From the Superintendent
Our mission is to improve student outcomes with excellence, equity, and efficiency. Implement best practices for educators gleaned from investigation, innovation, and incubation of ideas and efforts from the public and private sectors.
Thirteen Hundred Attend 7th Annual Central Oregon Skilled Trades Fair
Thank you to all of our industry partners, schools, and volunteers for supporting our largest Central Oregon Skilled Trades Fair! This year's fair boasted over 85 businesses and nearly 280 industry partners! We had upwards of 1,300 high school students from 44 public,...
Central Oregon educators, leaders reaffirm commitment to strengthen school safety
Central Oregon school superintendents, fire and police chiefs, sheriffs, district attorneys, and public and mental health leaders gathered on Wednesday, November 15 at the High Desert Education Service District in Redmond to publicly reaffirm their commitment to the...
Annemarie Hamlin joins High Desert Education Service District board of directors
This month, the High Desert Education Service District announced the appointment of Annemarie Hamlin to its board of directors. Hamlin, who currently serves as Vice President of Academic Affairs for Central Oregon Community College, brings more than 30 years of...
Migrant families find community and connection through summer school
By Aedin Wright The Migrant Education Program (MEP) in Region 11 shines as a bright example of respect and support for Central Oregon students and their families. With a mission to serve children whose parents work in agricultural, food processing, forestry or similar...
HDESD Welcomes Kira Fee
The High Desert Education Service District welcomes Kira Fee as the new executive director of special programs and services on July 1. In her new role, she will lead the planning, development and implementation of all K-12 special education programs within the...
Peer2Peer Internships: A Pilot Project Gains Traction
Growing in capacity, numbers, and options When the South Umpqua transition team designed a new approach to summer internships in 2022, they expected good results. The Peer2Peer pilot project aimed to create stronger social connections to help students thrive in new...
Ready or Not, Get Set and Go!
A transition success story, with Susanna Quim When the opportunity for a paid internship came up this past winter, transition student Susanna Quim felt sure she was ready. Her teacher, Krista Hanson, was confident too becauseQuim had a solid foundation in job skills....
Finding a Career that Fits Your Heart, with Adi Valencia
Passion + Planning = Success Some students feel nervous about life after high school because they’re not sure what comes next. For Adi Valencia, the idea of graduating and living on her own is exciting, because she has a clear vision of her next steps. “It’s a little...
A Transition Student finds the formula for success
Setting goals and sticking to them, with Sebastian McBurney What’s the best approach to making the most of the transition program years? For Sebastian McBurney, the answer is simple: just act like being a transition student is your job. “You have to show up, sign in...
Future Educator Day
In early February, the CTE/STEM team hosted the inaugural Future Educator Day in partnership with Central Oregon Community College. Students from across the region joined to learn about the many opportunities in education through hands-on activities. In addition, a...
In early February, the CTE/STEM team hosted the inaugural Future Educator Day in partnership with Central Oregon Community College. Students from across the region joined to learn about the many opportunities in education through hands-on activities. A panel...
Living with autism in our own time and space
Photo: Leslie and Kap Seidel with their son Luke Lucas Seidel is a social, sunny, cuddly 8-year-old kid who loves to be around people. With an early aptitude for technology, and a keen eye for photography, he solves tech challenges in the blink of an eye and has...
Keeping Creative Dreams Alive, with Javeonte McIver
A SIP Grant recipient learns to pivot Ever since he was a kid, Javeonte McIver has been creating costumes. He started with superhero capes and ninja outfits. That meant teaching himself to sew and piece the parts together. While in high school, he took every art...
How Adler Utzman started strong in the transition program
MAPS Planning to Honor a Student’s Strengths When Adler Utzman enrolled in the transition co-op in Bend last September, his family wanted to help him hit the ground running. Adler’s mother, Stephanie Utzman, was searching for a way to make his entry into the...
Meet HDESD board member Anthony Georger
Appointed in 2022 to represent the local business community, Anthony Georger is the controller and vice president of finance for Seran Bioscience. He brings more than 15 years of accounting and finance experience, specializing in aerospace, agricultural and media...
Success story: A Seamless Transition Success Story, with Tyler Saejow
Seeing what’s possible after graduation When Tyler Saejow was a student at the Centennial Transition Center (CTC) in East Portland, he wasn’t sure what the future would hold for him. He never imagined that five years after graduating from the CTC he would have the...
Central Oregon educators, leaders reaffirm commitment to strengthen school safety
Central Oregon school superintendents, fire and police chiefs, sheriffs, district attorneys, and public and mental health leaders gathered on November 16 at the High Desert Education Service District in Redmond to publicly reaffirm their commitment to the...
Success Story: Learning to push yourself, with Cyrus Belizi
When a support team clears the path, it’s time to do the work Sometimes we look at high school graduation as just a celebration that wraps up twelve years of school. But for Cyrus Belizi, graduation from high school was just the beginning of several new opportunities...