Superintendent's Winter Message

Dear Centennial Colleagues, Students, Families, and Community,

As Winter Break approaches, I want to take a moment to reflect on the year, share my gratitude, and recognize the efforts of our Centennial community. This time of year offers the chance to pause, celebrate our progress, and prepare for what’s ahead.

Time for Reflection

Reflecting on the year, I am proud of our accomplishments as a District and how we’ve supported one another through challenges. At the end of this message, you’ll find a month-by-month reflection of 2024, highlighting the collective impact of our efforts.

Time for Rejuvenation

This break is an opportunity for all of us to focus on self-care. Winter Break provides time to step away from our daily routines, rest, and recharge. I encourage everyone to take this time to prioritize well-being, spend time with loved ones, and return in the New Year refreshed and ready for the opportunities ahead.

Should you or your family need resources, such as food assistance, during the break, please visit our Community Resources page by clicking here.

A Look Ahead

As a reminder, Winter Break begins on Monday, December 23, 2024, with students returning to school on Tuesday, January 7, 2025. There is no school and our school buildings will be closed during the break. The District Office will be open on Mondays and Fridays during Winter Break from 8:00am to 4:00pm. Classes resume on Tuesday, January 7, 2025.

As 2024 comes to a close, here is a recap of our year here in the Centennial School District:

Our community faced significant challenges to start the year due to prolonged inclement weather. Sub-freezing temperatures caused widespread disruptions, including power outages and facility damages across the region. Several schools experienced broken pipes, water damage, and operational impacts.

Despite these challenges, the dedication and teamwork of our staff showcased resilience and pride. Our operations teams—including Maintenance, Custodial, and Instructional Technology—worked tirelessly to address facility damages, often putting in long hours and forgoing weekends to ensure our schools could reopen safely. Their exceptional efforts helped minimize disruptions and allowed displaced classrooms to resume learning as quickly as possible.

The community-based Bond Oversight Committee (BOC) prepared and presented its final BOC Report to the Centennial School District's Board of Education. The BOC report reviewed Centennial's fiscal and facilities decisions and expenditures over the prior three years.

BOC members played a vital role in gathering information on bond progress, providing an extra layer of transparency and unbiased review of the 2020 Bond projects on behalf of the Centennial community to whom they were accountable.

To view the full digital BOC Final Report, click on the image below.

Centennial conducted the Spring Data Summit as part of Roadmap ‘27, conducted to monitor the impact of our learning and adjust and improve instructional practices and systems.

During the Data Summit, representative school leadership team members engaged in a structured reflective process that involved the review and analysis of student data and professional practices aligned to School Improvement Plans and Roadmap ‘27. This critical review informed the revision of school improvement plans for the 2024-25 school year.

As opposed to previous Data Summits, in which trimester data was examined, teams looked at the year in review as a whole, including the data by trimesters.

Additionally, the professionalism, transparency, and dedication of the OSEA and District Bargaining teams produced an updated contract agreement which was ratified prior to the expiration of the previous contract.

This achievement reflects the parties’ commitment to fostering positive relationships and effective collaboration, ensuring stability and shared success across the Centennial community.

Nearly 1,100 students participated in K-12 summer learning programs, supported by $1.25 million in funding from the Oregon legislature. Programs focused on literacy, hands-on STEM, social-emotional learning, and credit recovery, offering enriching opportunities for students at every level.

Even though bond projects had largely sunset, summertime allowed for completing several Capital Construction Projects: This included:

• Painting every classroom in the District

• Painting common areas in multiple schools

• Seismic upgrades at Powell Butte Elementary

• Installation of fire alarm systems, new front doors, office cooling systems and south facing windows in numerous schools

• Replacing the Centennial High School kitchen ceiling and lighting

• Remodeling of Centennial Virtual Academy physical location

• Remodeling five classrooms and the music room at Patrick Lynch

• Covered outdoor area for Oliver Middle School

We welcomed students back to class across the Centennial.

Also, our newest Board Director William Mohring was sworn in for Position 6 – At-Large by the Centennial School District Board of Directors on October 9, 2024, for a term serving through June 2025.