently operated preschool is co-located on campus. Parent involvement is unusually deep: Parent involvement is unusually deep: families are expected to contribute time, skills or resources, and the annual giving campaign sets a goal of participation by every family.
Tuition: Tuition-Free Public
Address: 16491 S Springwater Rd, Oregon City OR 97045. Phone: 503-631-7700. Website: springwaterschool.com.
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Seats here aren’t first-come; they’re drawn by lottery. Each circle below is a tenth of the families who applied over the last two springs and stayed in the running (didn’t take a higher-ranked school). Filled circles got a yes.
Official PPS lottery results, 2025-26 & 2026-27 combined: offers made ÷ families still in the running (offered + waitlisted); applications cancelled for a higher-ranked school excluded. pps.net › prior transfer data. Slots reset every year.