Bend Parents: Please share your experiences (re: schools) (Talent: real estate, houses)

[Lootmeister]

Hi Bend Parents!

I'm really close to taking the plunge and moving our family to your beautiful area.

Would you mind sharing your experiences in dealing with your kids' schools?

I'd love to hear anything and everything about school admins, teachers, the decency (or lack of decency) of the other kids, facilities, activities etc.

I keep finding myself looking at houses in the high lakes elementary/summit high school area. They look like a great and newish schools.

We're currently in a school district where many of the teachers don't appear to give a damn, so this is a huge deciding factor in our move.

About us: We like personable teachers who aren't old and burnt out. We like schools full of decent kids who come from good families. My kids are heavily involved in sports. We're probably considered upper middle class. I make good money but am in no way, shape or form are hoity toity. This is kind of a problem for me because it usually results in living in areas full of people (snobs/holier than thou) people, which really annoy the chit out of us.

Any insight you can provide is GREATLY appreciated!

Thanks a TON,

Loot

[Bendite]

Originally Posted by Lootmeister

Hi Bend Parents!



I'd love to hear anything and everything about school admins, teachers, the decency (or lack of decency) of the other kids, facilities, activities etc.

I keep finding myself looking at houses in the high lakes elementary/summit high school area. They look like a great and newish schools.


About us: We like personable teachers who aren't old and burnt out. We like schools full of decent kids who come from good families. My kids are heavily involved in sports. We're probably considered upper middle class. I make good money but am in no way, shape or form are hoity toity. This is kind of a problem for me because it usually results in living in areas full of people (snobs/holier than thou) people, which really annoy the chit out of us.

My kids are all grown and so I have no first hand knowledge of Bend schools, but I can comment on some of your issues. High Lakes Elementary is one of Bend's best (a couple of west side magnet schools are possibly better). When we had the Big Growth in Bend a few years ago, High Lakes was way over-crowded and a new elementary school, Miller, was built nearby and just opened last year. Many of the teachers from High Lakes moved over to Miller. The schools both have reputations for excellent administration and teaching staff (but I have no idea how youthful the staff is - my first grade teacher was ancient but wonderful - age isn't necessarily a factor). The population of students is mostly middle-to-upper income because the surrounding neighborhoods are that. These schools feed into Cascade Middle School and up to Summit High. I have heard some parents feel that wealthier kids at Summit get more attention and support than the less wealthy but I doubt that is the school as much as some particular families that have issues. There are some very wealthy people who live in the area (in the Broken Top develpment for one).

I think all schools in Bend offer terrific sports programs but they have different focusses. Bend High for example is strong in football but Summit is not, while Summit excels in cross country running and other field sports and skiing. Mountain View High (NE Bend) is possibly the strongest in sports and won the state football championship last year and has a strong nordic team. If you must choose a school by sport, then you'll need to do more research.

I have had long-timer Bend residents tell me they find people in Northwest Crossing to be quite snobbish. I know some people who live there and they aren't, so I don't know what to say about that. We live further west and some homes where we live have sold for over a million (in past Good Times dollars) and I think our neighbors are kind, down-to-earth and a lot of fun. I am one of two (I think) Oregon natives in this neighborhood - most eveyone else seems to be a California transplant and even they are nice

[Julie Bryant]

If you are looking for preschool or kindergarten level, there is a great school that is about to open in Bend. They are super fun, outdoorsy, and cover the academic bases:

[url]www.montessoriinthepines.com[/url]

[whirnot]

Doubt they are still looking, this thread is over 2 years old.

[Snownut]

Originally Posted by whirnot

Doubt they are still looking, this thread is over 2 years old.

Maybe they are looking for College recommendations now..heard there is one attempting to "invade" the westside's most desirable real estate.

[BendLocal]

Originally Posted by Snownut

Maybe they are looking for College recommendations now..heard there is one attempting to "invade" the westside's most desirable real estate.

If it is so desirable why hasn't a private developer purchased the land?

[Snownut]

Originally Posted by BendLocal

If it is so desirable why hasn't a private developer purchased the land?

Because I was being sarcastic..

Developers would be foolish to develop the pumice and landfill property, that takes deep pockets.

[ddhibb]

We just came here from Utah, where the per pupil spending is at the bottom of the list, and the teachers are all on the cusp of retirement and burnt out (or fresh out of college), so take my assessment on Bend's relatively wonderful schools with a grain of salt.

Our family is a lot like your description - upper middle, but can't stand hoity-toity (blue collar people that make white collar money), so we moved to the NE side of town near Pilot Butte Middle (for our 7th grader) and Juniper Elementary (3rd grader). We also wanted a 1/4 acre plus on a relatively flat lot, so that ruled out much of the west side with its postage stamp sized lots, and/or a 10 min drive to town from "The Butte" as one snooty lady I know referred to her Awbrey Butte neighborhood just before she climbed into her gold, blingy, Land Cruiser (there's more than one butte here lady!). Walking distance to schools, and parks was also a priority.

At the moment though, my youngest is attending Ensworth, which is the smallest public elementary school in town, and I cannot say enough wonderful things about his teacher (Crumpton) and the principal (Timms) and Linda at the front desk (super organized). We are moving in July to our permanent home a 1/2 mile south, which is in the Juniper boundary and are on the fence about whether to switch schools, since we're such fans of Ensworth.

Juniper is the technology magnet school. iPads for all (or many/most?? not sure). They also host the TAG (Talented and Gifted) program. We just met those teachers, as my youngest is testing for that program, and they seem amazing. A random parent I ran into in the parking lot was raving about Juniper for her kids. The buildings are much older than Ensworth's. I've also heard great things about Ponderosa Elem (also new-ish), Lava Butte Elem and Sky View Middle. I know very little about Mountain View High (nor does anyone I ask it seems), although that's our boundary high school and I'm sure I'll learn more in a year or so.

Pilot Butte Middle has a new IB (International Baccalaureate) program, and so does Bend High. Bend High's principal was recognized as principal of the year, which unfortunately means he's leaving for bigger and better adventures. People want to live in Bend. Teachers want to live in Bend, so it seems like they get the cream of the crop here. I have two teacher friends that want to move here, but can't because there are no jobs for them. Most of the teachers I've seen or met, appear to be in their 30's and 40's, which I find to be prime teacher age - experienced, but not burnt out yet.

I guess my point is, the schools here are pretty kick-butt from what I've seen - even those in the statistically lower income areas of Bend. This was one of the top 3 items on our PRO list for our decision to move here.

One last note - they are building one new elementary school in the SE, and one new Middle school on the NW (by Summit High). This is expected to result in significant boundary adjustments, and teacher/administrator movement. I believe that will be a year or two from now. Most of the Bend schools are currently overfull, and it is difficult (sometimes impossible) to attend an out-of-boundary school. That being said, the teacher/pupil ratio is still lower than we had in Utah.