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Klamath Falls City Schools Selects Rod Heyen as Next Klamath Union High School Principal

Klamath Falls, Oregon - April 26, 2024 - Klamath Falls City Schools (KFCS) is pleased to announce the appointment of Rod Heyen as the next principal of Klamath Union High School (KUHS) for the 2024-2025 school year. The decision came after a comprehensive nationwide search conducted by Ray and Associates Executive Search Services, in collaboration with KFCS.

"Klamath Falls City Schools utilized Ray and Associates Executive Search services to perform a comprehensive nationwide search for the Klamath Union High School Principal opening for the 24-25 school year," said Klamath Falls City Schools Superintendent Keith A. Brown. "We utilized a campus-level interview committee comprised of students and Klamath Union High School staff, guided by Mr. Fred Bartels, the KFCS School Improvement Director, as well as an interview committee comprised of the Klamath Falls City Schools Cabinet. All of the final candidates also participated in a community-wide meet and greet. The data collected from the interview committees and the community input led to a unanimous decision to employ Mr. Rod Heyen as the next Klamath Union High School Principal."

The Klamath Falls City Schools Board of Education approved the hiring of Rod Heyen during a special meeting held Wednesday evening at the KFCS Central Office.

Heyen, who currently serves as the principal at Warrenton High School, will officially assume his new role on July 1, coinciding with the beginning of the 2024-2025 school year. He succeeds Tony Swan, who will retire at the end of the current school year after serving as Klamath Union’s principal since February of 2018.

With over two decades of experience in education, Heyen brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to Klamath Union High School. During his tenure at Warrenton High School, Heyen established five Career and Technical Education programs, including welding, automotive, natural resources, graphic design, and manufacturing technology, aimed at providing students with diverse career pathways.

Heyen also played a pivotal role in the development of the $1.2 million Career Technology and Innovation Center and the creation of a campus softball field to comply with Title IX mandates. Additionally, he spearheaded the Coastal Commitment program in partnership with Clatsop Community College, offering students the opportunity to earn college credits while still in high school.

"My wife and I are excited to join the KU Family. Our goal is to sustain and strengthen programs that are in place and grow programs that impact the students and the community," said Heyen.

Heyen's commitment to education extends beyond his administrative duties. He served twice as the interim principal at Warrenton Grade School, where he implemented innovative educational programs to ensure district-wide stability and continuity during challenging periods.

As a certified calculus instructor, Heyen taught calculus daily for 18 years, providing students with additional college credit opportunities. His career in education began at Lake Havasu High School in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, where he served as a math teacher and basketball coach for 14 years, implementing programs to enhance math fluency and advance placement opportunities.

"We are confident that Mr. Heyen's leadership, experience, and dedication to student success will greatly benefit Klamath Union High School and the entire Klamath Falls community," said Superintendent Brown.

Sincerely,

Keith A. Brown

“Every student, every day, whatever it takes !”

The Oregon High School Equestrian Team (OHSET) boasts a diverse array of talented riders, including Klamath Union Senior Mia Hidden, known by her number 121. Mia has showcased her skills as a District champion in Canadian Flag and Freestyle 4's Drill alongside teammates Emily Branson, Chloe Armstrong, and Alyssa Massey.

Additionally, she clinched the 2-Man Sorting championship with Alyssa Massey. Notably, Mia also serves as the alternate for Individual Flags.

OHSET, a renowned organization, offers high school students across Oregon the opportunity to compete in various equestrian events, fostering teamwork, skill development, and sportsmanship.

Mia is state-bound in all three events, which will take place May 8-12 in Redmond.

Klamath Union High School's orchestra took a trip to San Francisco this past weekend. The first stop the group had was at Shasta College in Redding, Calif. for a clinic workshop.

Klamath Union students, explored popular tourist locations such as Pier 39 and stayed at Marin Suites in Corte Madera.

During the second day of the trip, students performed for the public inside the California Academy of Sciences and enjoyed many exhibits. KU orchestra then took a stroll around Palace of Fine Arts before taking a trip to the Golden Gate Bridge. The evening ended hearing music at the San Francisco Symphony.

The final day of the KU orchestra trip included a tour of Alcatraz, lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe.

Klamath Union orchestra instructor, Brent Hakanson, left, and Klamath Union principal, Tony Swan.

Jared Vazquez

Vanessa Little

Jameson Arenson

Kloe Orozco

The Klamath Promise Ninth Annual Graduation Sensation celebration will be live and in-person, May 30,2024, downtown Klamath Falls! This year all kindergarteners will be joining all graduating seniors in Klamath County for a parade down Main Street at 12 noon. Our graduating seniors and families will then join in a Party and awards announcement in Veterans' Park (different location if raining)!

During the celebration THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS in awards, scholarships, and gift cards will be awarded by random drawing. Gift cards will be awarded to those going into the military or not going on to college or any another form of post-secondary education. ALL graduating high school seniors will qualify in at a least one award category.

Graduating seniors complete the application questions below. Parents or guardians may NOT complete the application on behalf of the student. Your name will be entered in the appropriate scholarship or gift card drawing during the Graduation Sensation event. YOU MUST BE PRESENT AT THE EVENT TO WIN. If you plan to attend Klamath Community College or Oregon Institute of Technology, please check your Pell Grant eligibility amount with those institutions before you complete this form.

