From The Superintendent's Desk

From the Desk of the Superintendent: The Pendulum is Swinging Back

Beyond the "Time Warp"

What is right with public education today? As it turns out, quite a lot! Between 2020 and 2023—years we now affectionately call the "COVID years"—public education underwent one of the most rapid transformations in history. We learned how to deliver instruction in ways we never thought possible.

However, we are only now beginning to understand the long-term impact of that "time warp." While our graduates from that era successfully reshaped the corporate world with remote work and flexible thinking, our younger students faced a different reality. For them, it wasn’t just about missing lessons; it was about missing the social magic of play and the foundational interactions with family and peers.

Regaining the Human Connection

The good news? The pendulum is swinging back. With Oregon’s new "no cell bell to bell" laws, we are witnessing a powerful "recovery of human behavior."

Without the digital distraction, we see students:

Regaining social skills through face-to-face interaction.

Learning the art of "give and take" in conversation.

Engaging in respectful debate, understanding that speaking to a person is vastly different from firing off a text.

The Challenge and the Progress

Let’s be real: this transition hasn’t been easy. Our teachers and administrators are working incredibly hard to help students navigate this return to social norms. While behavior challenges have taken time away from the classroom in the past, we are seeing a shift. As behaviors stabilize, academics are improving. I’ve always said our students are the best people. Now, I want them to be the highest-rated academic performers in the state, too. Much like the pride we feel for our success on the mat or the field, we want to "show out" in the classroom.

To get there, we are implementing a focused strategy:

Staff Development: A two-year plan to deepen our educators' skills and classroom impact.

New Curriculum: Our Board is adopting a new curriculum, chosen with vital input from the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde (CTGR) to ensure it meets the unique needs of our community.

Join the Journey

We are making real progress. As we head into the coming months—the season where students "show what they know"—I am confident we have a true path forward.

Thank you for joining us on this journey of excellence for every student. Let's show the state what we are capable of!

It is hard to high jump over a low bar!

Mike Gass

Superintendent