Category Archives: Uncategorized

    This month’s Team Member Spotlight features… Emily Sample, a StepUP Behavior Intervention Assistant who goes above and beyond with unique projects!  

Here’s a little more about Emily Sample.

How long have you been working for RSD and what did you do before coming here?

I started with RSD four years ago as a Title1 Instructional Assistant, doing reading interventions at Vern Patrick Elementary. I was transferred to StepUP in the spring of 2018, and prior to that I was a librarian at Long Beach Elementary in Washington. I have also been a chef and a pastry chef for more than 20 years, working in Alaska, Florida and Maine. I grew up in Florida, sailing and scuba diving all through school. After meeting my husband while studying fine arts at the University of Florida, we drove long-haul trucks to see the country, then settled in Maine and had two amazing kids. We moved to the West Coast in 2012 for a new adventure, and we love it here. We are avid campers, adventurers, and wild mushroom …

A MESSAGE FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT

Redmond School District staff are pleased to welcome all students back into our school buildings. After a long and exhausting pause in in-person instruction due to the ongoing pandemic, it will be wonderful to connect with our students in our classrooms.

As all of you know, we will begin on February 22 with a hybrid schedule for all students. Hybrid schedules exist because each student must have 35 square feet of space in a classroom, and that limits the amount of people who can fit in a room. Students are also required to be in cohorts of fewer than 100 people. The focus of the first week will be teaching students the specific health and safety protocols for each school building. On March 1, K-5 students will begin to attend every day on-site, with a shortened day on Wednesdays. Middle school students will attend in-person twice each week and high school students will have a morning and afternoon shift. Both groups will have an asynchronous personalized learning day on Wednesdays.

As of last Friday, most …

Redmond School District High School Families: 

We have an important schedule adjustment we are excited to share with all of our high school parents and students. 

For the past several months, the Redmond School District leadership team has explored several scheduling models to make sure students are learning in person as much as possible in the midst of the pandemic. We know how hard it’s been for them over these ten long months of distance learning. 

We are thrilled to report that instead of bringing high school students on-site twice a week, we will bring them back to school four days a week on a unique morning and afternoon A/B hybrid schedule. All students who indicated they want to return to in-person learning will begin attending classes on Monday, February 22 on either a morning schedule or an afternoon schedule, based on transportation needs.

All students will attend a half day of school on campus Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday and have virtual classes the other half of each day. Wednesdays will remain a personalized learning day and teachers will …

A MESSAGE FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT

The delay in starting in-person learning has been difficult for everyone. Many students are falling behind and teachers are having a tough time connecting with some of their children. Unfortunately, the community of Redmond is currently producing ⅓ of the COVID cases in Deschutes County, despite only having 16 percent of the population. In our schools, staff and students with COVID have caused a large number of people to be quarantined. Of the 480 people that have had to be quarantined in our school district since August, more than 125 have occurred in January.

When we set our start date of February 2, we expected our case count to have dropped after the post-winter holiday rise, but that has not happened. Each time a staff member or student has to quarantine, they are required to be out of the school 10-14 days. We also have staff members who have underlying health conditions and felt the need to take medical leave. Therefore, we adjusted our start date 20 days, when most of our staff will have …

Last month, the Oregon Department of Education evaluated the progress of English learners in the Redmond School District and determined the district has made progress at all levels, improving learning outcomes for this important group of students. It’s another example of how the Redmond School District is living up to its motto, “Success is possible for every student.” 

As a result, the Redmond School District will exit the HB3499: EL School and District Improvement Program. In the state’s review, it found progress for English learners at both the elementary and secondary levels.

In 2015, the Oregon Legislature passed House Bill 3499, which sought to create an English Language Learner Strategic Plan that would address the academic disparities those students experience. It created benchmarks to measure student success and progress, and provided additional funding to districts that needed improvement. 

In determining that RSD’s English learners had improved sufficiently, the state measured a variety of factors, including growth and achievement in math and English/language arts, as well as attendance and discipline. 

The Redmond School District received about $180,000 each year for four …

This month’s Team Member Spotlight features … Vern Patrick Elementary teachers and LIPI superstars Bryan Bahns and Tiffany Priest!  

