May 21, 2026

From Tammy and Karen

It has been a beautiful week! While these summer temperatures definitely make it harder to focus on school, now is the time to keep our momentum going. Our students have gained incredible knowledge over the past several months, our teachers are in a fantastic instructional groove, and the environment is absolutely ripe for putting all that learning into action. You got this!

Just a friendly reminder that Waypoints closes tomorrow (5/22)! Here is some information from Wayfinder for how to check the percentage complete, so you can make sure your school is completed. For grades 3-8, go to the Waypoints tab; the overview shows the percent completed (make sure you are filtered to student-reported and summative). 

For K-2, you cannot see completion rates because they did not complete the summative. Custom Formative assessments (what was created for K-2 in Bend-La Pine) are not tracked for completion. You would have to go into each school and click on each assessment to see completion.

Lastly, a big thank you to Karen, for picking up things for me this week in my absence. My mom is doing very well with her new knee and has been a model patient, but I can’t wait to get back to my own bed! Catch you all next week. Enjoy the 3 day weekend!

Important Links

• May 20^th Elementary TLC Update
• Special EDge   (May 21 Edition)
• BLS School Libraries Newsletters!
• 1-Page Student Management guide
• Dates to recognize groups
• CPI Trained Staff List (let Sara Young know if you see staff who are not at your school)

Notes from our Team: 

From Kinsey Martin in Policy and Advocacy:

School Supplies: As you know, state law prohibits us from requiring families to provide school supplies for their children’s education.  Even suggesting contributions in a way that creates undue pressure or expectation for family donations is inappropriate and doesn’t align with our equity values.  Please be sure your staff clearly understand this expectation and the reasons for it.

That said, some families would really like to contribute, and I know we’re all interested in maximizing community support to take the edge off our budgets.  To balance these competing interests, here are some recommended practices:

• Make it very clear to families that there is no obligation for any family to contribute any school supplies. 
• Avoid publishing classroom- or grade-specific “lists” that can create a sense of obligation. 
• Let families know that, for those who have extra supplies at home or who simply enjoy purchasing and contributing supplies to prepare for school each fall, the school will accept voluntary donations of general, unused supplies during your fall Welcome Back/Curriculum Night events. 
• Have school-wide “Optional School Supply Donations” buckets/tubs available in the front lobby during fall events, rather than having families take supplies to a particular teacher or classroom (where donations are more attributable to individual students, which increases pressure).  

Pride Month: June is Pride Month!  Bend-La Pine Schools will have our regular booth at the summer Pride festival on June 6th–drop by and visit!   

Encourage your teachers to cover LGBTQIA2S+ history (supported by Oregon required standards) by implementing some of the lessons, read-alouds, and activities available on our district Equity Resources page (click on Cultural Calendar, then scroll to June).  Here are some teacher prep tips, and/or contact the Advocacy Coaches for instructional support. 

From Directors in Student Services

As we prepare for the end of the year, we wanted to make you aware of a new check-out process that your Learning Specialists, Psychologists, Speech and Language Specialists, and OTs will be doing. Please make sure you have received the green light from Colleen, Josh, or Sara before checking out with you. Here is their process:

Please schedule a bookings appointment or phone call with the records clerks. You may book now but these meetings will not take place until the beginning of June. During this meeting, the Records Clerks will be checking:

• Learning Specialists:
  • All IEPs are completed and finalized
  • All progress notes are completed and finalized
  • All equipment lists are updated
  • High cost and staffing needs are submitted
  • Restraint and Seclusion paperwork have been turned in
  • If required for your role: All Senior Paperwork
• Psychologists:
  • Evaluations finished and uploaded
  • Location of test kits have been verified
  • For PILOT participants: Medicaid logs are completed in SEAS until last day served
• Speech and Language Pathologist:
  • All IEPs are completed and finalized
  • All progress notes are completed and finalized
  • Medicaid logs are completed in SEAS until last day served
  • Evaluations finished and uploaded
  • Audiometers have been turned in
  • If required for your role: All Senior Paperwork
• Occupational Therapists:
  • Feeding protocols have been updated, completed, and sent to records
  • Evaluations finished and uploaded
  • Medicaid logs are completed in SEAS until last day served
  • All equipment lists are updated

When you have completed this meeting and have all of your paperwork complete, the admin who supports your site (Josh, Colleen, or Sara) will let your building administrator know that you have the GREEN LIGHT from Student Services to check-out for the year! 🙂. If you have any questions, please reach out to the coach who supports your site!

From McScott in IT

Due to the recent changes shared by Deputy Superintendent Lisa Birk, we will not be replacing student devices for the 26-27 school year. As a result, we need to make a few adjustments to our previously communicated device roll-in plan.

