Welcome to Bend-La Pine Schools!

Note from Our Superintendent

At Bend-La Pine Schools, we believe it’s not what we do, it is why we do it that unites us in our work and ultimately matters most of our students.

Our more than 2,000 employees are driven by an unrelenting passion for education and a commitment to provide our more than 18,500 students the learning environments they deserve.

Delivering an exceptional public education is a promise.

Together, we believe we must renew the promise of public education, pushing back against a narrow, “test-driven” definition of success for our students. We care deeply about academic excellence, but we care just as much about students’ character; their preparedness for the next steps in their lives; their abilities to think critically, work creatively, communicate, and collaborate.

I hope you will take time to read the stories of our students within our Family Handbook & Calendar. We invited students to share an aspect of their lives they are proud of and to fill in the sentence “Watch me ….” These pages include their portraits, their handwriting, their stories and their hearts.

Each of these students has a story worth listening to: Lily, a third-grader, emptied her piggy bank to help rebuild a school; Addison, a junior, found his fit learning to build and create in his school’s construction program; Olivia, a junior, discovered her leadership skills when she joined her school’s Multicultural Club and became a mentor and advocate for fellow students. I am proud of each of our students and I know you will be, too.

Collectively, these stories showcase the mission of our schools as we promise to know each student by name, strength and need and to have each student graduate ready for career, college and citizenship.

Last year, we celebrated our highest graduation rate on record. Our schools are home to award-winning athletics and activities – from baseball to fine arts. While academics are important, we care just as much about our students’ character. Our students engage in the world around them – serving meals to those in need, hosting blood drives and cleaning up local neighborhoods.

We are developing future-ready students — the next generation of thinkers, doers, leaders and neighbors.

Shay Mikalson


About Bend-
La Pine Schools

Our Size

  • 5th largest school district in Oregon
  • 33 schools, plus two charter schools
  • 18,375 students
  • 2,005 staff members (Second Largest Employer in Central Oregon)
  • 1,600 square miles make up the Bend-La Pine Schools attendance area

Academic Success

  • 1,220 Students Graduated From Our High Schools in 2019
  • $8 Million in Scholarships Was Earned By the Class of 2019
  • Average SAT score is 57 Points Higher Than the State Average
  • 1,100 New Kindergarteners Started School This Fall
  • 34 Languages are Spoken by Bend-La Pine Schools Students
  • 20 Class of 2019 Members Earned Seal of Biliteracy on Their Diplomas

Our Staff

  • 82 percent of our teachers hold a masters degree or higher
  • $53,182 is the average new-hire teacher salary
  • 5 years is the average experience of our new teachers
  • $64,166 is the average teacher salary
  • 13 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 118,00 hours in our schools working with students during 2018-19.
  • 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.
  • Community members spent more than 56,000 hours hosting events in our schools.