Ellen Torrence Law

A teacher and school counselor, Ellen Law became Principal of Jefferson High School, one of the first women to hold a top administrative post in the Portland Public Schools and the first Black high school principal in Portland. Ellen Law's father, a railroad section hand, moved his family from Arkansas to La Grande hoping that his children could get a good public education. After she graduated from the University of Oregon in 1943 with a degree to teach in secondary schools, Ellen Law came to Portland seeking work but soon discovered that the high schools would not hire Black people to teach. She worked overseas during World War II; but, returning to Portland after the war was unable to find a job in her field and worked as a housemaid. In 1950 she was able to get a position at Providence Hospital School of Nursing, then four years later was hired to teach fifth and sixth grades at George Elementary School, and finally, two years later, she was hired at Jefferson High as a physical education teacher, the position for which she had been trained. She later earned a master's degree in Education and Counseling and focused her attention in particular on programs to encourage Black students to stay in school. The Oregon Education Association elected her to a five-year term on the Human Rights and Responsibilities Commission where she served on the Committee on Race and Education.