Elementary and Middle School students will keep the same devices for next school year. With that in mind, please plan to collect and store devices in a manner that works best for you and your building.

From Lisa, Deputy Superintendent

See this Spring Update regarding Technology and Assessments for the 26-27 school year.

From Tami Pike, Director of Health Services

Please review the Bend-La Pine Schools Protocol and Procedures for Management of Concussions ~ May 2026 update. More information about concussions can be found on our BLS website under Health and Wellness.

From Jason Westmorland in IT

Additional updates for discipline audits have been added to the School Discipline Audits analytics report dashboard. Specifically, an updated version of the “Discipline & Attendance Mismatch” report is at the bottom of the dashboard (you will need to scroll down to see it).

Jason Westmoreland [[email protected]] would like additional feedback on this audit specifically. Are there changes that would be helpful, are there any false positive or incorrect entries shown, or is there any confusion surrounding how to resolve the audits?

To access the discipline audits (until we are able to publish this to a PAD Tree location), you will need to use the Quick Launch, by typing ‘Synergy Analytics Home Page’ and selecting the entry.

Once you are on the Synergy Analytics Home Page, click the ‘hamburger’ under the label, and expand the navigation links. Find the Discipline option and select it.

You may be presented with a number of options to choose from (I recommend exploring when you have time), however, to review discipline audits, you will need to select the ‘School Discipline Audits’ dashboard from the Audits group.

Once you have selected the appropriate dashboard, there will be multiple audits available on the page. The new ‘Discipline & Attendance Mismatched’ audit is at the bottom of the page (you will need to scroll down using the far-right scroll bar – multiple scrolls may be nested).

The audit is intended to show you where ISS/OSS discipline and attendance are not matched on a given day. Based on what actually happened with a specific student / disposition, you should correct either the disposition Dates & Days, or the Attendance codes for those days (and appropriate periods).

Remember that you can expand individual reports in the dashboard to expand the entire display window by using the four arrows pointing to the corners. This will expand the report to use the whole screen for easier navigation.

NOTE: If you have questions regarding how to resolve these audits (or any audits on this dashboard) please connect with Jason Westmoreland (x1222)

Please review ALL your audits on this dashboard including the new Discipline & Attendance Mismatched audit. These audits need to be resolved prior to the end of the school year.

From Rodger Moore, Director of Facility Operations

To help schools manage classroom relocations smoothly and minimize disruption to instruction, the district is developing a standardized process for both same-school and inter-school moves. The procedure is intended to outline clear responsibilities for administrators, teachers, custodial teams, maintenance, and IT staff to help ensure moves are coordinated efficiently. The district is currently testing our work order platform Hero HQ for submitting move requests and coordinating details such as scheduling, technology needs, furniture, and specialty equipment. Additional procedures, expectations, and implementation guidance will be communicated in an upcoming Level Leaders’ Blog once the workflow and support processes are finalized.  

Large-scale moves, such as the Realms transition, will be exempt from this process.

Action Items

• Check your Waypoints report–make sure all assessments are done by tomorrow (Friday)
• Understand School Supply Donation ideas
• Read the Spring Technology and Assessment update for the 26-27 SY
• Review concussion Protocol
• Resolve the Discipline Audits in Synergy
• Take Monday off! Like really, don’t do any work!

Important Dates

• May 22: Waypoints Assessments closes today
• May 25: Memorial Day Holiday, no School
• May 26: PLC3PO at Silver Rail and We are the Winners at Bear Creek 3:00 – 4:30 p.m.
• May 28: School Design Plan Showcase 3:00 – 5:00 p.m.
• June 2: Elementary Counseling Celebration, 7:30-9:30 in the boardroom–expectation for at least one admin to be there
• June 2: Horizontal Meeting, 3:00-4:30–Site to be determined (not the boardroom)
• June 15: End of Year Administrator Celebration (and lunch!), High Desert Middle school 11:30-1:00
• June 16: End of year Elementary Leadership Celebration 3:00 – 4:30. Location TBA
• June 19: Juneteenth Holiday!

And finally… Congratulations to our Next Duck Drawing winner, Jessica Reilly!

Jessica Reilly is currently in her third year with Bend-La Pine Schools, having brought her leadership to administrative roles at High Desert Middle School and, currently, Silver Rail Elementary. At SRE, Jessica is loved by her students for her deeply empathetic heart and her profound understanding of those who struggle the most. Her impact extends to the staff as well, who recognize her work in leading professional development and trainings. Outside of school, Jessica is an avid reader who loves to snuggle up with a great book, and a passionate online gamer who enjoys connecting with friends in virtual worlds. Don’t let her quiet nature fool you, though—she is also a master of self-defense who can easily take you down if you make a wrong move! Congratulations on being our winner this week, Jessica; let us know what your favorite beverage is, and we will happily bring it your way to celebrate!