In fall of 2021, Adrienne C. Nelson High School opened its doors. The campus used to be Rock Creek Middle School, now educates many Oregon teens. Nelson was remodeled and has all new facilities, including their new football stadium and an additional hall added onto the building which they call the gray hall. With these new boundary lines, half of the students who would have gone to Clackamas went to Nelson. While Clackamas teachers stayed at Clackamas, Nelson got all new teachers. Seniors that year got to decide where they went and most decided to stay at Clackamas to finish their 4 years of high school. In the past few years, the amount of students in each grade has equaled. There is rivalry and friendship between these two schools, and a lot has happened since then.
The Clackamas vs. Nelson football game has become one of the biggest events of the school year for the last 3 years. It’s a rivalry game no one wants to miss. The score for the 2021 game was 52-0, with Clackamas winning at home. In 2022, Nelson won at home with a score of 42-35, Clackamas falling short in the end. Finally, in this last rivalry game in 2023, Nelson won again with a score of 33-13 taking the win on Clackamas’s home turf. These games are always electric with both student sections cheering with all of their school pride for their team to win. Kate Nagel, a junior at Clackamas this year, said “The environment is 100% more intense than other games. I think it’s because we all know each other more than we know people from other schools because we’re so close to one another and we like to battle over what school is the best. But the energy is high and usually there’s something crazy that happens.”
Similarly, senior Nelson player Eli Stevenson says “Playing against them (Clack), you always wanna do good cause those are your friends over there. I feel like we’re friends with a lot of them cause we grew up playing sports with a lot of them.” Senior football player Jaxon Larson agrees, saying “It makes us wanna play better to show who’s the better team, and makes the games more important to us.” As for how he feels everyone watching sees it, he says “It makes the game more exciting for everyone else- since the school split up, the games bring the whole community back together. Two split communities coming back together to watch one school play.”
In 2021, with Nelson being brand new, it’s no question with the amount of seniors who stayed at Clackamas, they lacked seniors on the team. Due to this, Nelson ended up losing. However, things took a turn in 2022. Now, as both teams are equal in size and skill, there was an even playing field which led to a close score at the end. The game went into overtime, with Nelson coming out on top. Both schools had chosen a purple out theme to honor a Nelson student who had passed away earlier that week. Many Nelson and Clackamas students knew and loved her. There was a moment of silence to honor her and pay respect to her family. This past year the 2023 game was similar other than the fact that Nelson seemed to have more skill than Clackamas on both offense and defense which led to them out-scoring Clackamas by 20 with that 33-13 win.
As for other sports, Nelson sophomore Wyatt Brown plays under a joint lacrosse team with Clackamas. He notes “It’s really fun to meet a lot of different players from different schools. It doesn’t feel like a rivalry on the field. I can’t really tell the difference between Nelson and Clack- we are all united on the field. This is a true rivalry between friends that is sure to continue between the sister schools for years to come.
Sam Kyryletskyy, a Clackamas freshman who is starting volleyball this upcoming season. Says “It’s fun getting to know a lot of people in the district.” On the topic of transferring schools, he says “I wouldn’t transfer to Nelson cause no one likes Nelson. Clacks on top. But I like Nelson building and the football field better. Our students ruin the place. It’s too crowded. I don’t think the Clackamas building was meant for a thousand people.” Antonio Kirk-Arias, a senior at Nelson, says Nelson is a “Nice school, big. Clack needs an update compared to Nelson. Everyone at Clack knows each other. It’s a closer community, probably because it’s so crowded.” Caden Head, a sophomore at Nelson admits “Clack kids are something else ya know- I wouldn’t go there.” As much as Nelson and Clack students like to poke fun at one another, it’s clear that it’s all in good fun and lighthearted. These sister schools are still very much thick as thieves.
Both Clackamas and Nelson offer very similar, if not the same academics to all students. Student success is relatively equal with Nelson having a 96% graduation rate and Clackamas having a 89% graduation rate for the class of 2023 according to schools.oregonlive.com. As far as national rankings, for both schools go here is what has been stated. Clackamas is ranked #9041 in National Rankings and 53rd within Oregon. In terms of proficiency, they have 50% in mathematics, 82% in reading, and 57% in science according to usnews.com. Currently, Nelson High School is unranked by usnews.com.
Students of different grades at both schools were interviewed on their opinion of the academics at their school. Riley Greene, a senior at Nelson, was asked how the academics were and he answered “Good”. When asked about if he had a favorite teacher and why he said “Either Mr. Torres or Mr. Nelson. Both are great teachers and make class less boring”. Just 2 out of the many teachers mentioned, but there are plenty more teachers loved by students at Nelson. Alexi Morgan, a senior at Clackamas, was asked similar questions. When asked how classes were going she answered “I would say my classes have been good so far”. Then on the topic of favorite teachers, she said “My 10th grade English teacher Mrs. Burdick is my favorite just because the way she taught our class was different than others and I liked it and it was a lot of fun. she’s very comforting and cares about you and is just a good person to talk to”. Having a teacher you can talk to is always good. All in all, only good things were said about both schools.
All around both schools are doing very well and students and staff continue to thrive. Many people and programs were not directly mentioned, but are spectacular at what they do. Only time will tell how athletics continue to play out and who will come out on top. Clackamas and Nelson may be rivals, but will also always be friends.