Recently, Julie Smith, Director of Special Programs for Pendleton School District, discussed some new strategies the district has used to support students during the 2024-25 school year. Here are highlights from that conversation with Dr. Smith.
How is student support different now?
The COVID pandemic drastically shifted the landscape for communities, families, children, and schools. Five years later, schools are still working to refine systems of support to better meet the new and different needs of our students. Our systems were built around pre-pandemic student needs. Using a data-driven approach, the district looked at the high number of students who needed significant levels of support and realized we needed to develop a more proactive system.
What is the current system used at PSD?
All Pendleton schools utilize Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports (PBIS) within our Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) for students. The MTSS system has three support levels — Tier 1, 2, and 3. Tier 1 is delivered in the classroom to all students. Some students receive additional support through Tier 2. Some students receive high levels of individualized support through Tier 3.
PSD elementary schools have child development specialists and behavior support specialists providing Tier 2 and 3 supports.
- Sunridge Middle School (SMS) and Pendleton High School have school counselors.
- Elementary schools and SMS have spaces dedicated for students to take a structured break.
- Kindergarten through eighth grade use a check-in/check-out system as support in Tier 3.
- Additionally, schools provide small group and individual support in Tier 3.
District and school leaders identified there was a higher number of students needing Tier 3 support, indicating practices at the lower tiers of support may not be as effective as they could be. The team worked to identify what was working and what needs adapting to strengthen our system.
How is Pendleton School District responding?
In May 2024, I reached out to colleagues at the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) I had worked with on school improvement projects. The ODE partners agreed to support the district as a pilot developing technical assistance tools potentially for other districts asking for support.
Pendleton School District’s K-8 Administrative Team spent a full day training with ODE experts in Behavior Support Systems at the beginning of the 24-25 school year. Building administrators developed action plans to share with their building leadership teams based on this training and an assessment of where they might refine their systems of support. Building leadership teams worked to adjust the PBIS system based on individual building needs.
- ODE partners visited our schools in November 2024 as a follow up. ODE provided us with school-level data to help inform building administrators of how the changes they made are affecting school climate and culture.
- ODE individually followed up with each building administrator to refine action plans set at the beginning of the school year through virtual meetings.
- ODE partners will meet with our administrative team in June to evaluate the impact of the changes and help them set goals and action plans for the 25-26 school year.
What are your takeaways from this process?
Building administrators, counselors, teachers, and paraprofessionals are working hard to meet the needs of every student every day. They are working to identify what is working well and what is not working well. We are trying to be proactive while responding to the needs of students who need a high level of support. We want to work in partnership with our families, community partners, and the Oregon Department of Education to make our schools welcoming and inviting for every person who enters our schools.
PSD Works to Strengthen Behavioral Systems of Support for Students
/in News - District & All Schools /by rthornburgRecently, Julie Smith, Director of Special Programs for Pendleton School District, discussed some new strategies the district has used to support students during the 2024-25 school year. Here are highlights from that conversation with Dr. Smith.
How is student support different now?
The COVID pandemic drastically shifted the landscape for communities, families, children, and schools. Five years later, schools are still working to refine systems of support to better meet the new and different needs of our students. Our systems were built around pre-pandemic student needs. Using a data-driven approach, the district looked at the high number of students who needed significant levels of support and realized we needed to develop a more proactive system.
What is the current system used at PSD?
All Pendleton schools utilize Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports (PBIS) within our Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) for students. The MTSS system has three support levels — Tier 1, 2, and 3. Tier 1 is delivered in the classroom to all students. Some students receive additional support through Tier 2. Some students receive high levels of individualized support through Tier 3.
PSD elementary schools have child development specialists and behavior support specialists providing Tier 2 and 3 supports.
District and school leaders identified there was a higher number of students needing Tier 3 support, indicating practices at the lower tiers of support may not be as effective as they could be. The team worked to identify what was working and what needs adapting to strengthen our system.
How is Pendleton School District responding?
In May 2024, I reached out to colleagues at the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) I had worked with on school improvement projects. The ODE partners agreed to support the district as a pilot developing technical assistance tools potentially for other districts asking for support.
Pendleton School District’s K-8 Administrative Team spent a full day training with ODE experts in Behavior Support Systems at the beginning of the 24-25 school year. Building administrators developed action plans to share with their building leadership teams based on this training and an assessment of where they might refine their systems of support. Building leadership teams worked to adjust the PBIS system based on individual building needs.
What are your takeaways from this process?
Building administrators, counselors, teachers, and paraprofessionals are working hard to meet the needs of every student every day. They are working to identify what is working well and what is not working well. We are trying to be proactive while responding to the needs of students who need a high level of support. We want to work in partnership with our families, community partners, and the Oregon Department of Education to make our schools welcoming and inviting for every person who enters our schools.
PELC Celebrates March Madness with Books
/in District Site News, Early Learning Center News /by rthornburgCollege basketball teams and their fans across America were consumed by the March Madness basketball tournaments last month. But the Pendleton Early Learning Center was busy with its own March Madness!
For the fourth year in a row, the school staged its March Madness Book Battle, a competition to promote the love of books, reading and fun. The program is organized in much the same way as the big basketball competitions. First, the kindergarten teachers choose the Sweet Sixteen – 16 books they want to compete. Each classroom reads the books, then votes on which ones they like best, whittling down the 16 books to the Elite Eight.
Students in classrooms read the books again until they are down to the Final Four. Eventually, the competition comes down to two contenders. This year, they were Mortimer by Robert Munsch, about a boy who won’t be quiet and go to sleep, and Frankie by Mary Sullivan, about a new puppy who has to share with the dog already living in a house.
