Serendipity was incorporated in 1979 (DBA Serendipity Counseling Services, Inc.) with the original mission of helping at-risk children and their families.  The goal of this new organization was to provide the structure and individualized instruction that would allow young people who were failing within the public school system to develop their scholastic skills, social competence, and personal confidence.  When our doors opened in September of that year with three high school students and five staff, we began to form the caring “family” environment that serves us to this day.   By the end of the first academic year, it was clear that the majority of students being referred and placed by school districts needed more than an alternative academic setting.  They were young people struggling with a range of disabilities.  In response, Serendipity began to upgrade requirements for teacher certification to that of licensed special educators.  We also undertook the development of instructional and behavioral support systems that allowed the Serendipity Center to be approved by the Oregon Department of Education as a school for students with handicapping conditions.  By 1981, Serendipity had been accredited by the Northwest Association of Accredited Schools as a Special Purpose school. Over the years our models and the breadth of the programs we offer have adapted to the evolving needs of the community we serve. Serendipity remains the oldest therapeutic school in the Portland metropolitan area, and is the only program that is an accredited private alternative school and a certified children’s mental health provider.  It is Serendipity’s mission to provide a safe learning environment in which the emotional, behavioral, and academic needs of students are met through individualized support services.  Serendipity seeks to help students develop and practice the comprehensive skills that will empower them to be contributing members of their communities. Since our inception, we have understood the word, “Serendipity”, to mean the unexpected discovery of something good.  Our name and our model are founded on our belief that all children are capable of learning, of recovering, and of contributing.