You must submit your application through this online form NO LATER THAN 11:59 PM on Friday, May 17, 2024. Applications submitted after the deadline will not be accepted. If you quality for certain scholarships or awards, you may be contact for additional materials or steps.

Again, parents may NOT complete the application on behalf of the student. All information provided must be correct or your application will not be accepted. Printed paper forms will not be accepted.

All scholarships or gift cards awarded during the Graduation Sensation must be claimed on the day of the event. All winners must complete thank-yous and follow any other additional procedures or required steps.

Questions? Contact klamath_promise@soesd.k12.or.us

From left to right, KFCS Superintendent, Keith A. Brown, Oregon Tech President, Nagi G.

Naganathan, KCSD Superintendent, Glen Szymoniak and KCC President, Roberto Gutierrez.

Mills Elementary School had its third family event of the year this past Thursday at the school.

The event was a family literacy night, and the theme of the event was, Jack and the Beanstalk.

Students and families were served dinner as they arrived at the school and were split into classrooms to participate and learn about how to plant and grow different beans with instructors.

The Pelican Elementary School Booster Club has partnered with Elite Apparel to provide students and families Pelican swag. A portion of each order's proceeds will go back to Pelican Elementary. You can order right from the Elite Apparel website: https://eliteappareloregon.com...

When your order is ready, you will be notified and then can pick it up in the Pelican front office. Help support your school and shop local!

Look through flyers for the Conger Spirit Wear online store, as well as a thank you to SmithBates.

The direct link to the store is here: http://conger.orderpromos.com/

ACES

ACEs stands for Adverse Childhood Experiences. These are potentially traumatic experiences that occur between the ages of 0 and 17 that dramatically affect a person's lifetime likelihood of developing mental health illness, substance abuse, and chronic disease overall. Importantly, these experiences can also affect a person's ability to pursue education, have job opportunities, and maximize learning potential. Adverse Childhood Experiences are unfortunately common. About 61% of adults report they experienced at least one type of ACE, and more than 15% of people reported experiencing at least four. The original 10 experiences considered an ACE are: physical, emotional, and sexual abuse; physical and emotional neglect; and a household in which there is mental illness, substance abuse, divorce, the mother is treated violently, or an incarcerated relative. In the last several years we have been learning about other adverse childhood experiences, such as experiencing racism, exposure to a death by suicide, experiencing persistent hunger, bullying, or living in an unsafe community, which similarly impact people's lives over time. The absolute best thing you can do is try to decrease children’s exposure to adverse childhood events by protecting them from those listed experiences, both by assuring your own home is safe but also by assuring your community is safe. Sometimes these are decisions that you can make as an individual or family, but sometimes they are interventions that we must do as a community, such as paying for parks, assuring living wages, reforming the criminal justice system, improving access to healthcare by voting for better insurance coverage, or assuring equitable access to healthy food for people dealing with poverty.

We can also help children learn to cope with adversity by helping them develop healthy coping strategies and providing a trusted and safe environment for them to discuss difficulties. AS an adult, if you are now realizing that you may have been exposed to childhood trauma it may be true that counseling today can help close the door on some of those experiences. Counselors can use tools like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) or Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) to help you process and cope with historical trauma. Just because it happened a long time ago doesn’t mean it doesn’t currently affect you and isn't worth treating today. Finally, it is important to note that adults who are dealing with significant mental illness such as depression, anxiety, or PTSD may have been victims of adverse childhood events in their youth. Hopefully the understanding that their environment as a child, over which they had no control, may have contributed to their current difficulties will make it easier to treat people suffering with those conditions with increased compassion, patience, and acceptance

Have a question? Submit yours by emailing us at SkyLakesellnessCenter@skylakes.org

Information provided by

Stewart Decker, MD, MPH, FAAFP, FWMS

Jeanette Rutherford, MA, LPC

Jennifer Newton, RD, LD, CDCES, MPH

The new district website has an Alumni page for graduates of KU. This past week, six KU alumni sent us updates on their lives since they graduated. Take a look on the KU Alumni page on the district website. And, if you are an alumni, be sure and send us YOUR update!

Read about our alumni

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PARENT LINKS
Click Here for the Family Friendly 2023-2024 School Year Calendar - English

Click Here for the Family Friendly 2023-2024 School Year Calender - Spanish

Synergy SIS Portal

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How Will I Know if School is Cancelled?

Andrea Jensen, Zone 1, Roosevelt - andrea.jensen@kfcityschools.org

Andrew Biggs, Zone 2, At-Large - andrew.biggs@kfcityschools.org

Vanessa Bennett, Zone 3, Conger - vanessa.bennett@kfcityschools.org

Kathy Hewitt, Zone 4, Mills - kathy.hewitt@kfcityschools.org

Trina Perez, Zone 5, Pelican - trina.perez@kfcityschools.org

Patrick Fenner, Zone 6, At-Large - patrick.fenner@kfcityschools.org

Ashley Wendt-Lusich, Zone 7 At-Large - ashley.wendt-lusich@kfcityschools.org