Here’s a little more about Tiffany Priest. 

How long have you worked for the Redmond School District?

This is my third year working for the Redmond School District at Vern Patrick Elementary. Before that I did my student teaching at Vern Patrick while getting my masters degree at George Fox University.

How has the pandemic affected your role? 

During the pandemic, my teacher hat has changed in so many ways, from working from home to being back in the building with no kiddos. However, now that we can have kiddos back in the building it is feeling a little more normal.

Tell us about how you’ve implemented LIPI. 

I invited all of my students to attend LIPI four days a week. Equity was a big one for me on this topic. Being able to see my students four days a week has helped build those relationships that cannot be created behind a screen and gives them a safe place to learn, …

Jan. 22, 2021

RSD families:

The Redmond School District has made the difficult decision to delay our reopening plan for all students until the week of Feb. 22. 

We know this is disappointing for many families. In the meantime, Limited In-Person Instruction will continue and schools will expand the number of students served in that program.

When we settled on our Feb. 2 date to return to in-person learning, we did so with the promise that we would keep an eye on local COVID-19 case counts not just in our county, but in Redmond and in our schools. Unfortunately, the numbers are not dropping like we’d hoped they would. After every other major social event this year, COVID cases have predictably risen and fallen, but that has not yet happened after the winter holidays. 

From Dec. 20 to Jan. 2, 625 people countywide were positive for COVID-19. That has steadily increased — between Jan. 3 and Jan. 16, there were 793 positive cases. That means 410.9 cases per 100,000 — the state’s advisory metrics encourage schools to remain in comprehensive …

Redmond, Ore. — The Redmond School District’s districtwide four-year and five-year cohort graduation rates improved and the district’s one-year dropout rate dropped in the 2019-20 school year. 

Of the 624 students who were freshmen in 2016-17, 87.8 percent graduated within four years in 2020. That is a full 5 percentage points above the state, which posted an 82.6 percent graduation rate. 

Of the 675 students who were freshmen in 2015-16, 85.5 percent graduated within five years in 2020, and 88.3 percent of them completed school within five years — meaning they earned a diploma, extended or modified diploma or GED within five years. That is above the state’s 87.2 percent five-year completer rate. 

“The district’s improvement in graduation rates is directly tied to a collective effort from teachers, counselors, principals and parents to ensure each student had every opportunity to graduate on time,” said David Burke, Redmond School District’s Director of Secondary Programs. “We are excited about the continuous and steady increase in graduation year over year. Although the overall numbers are good to recognize, it’s the individual students we …

Hello RSD Family:

A MESSAGE FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT

We are looking forward to welcoming all of our students back to our campuses. It’s been a long time since we have had our halls filled with the children of our community. Even though the virus is still circulating through our community, worldwide studies have shown that schools are safe places if we follow the guidelines to keep all students and staff safe. We are only able to bring people back onto campus by strictly adhering to the health and safety rules. Because of that, schools will look different than they ever have before. While our staff members are caring, they will have to keep their distance from others. Students are required to wear masks, stay in cohort groups, and keep their distance from each other. School buildings will be closed to visitors and high school students will not be allowed to leave campus for lunch.

Remember that if families would like to stay in distance learning, that option is still available. Just let us know through the survey your child’s teacher …

Redmond, Ore.–The Redmond School District has selected HMK Company to serve as the bond project management firm for its 2020 bond projects.

HMK, which has offices in Medford, Albany and Bend, has more than 25 years of experience in executing large-scale bond projects, and has worked with 98 school districts around Oregon. Most recently, the firm has worked with the Ashland School District, the Greater Albany Public Schools and the Dayton School District.

The company will oversee and manage the bidding, planning and construction of bond projects, as well as master scheduling and other oversight. 

“This was a very difficult decision due to the high quality of the firms that submitted proposals, but after an extensive process HMK rose to the top as the best partner for the Redmond School District,” said Tony Pupo, the district’s executive director of operations.

The district put out a request for proposal in November, and selected HMK from five applicants.

The $27.5 million bond measure, passed by voters in November, will allow the Redmond School District to upgrade and update all of the district’s …