On the morning of Monday, April 7th, all classes read the two books for a final time and chose their champion. Then they waited for all the votes from all the classrooms to come in.
Teacher Rachele Johnson said the kids love getting to read two stories every single day, and reading the books repeatedly helps the students learn about intonation and punctuation. In the case of the Mortimer book, students were able to sing the song and thump their feet like the characters in the book.
“As teachers, we love to see their excitement about reading, and we get to read picture books that might not normally fit the themes we are doing,” Johnson said. Plus, teachers mix in math related to counting the votes and concepts like having your own opinion no matter what the group thinks, and having your favorite book.
So, who was the school’s March Madness Champion? It was Frankie by quite a lot of votes. It’s hard to compete with a story about a cute puppy.
Congratulations, Karen Demianew
/in District Site News, High Schools News /by rthornburgCONGRATULATIONS to Karen Demianew!!! She is the CTE Career Guidance Counselor of the year for the State of Oregon.
Bus Routes 13 & 16 on April 10, 2025
/in District Site News /by rthornburgThis morning, during bus route pick up and delivery, the driver of route 13 suffered a medical emergency. The driver was able to pull over safely, and Emergency Medical Services were contacted. Students were kept safe on the bus; a replacement driver was able to transport students to their schools. In a separate incident, route 16 was in an accident. The bus was rear-ended by a car. No student injuries occurred, and the students were safely moved to two different buses to transport them to their schools. We are grateful to the First Student drivers for keeping our students safe during these unfortunate events.
McKay Students Artwork for District Art Show
/in District Site News, McKay Creek School News /by rthornburgStudents at McKay Creek Elementary have been creating artwork for the Pendleton School District Art Show in May 2025.
Community Read-In at the PELC
/in District Site News, Early Learning Center News /by rthornburgIn early March, the Pendleton Early Learning Center celebrated its annual Community Read-In. More than 90 volunteers came to the school to read with the Kindergarten students. Volunteers included students from Sunridge Middle School, parents, grandparents, ALTRUSA members, law enforcement officers, and more!
District Recommends New Sunridge Middle School Assistant Principal/Athletic Director
/in News - District & All Schools /by rthornburgThe Pendleton School District will recommend that the board approve Doug Gunter to be the new assistant principal/athletic director of Sunridge Middle School, effective July 1, 2025.
With the recent announcement that Sunridge will have a vacancy for an assistant principal, the district decided to draw from the strong applicant pool of principal applicants to fill this position for the 2025-2026 school year.
The position of assistant principal/athletic director was offered to Doug Gunter, and he has accepted. Doug was a finalist in our recent SMS principal search, and he comes highly recommended by his colleagues and current supervisor.
Mr. Gunter has been a teacher and executive director at Jane Goodall Environmental Middle School for the past 12 years in the Salem-Keizer School District, and taught at Adam Stephens Middle School before that, also in Salem-Keizer. We’re excited to have him join the SMS team, the Pendleton School District, and the Pendleton Community.
Mr. Gunter will officially take over as assistant principal/athletic director on July 1st. He is replacing Caleb Patterson as he has accepted a position in La Grande.
District Recommends New Sunridge Middle School Principal
/in District Site News, News - District & All Schools /by rthornburgThe Pendleton School District School Board will be asked at their next board meeting to approve the recommendation to hire Angie Horton to be the new principal of Sunridge Middle School, effective July 1st, 2025.
Horton is currently a principal in the Warrenton Hammond School District. Horton has held Principal, Vice Principal, Behavior Support Classroom Teacher, and a 3rd Grade teacher positions in her district. Before her time in Warrenton, she was a Child Treatment Specialist at the Grande Ronde Child Care Centre in La Grande.
Mrs. Horton attended Wallowa High School, earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology and business administration in 2001 from Eastern Oregon University, a master’s degree in Special Education in 2019 from Western Governor’s University, and a master’s degree in Educational Leadership from Western Governor’s University in 2022.
Mrs. Horton will officially take over as principal on July 1st. She is replacing Principal, Piper Kelm, who is retiring effective June 30th.
CTE Spotlight – Thomas Feller
/in District Site News, High Schools News /by rthornburgPendleton High School
2025 CTE Month Spotlight
Meet Thomas Feller, Senior at Pendleton High School
He is taking classes in Robotics.
What do you enjoy about your CTE classes at PHS?
I enjoy the teacher and the tech. I’ve learned a lot from this pathway. I learned how to run 3D printers here, and now I run my own printer and print things for myself and my friends/family.
How are CTE classes making a difference in your education?
They are furthering my knowledge in this field. I knew a decent amount of things, but these CTE classes have helped me a lot.
Would you like to share anything else about CTE at PHS?
I would encourage new students to take CTE classes. They are great hands-on classes and teach you a lot of things about modern technology. These classes are my favorite ones in my schedule.
CTE Spotlight – AJ Nez
/in District Site News, High Schools News /by rthornburgPendleton High School
2025 CTE Month Spotlight
Meet AJ Nez, Senior at Pendleton High School
She is taking classes in the Digital and Media Arts Pathway.
What do you enjoy about your CTE classes at PHS?
I enjoy being able to express my creativity in my work and being able to be my most authentic self.
How are CTE classes making a difference in your education?
I get to have a break from all my schoolwork to work on art. It is stress relieving so I’m not so foggy minded.
Would you like to share anything else about CTE at PHS?
PHS art classes have been my absolute favorite. Before high school, I felt I hadn’t been able to learn much about art and I felt put in a box. But now, I have learned so much in art class, and I get to use my creativity. I got to learn photography and work with Adobe software, which has definitely broadened my ability by a ton, and I discovered yet another medium I enjoy.