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.
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...
Let’s keep Disability Employment Awareness going BEYOND October
How to celebrate workers with disabilities every month Since 1945, October has been named National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM). The purpose of NDEAM is to celebrate the success of individuals with disabilities in the workforce. It also helps...
Three Reasons Volunteering Makes a Difference for Transition Students
Tips on finding the right volunteer opportunity What if you could find a way to help others, and it only cost you a little bit of time? What if you got to know some fun new people–and learned some new skills along the way? Would you be interested in giving this idea a...
Success story: Finding a job that helps people, with Evelyn Zaragoza
Every step brought her closer to her goal “The best part of my job is knowing that I make other people’s days better,” said Evelyn Zaragoza. Zaragoza, age 21, works in cleaning at the Asante medical office building in White City, Oregon. She enjoys her job,...
Success Story: Finding strength and focus, with Travis Flores
Meeting challenges and finding new opportunities Travis Flores didn’t have high expectations when he attended a tour of Rogue Community College (RCC). When he agreed to join the tour, he thought they’d probably spend a lot of time on things that didn’t interest him....
Transition Students Get Creative at Shark Tank Student Summit
Transition students get creative in Eastern Oregon What kind of transition students would jump into a tank full of sharks? Any creative, fun student who likes to invent things, that’s who! Last spring, 32 transition students from throughout Eastern Oregon came...
Opportunities Abound at Job Fairs in Oregon
Three reasons transition students should attend If you thought job fairs were only for students ready for full-time careers, you might be missing out on a world of opportunities. All over Oregon, job fairs and career expos help transition students gain a better...