Family Spotlight

We are rounding the bend in the 2024-25 school year, at the same time planning for the future. Complete school calendars for the 2025-26 are available now.

This month’s Champion for Students award goes to a valued member of the Pacific Crest Middle School community, Carey Kraybill, Design and Modeling Teacher and Pacific Crest Robotics Team coach.

As part of her Design and Modeling classes, she conducts the AT Makers program. “AT” stands for assistive technology. In these classes, Carey’s students create design prototypes to aid specific students with disabilities, developing solutions to real world problems.

Through her innovative design and robotics classes at Pacific Crest, Carey empowers students and provides them with meaningful opportunities to cultivate empathy and create technologies that support peers with disabilities. She fosters a safe, inclusive environment where creativity and collaboration thrive. At Bend-La Pine Schools, we deeply appreciate her commitment to student growth and are proud to count her as a Champion for Students.

Spring has arrived in Central Oregon and we may soon experience smoke from regional wildfires or prescribed burns. The resulting air quality can affect outdoor activities for students, from sports practices to P.E. classes and recess. We monitor the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality’s Air Quality Index when smoke is present in the Bend, La Pine and Sunriver areas. If the air outside is listed as Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups, 101 or higher, school administrators will take action.

We follow the Air Quality Guidelines of the Oregon School Activities Association to determine when middle and high school outdoor athletic activities should be canceled or moved indoors. Athletic and activities directors, coaches and support staff will communicate with families of students participating in OSAA regarding these health guidelines. Coaches will notify families if changes are made to games or practice times and schedules.

In addition, windows and doors in schools will remain closed and air handlers, with MERV filters, will operate during notable smoke events.

Bend-La Pine Schools invites the community to see the preliminary design for the new Bend Senior High School Auditorium during an open house on Thursday, May 15, from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. in the school’s main gymnasium. Use the gym entrance to the left of the main entrance.

Architectural renderings will be on display and representatives of the school district and BBT Architects available to answer questions. Those attending may provide feedback on the design with a link to an online form.

The District demolished the old auditorium last summer after the building was found to be structurally unsound. The new auditorium will be built on the same spot and have 1,400 seats – the same seating capacity as the former venue. The proposed design includes seats on the main floor and in a balcony.

The District is working with BBT and Kirby Nagelhout Construction Company, the same team that is leading the four-year rebuild of most of Bend High as part of the 2022 voter-approved bond program.

Auditorium design work will continue through 2025, followed by city permit work. Construction is expected to begin in June 2026 and be substantially completed by fall 2028. That corresponds with the anticipated completion of the entire Bend High rebuild.

Budding artists from La Pine Elementary School are shining bright in the new High Desert Museum exhibit, Kids Curate. Museum curators partner with one Central Oregon elementary school every year to explore art, science, and history, weaving classroom lessons and field trip experiences together to create an original exhibit.

This year, the High Desert Museum brought the program to third and fourth graders at La Pine Elementary, focusing the project on diverse perspectives of wildfire in Central Oregon.

Have you heard of LEAD? It stands for Legacy Education Afrocentric Development and is a college-prep course offered at Bend Senior High and Mountain View High School. Students focus on developing skills in leadership, teamwork, and communication.

The class is currently working on social justice projects, learning how to build a project from the ground up. How do you craft a mission, find funding, recruit volunteers? These are just a few of the questions students are learning to tackle as they create their own projects.

With the support of the High Desert Food & Farm Alliance, LEAD students recently went on a field trip to Rooper Ranch, a small farm in Redmond. What would it look like to start a project here, to provide healthy food to an entire community? These students are exploring big questions and building important solutions. We can’t wait to see where they go!

Bend-La Pine Schools is thrilled to continue our partnership with the Giving Plate! The program provides extra snacks for students in need, to supplement food access over the weekend. And we know our students need to be nourished in order to learn and thrive.

The Giving Plate's snack bags program is critical in addressing this need—we could not do our work without their partnership.

If you or someone you know would like to find out how to receive this resource, please contact your FAN Advocate.

Student Voice Council members represent our seven high schools and work with their peers to collect and share ideas about policies with the Bend-La Pine Schools Board of Directors. These students attend Board meetings and report on what they’ve worked on, what issues are meaningful to students, and engage with our Board on important district business.

With just eight students, La Pine High School made a strong showing at the Future Natural Resource Leaders (FNRL) state competition in Corvallis, clinching second place overall and earning the prestigious title of FNRL Chapter of the Year.

To top it off, La Pine’s own Jaret Lorimor was honored with the Overall Logger and FNRL Professional Award!

FNRL events challenge participants in skills that include axe throwing, choker setting, and crosscut bucking. Way to go, Hawks!

Two days left for you to apply for Bend Park & Recreation’s after-school care program, Kids Inc. The application window closes Friday, May 16 at 5:00 pm.

Mental health matters, this month and every month. The reality is that many people around us are struggling, and they deserve care, understanding, and support. Mental health challenges don’t define a person; they are simply part of the human experience. By having open, compassionate conversations, we can break the stigma and create a culture of support.

Let’s stand together to ensure no one has to struggle alone. If you or someone you know needs help, Care Solace is here for you. This complimentary and confidential mental health care coordination service, provided by Bend-La Pine Schools, can help connect you with a provider quickly and easily:

• Call 888-515-0595 for multilingual support, available 24/7/365.

• Visit caresolace.com/bls to search for a provider or click “Book Appointment” for personalized assistance via video chat, email, or phone.

You are not alone. Help is always available—don’t hesitate to reach out.

Tonight’s the night! Join us at Silver Moon Brewing in Bend for the Education Foundation’s biggest FUNdraiser of the year. Get ready for an evening of fun, community, and a lively trivia game all in support of our local schools. A huge thank-you to everyone who’s already pitched in. Expect great company and a night to remember!

The Bend-La Pine Schools Transportation Department has openings for bus drivers and substitute bus drivers in Bend. Starting pay for those positions is $28.26 per hour.

If you love working with kids, these are great positions, with time off in the middle of the day to run errands, work on projects, or relax. We provide paid training for drivers to receive their commercial driver’s license.

We also have openings for substitute bus drivers in South County and substitute bus monitors in La Pine. Bus monitors assist Special Programs drivers in supporting student riders. Starting pay for those positions is $19.37 per hour.

To learn more and start the application process, visit BLS.FYI/JOBS.

Top row from left: Board Chair Marcus LeGrand, Board Vice Chair Carrie McPherson Douglass,

Kina Chadwick

Bottom row from left: Amy Tatom, Cameron Fischer, Shirley Olson, Ross Tomlin

The Board of Directors for Bend-La Pine Schools will hold its next work session on Tuesday, May 27 at 5:30 pm at the Education Center, 520 NW Wall Street in Bend.

For information about board members, meetings and agendas, please visit our School Board page.

Are you curious which district policies and regulations are currently under review? To see proposed changes and give feedback on new language, click here.