Think small: Bend-La Pine weighs new high school options
Members of the public are invited to offer feedback about Bend-La Pine Schools’ plans for two small high school options that will expand choices for student learning and help to temporarily relieve overcrowding at local high schools beginning in the fall of 2018.
The school district on Friday invited community members to attend one of four small high school configuration charrettes taking place in early September. Each event will run from 5 to 7 p.m. in the school’s commons:
Monday, September 11 , Bend Senior High School
Tuesday, September 12 , La Pine High School
Wednesday, September 13 , Summit High School
Thursday, September 14 , Mountain View High School
Event attendees will be provided with a comment card and will visit three stations hosted by individuals from the steering committee. Each station will include one of the proposed options as well as an overview of positive and negative feedback gathered at the more than 50 focus groups conducted this summer.
The three options are:
Include small high school options as strands within large high schools
Strand options would be open to students across the district. Students attending the strand programs would participate in extra-curricular activities at the site where the strands were located.
Find additional space in the city of Bend as locations for small high school options
These options would be open to students across the district. Students attending these small high school options would participate in co- and extra-curricular activities at their neighborhood high schools.
Relocate the existing Bend Senior High School (BSHS) to the future southeast Bend high school location, set to open as by fall 2021
Use the current BSHS campus as the site for multiple small high school options, open to students across the district. Students attending these small high school options would participate in co- and extra-curricular activities at their neighborhood high schools.
Feedback can also be shared via an online survey https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/smallHSoptions from 5 p.m., September 11 through 5 p.m., September 15 . Feedback from the public will be one of the criteria considered in making the recommendation.
“We set out to find locations for additional learning options that will allow us to balance enrollment in existing schools while creating new education choices for high school students that ensure success for all ‑ prior to opening a new large high school in southeast Bend in 2021,” said Assistant Superintendent Lora Nordquist. “We look forward to sharing our findings with the community during these events this fall.”
The committee will present their preferred option to Bend-La Pine Schools Superintendent Shay Mikalson this fall.
