Welcome to Bend-La Pine Schools!

Note from Our Superintendent

I believe saying thank you is a simple but powerful act.

As Superintendent of Bend-La Pine Schools, I have much to be grateful for regarding our schools, students and community. As we begin the 2016-17 school year, I want to take a moment to share my sincere thanks to those who help make our 31 schools and programs great places to work and learn.

Thank you to our parents. Thank you for entrusting your students to us and for partnering with our schools and teachers. This past year alone parents volunteered more than 90,000 hours in our classrooms and schools. We value your support and could not do this work without you.

Thank you to our staff members from education assistants to nurses to accountants to school psychologists, for your service and dedication. I am grateful to have visited many schools and classrooms and to have observed the powerful, important work they do in person. I am in awe of our kindergarten teachers, who know just how to soothe the fears and calm the boisterous activity of our youngest students. I applaud our secondary teachers, who I see time and again teaching students about perseverance, creativity, problem-solving and collaboration — all while providing instruction in complicated topics like thermodynamics, the Federalist Papers or Shakespeare’s sonnets.

Our teachers encourage students to think beyond themselves and make a positive mark on this world, all while giving them the foundational academic skills they need. Our teachers are the backbone of our district and I am grateful to work alongside them.

Thank you to the secretaries and office managers who are the friendly gatekeepers of our schools; thank you to the bus drivers who get our students to school safely; thank you to the nutrition services workers serving up tasty, healthy meals every day; thank you to our building engineers who keep our facilities clean and safe; and thank you to all the members of our operations team — they are the unsung heroes in education, who ensure our schools operate smoothly.

Thank you to all of our staff members for your service and dedication. More than what you do, it’s who you are that make our schools and students thrive.

Thank you to our community. I am grateful to our many supportive partner agencies, from the local police and sheriff’s offices to civic groups. Thank you also to the many businesses that have opened their doors to our students for job shadow and internship opportunities.

These partnerships foster learning and ensure our students are well prepared for the future.

Most of all, I want to offer my heartfelt thanks to our students.

Our students are my biggest inspiration. I am grateful for each smiling face, each hand shake and each discussion I shared with our students. I carry their faces and stories with me and they influence all of my most important work. In our students, I see the many possibilities of the future.

I am thankful for the successes we shared in the past year and am grateful for the bright future I see ahead. In classrooms throughout our district, students are engaging in learning that will help them succeed in today’s world and in their lives after graduation. Using tools and programs that teach communication, collaboration, critical thinking and creativity, our students are learning the 21st century skills they will need to be be successful in life outside of the classroom. Using best practices and a focus on priorities of Safety, Options, World Class Education, and System Performance, we will assure that the future is bright for our nearly 18,000 students. Our approach to education ensures that all of our students graduate capable of creating a future by design, not default.

We have much to be grateful for at Bend-La Pine Schools. Thank you for being a part of it.

Best,

Shay Mikalson