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Attendance Area Review 2018-20

Silver Rail Cafeteria

New Secondary Attendance Areas Approved for 2021-22

Bend-La Pine Schools Superintendent Shay Mikalson has approved the adoption of new attendance areas for middle and high schools for the 2021-22 school year, as recommended by the Attendance Area Review Committee last month. The new zones will create an attendance area for Bend-La Pine Schools’ new high school, which will open in fall of 2021, and help alleviate overcrowding in Bend-area high schools and help balance enrollment across middle and high schools.

“Our schools have been growing an average of 300 students each year and this new high school will go a long way to reduce overcrowding in our high schools,” said Mikalson. “We are grateful to the members of the committee for their dedication and believe their efforts will benefit students and staff alike for years to come.”

After studying input from community members and carefully reviewing recommendations from the Attendance Area Review Committee, Mikalson finalized the new attendance areas today.

The committee, which includes 26 community members and staff, was tasked with creating new attendance areas in order to open a new high school in fall of 2021 and to balance enrollment across all Bend area middle and high schools.

Middle School Attendance Areas - Click to view a larger version of the map

click here to view a map showing the eastern portion of our attendance areas


Final Middle School Attendance Areas

High School attendance areas - click to view a larger version of the map


Final high school attendance areas




Frequently Asked Questions

When will the new middle and high school boundaries go into effect?

For most students, the boundaries will go into effect when school starts in September 2021. However, for the 2021-22 school year, our new high school will include grades 9 and 10 only, therefore:

  • For the 2021-22 school year, 11th and 12th grade students living in the new high school attendance area will be considered resident students in their previous attendance area. They will NOT need to complete an Area Change Request (ACR); and if they currently qualify to ride district buses, they will still be eligible to ride.
  • For the 2022-23 school year, 12th grade students living in the new high school attendance area will be considered resident students in their previous attendance area. They will NOT need to complete an Area Change Request (ACR); and if they currently qualify to ride district buses, they will still be eligible to ride.

Will students be able to continue attending their current middle/high schools if their attendance area changes?

The district uses the Area Change Request (ACR) process to manage students’ requests.

Some students who wish to remain at their current middle/high schools will be guaranteed a spot at their current school, as long as they submit their ACR by March 1st, 2021:

  • Students who will be 8th graders in the fall of 2021
  • Students who will be 11th or 12th graders in the fall of 2021


All other students may complete an ACR, and these may be approved, depending on space available in schools, grade-level size, etc. The district does NOT provide transportation to students attending a school on an ACR.

Why is it so important to balance enrollment across our schools?

First, as stewards of our community’s investments in our schools, the district wants to build new schools only when enrollment exceeds space across an area, not just at an individual school. As the community grows, the attendance area review process provides the opportunity to look at issues of over- or under-enrollment and make the needed adjustments.

Second, for the high schools, the district has additional reasons to balance enrollment. High schools of similar sizes can offer a similar range of academic, elective, Career & Technical, and co-curricular programs. While Bend-area high schools don’t have exactly the same offerings, they are comparable in quality and scope. That remains the goal as the district prepares to open its fourth Bend-area large high school.

In addition, keeping the Bend-area high schools at approximately the same size will increase the likelihood that all four schools will be able to stay in the same OSAA classification for sports and activities, preferably in the same league. This would allow for significantly reduced travel, benefitting students and staff by more time in the classroom and costing far less.

In the fall of 2020, my student will be a freshman attending her high school on an Area Change Request (ACR). Will she need to fill out a new ACR when the boundaries change in the 2021-22 school year?

Yes. While ACRs typically stay in effect throughout a student’s tenure at a school, for the school year 2021-22, the district will require all incoming freshmen and sophomores desiring ACRs to complete the form. This is due to the multiple boundary changes created by the new high school and the desire to balance enrollment across high schools.


Process and timeline

WHY:

Bend-La Pine Schools is opening two new schools: A 600-seat elementary school in north-central Bend will open in fall of 2019. A high school will open in southeast Bend in fall of 2021.

Attendance areas are being reviewed and adjusted to account for these new schools and to balance enrollment across all schools.


ABOUT THE COMMITTEE:

The Attendance Area Review Committee includes 27 members who are parents, community members, business leaders and staff.

PROCESS:

Elementary: New elementary school attendance areas are now in place and effective for the 2019-20 school year. Find your attendance area.

Middle and High: In the fall of 2019, the committee will begin to review middle and high school boundaries. The new boundaries will be implemented in the fall of 2021.


COMMITTEE'S CHARGE:

The committee’s primary charge is to balance enrollment across all neighborhood schools. For the process, the school board and the attendance area review committee have also established the following priorities:

  • Safe biking and walking routes to schools
  • Natural, geographic, physical, and traffic considerations related to car and bus travel
  • Socio-economic balance and demographic equity, including race
  • Family connections to neighborhood schools

Details and Resources

Secondary Process

Elementary Process

Approved Elementary Attendance Area Map


Attendance Area Review Committee Proposed Map January 2019

Click on the map to zoom in or Download the Proposed Map as a PDF