A tradition ends.

Byline: Anne Williams The Register-Guard

At two-plus hours, Eastside Alternative Elementary School's fifth-grade "graduation" ceremony Wednesday may have been the longest at any school in Eugene.

It was one of the most personal, too, with teachers speaking tenderly about the strengths, accomplishments and hopes of each of their 33 charges. One fifth-grader was described as "a natural philosopher," another a "modest genius," another "my chrysalis that turned into a butterfly."

The intimate celebration is a tradition that dates back to Eastside's early years, head teacher Susan Gusinow said - one of many she and others hope will stay alive when Eastside and Harris Elementary fuse as Camas Ridge Community School in September.

"That's our challenge, with so many more students here next year," said Gusinow, in her sixth year at Eastside. "How do you still make every child feel special?"

Both schools marked their final day Wednesday - Harris after 60 years, Eastside after 35. The end followed a period of flux and uncertainty for both schools, but was especially bittersweet for Eastside.

Founded in 1974, Eastside was one of Eugene's first alternative schools. It built a reputation for innovation and academic excellence, offering mixed-grade groupings and project-based learning. To enroll their children at Eastside, parents had to enter a lottery and also be willing to take their children to and from school.

But Eastside and other alternative schools came under scrutiny five years ago as Superintendent George Russell and the school board grew concerned about equity and access. Russell concluded that the district's system of alternative schools and open school choice had contributed to high concentrations of poverty at some schools and affluence at others. Eastside, with one of the most advantaged, homogenous student bodies, became a target.

Russell and the board also decided campus-sharing between alternative schools and neighborhood schools was fraught with problems and told Eastside it would have to leave its longtime home at the Parker Elementary neighborhood school campus after 2007-08.

In February 2008, Russell proposed closing Harris, which had seen enrollment slip beneath 200 in recent years. He initially recommended moving Eastside and Charlemagne at Fox Hollow, another alternative school, to the Harris site.

Then came the suggestion, from Gusinow and Harris teacher Mary Christensen, that Eastside and Harris collaborate.

Some Eastside parents objected, viewing it as the death knell for Eastside. But the plan gathered steam, with backing from the district and most teachers.

Eastside moved in with Harris last summer, and the two schools spent the year forging plans and a new, shared community. Parents at both schools - even many who had voiced concerns last year - now say they expect great things from Camas Ridge.

"There's so much energy, and the teachers on both sides are so engaged in this, it just feels like this is going to be a great and glorious program," said Michael Boutette, the father of a Harris third-grader.

Boutette said he doesn't believe Harris feels the sense of loss that Eastside may. Camas Ridge will still serve the children of the Harris neighborhood, and the infusion of Eastside's teachers and students will strengthen it, he said.

Eastside parents and students echoed his optimism Wednesday, though there was a wistful undercurrent.

"We feel like it's the end of an era for alternative schools in Eugene," said Ronit Cohen, whose youngest child, Gal Schlesinger, will start sixth grade at Spencer Butte Middle School in September. She enrolled him at Eastside after his previous school, Evergreen Alternative, closed in 2006.

Ellie Dominguez, whose daughter Emily played piano at the graduation ceremony, said the merger is "untested," but she's hopeful. At a closure gathering last week, she noted, former teachers described Eastside as a school that repeatedly has faced challenge and change.

"The spirit of the school has always survived," said Dominguez, whose youngest daughter will be in fourth grade next year.