Welcome to Bend-La Pine Schools!

Superintendent Shay Mikalson Shakes Student's Hand

Note from Our Superintendent

Every day, as educators we work with students who possess passion, integrity, curiosity and drive. Our students serve as our inspiration and motivate us to do our best.

This year our students are reaching ever higher in terms of academic achievement. The Class of 2017 earned more than $11 million in scholarships. Our students scored 161 points higher than the national average on the SATs. Our students are excelling outside of the classroom as well, bringing home championships in athletics and extra-curricular activities from track and field to culinary to robotics to volleyball.

We are grateful to our parents and community members for being actively engaged in enriching our schools. During the 2016- 17 school year alone volunteers contributed more than 96,000 hours of service to our students and schools. We appreciate the businesses throughout the region that partner with our schools to offer opportunities for hundreds of students each year to gain career experiences through job shadows, internships and more.

We believe being good community partners means valuing your investment in our schools. Bend-La Pine Schools receives honors each year for our financial reporting and we hire an independent accounting firm to audit our financial records annually.

Our students are passionate about giving back to the community and thinking beyond themselves. I believe students in our schools today will change our world in the future. Our job is to support the ambitions of our students and show them the possibilities they possess.

Our schools are filled with thousands of students who will change the world. We are sharing the stories of just a few of them in this calendar. These are scientists who will make important discoveries, leaders who guide us and artists who will inspire us.

Our students will change the world through their bold dreams and ambitions. Jacob, a member of the Class of 2017 at Mountain View High School, heads off to college with plans to study engineering and aeronautics. His ultimate goal is to help create the next iconic space craft that will travel to Mars.

Our students will change the world through their quiet dedication to making the world a better place. Ben, a student at Pacific Crest Middle School, knows the importance of clean water because he spent many years living in an orphanage in Ghana where he did not have reliable access to this basic need. Ben shared his personal story with his fellow students and led an inspiring fundraising campaign for Safe Water Network.

Our students will change the world by stepping up to help their local communities. Kayanna, a student at La Pine High School, recognized that some in her community struggled to find food. On her own, she created a community supper event to feed her community, raise awareness about hunger and raise money for the local food kitchen. She didn’t do this to earn extra credit or recognition — she took on this project because she knew her community would benefit.

We believe in all of our students. We believe each one will change the world for the better.

The world awaits.

Shay Mikalson


About Bend-
La Pine Schools

Our Size

  • 5th Largest School District in Oregon
  • 32 Schools: 18 K-5 elementary schools, two K-8 schools, two charter schools, six middle schools and five high schools
  • 18,375 Students
  • 1,934 Staff Members (Second Largest Employer in Central Oregon); 995 Certified Staff Members; 855 Classified and Confidential Staff; 84 Administrators and Managers
  • 1,600 Square Miles make up the Bend-La Pine Schools attendance area

Academic Success

  • 1,100 Students Graduated From Our High Schools in 2017
  • $11 Million in Scholarships Was Earned By the Class of 2017
  • 1,163 Average SAT score, 57 Points Higher Than the State Average
  • 80 Percent of Our Students Continue Their Education Within Five Years of Graduation
  • 1,100 New Kindergarteners Started School This Fall
  • 20 Languages are Spoken by Bend-La Pine Schools Students

Our Staff

  • 82 percent of our teachers hold a masters degree or higher
  • $53,048 is the average new-hire teacher salary
  • 7 years is the average experience of our new teachers
  • $61,004 is the average teacher salary
  • 12.8 years is the average experience for our teachers
  • Home to: Oregon's Elementary Principal of the Year; Oregon's High School Principal of the Year; Oregon's Teacher of the Year; Oregon's Art Teacher of the Year; Oregon's School Nurse of the Year; Oregon's Journalism Teacher of the Year; Oregon's Culinary Teacher of the Year; Oregon's Athletic Director of the Year; a Presidential Award Winner for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching and many other state and national award winners.

Additional Information

  • More than 5,000 students are transported to school each day by our bus drivers.
  • More than 15,000 meals are served to students each day by the Nutrition Services team.
  • 2.21 million square feet of school building space is managed by our maintenance team.
  • Volunteers spent more than 96,000 hours in our schools working with students.
  • For the 33rd consecutive year, the district received the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting from the Government Finance Officers Association and for the 32nd year, the Certificate of Excellence in Financial Reporting from the Association of School Business Officials.
  • 43 Percent of Students are Enrolled in the Free and Reduced Lunch Program (May 2015)
  • Community members spent more than 56,000 hours hosting events in our schools (2015-16).