BEND, OR -- Bend-La Pine Schools invites the community to meet the four finalists for Principal of the new southeast Bend high school, which is slated to open in 2021. 

 

Katie Legace, the district’s Executive Director of High School Programs, says the new principal will literally help build the school from the ground up, "We’re looking, of course, for a very student-focused leader – that’s paramount. Someone who’s really thinking from the framework of, ‘what are students going to want to see in a school and how can we best provide enriching opportunities for every single student that walks through the door?’ Initially, this person is going to have the opportunity to actually be with us from the point where we start construction on the project, which is pretty exciting." She says they'll not only oversee construction of the building at 15th and Knott Road, but also naming the school and development of its programs, "We have strong high schools in our district, so that person is going to need to be thinking about, ‘how can I continue that tradition of excellence that we have with our high schools?’ with so many different opportunities for students academically, as well as socially, behaviorally, and all the activities that we have to offer them."

 

Design Close to Final for New High School in Bend (01/28/2019)

 

Legace says the best candidate will display a unique set of skills, "A dynamic leader who can set vision and who can set future thinking about what do want our future high school to look like? We’re also looking for somebody who can handle the operational side of running a school. So, the construction piece of that – obviously, you don’t have to be an expert in construction but has a sense of, ‘what do we want the school community to feel like from a physical perspective?’" The four finalists are:

• Chris Boyd, Principal of Bend's Pacific Crest Middle School 
• Jay Etnier, Assistant Principal at Bend's Summit High
• Andrew Croley, Principal of McCluer North High School, in Missouri
• Lonnie Robertson, Assistant Principal at Billings Senior High, in Montana

Visit the district's website for more information on each candidate. They’ll take part in a public forum Monday afternoon at the Bend-La Pine Schools Education Center (520 NW Wall St.) at 4 p.m.

Redmond High is also on the hunt for a new leader. Four finalists for that position will meet with families at RHS Tuesday at 4:15 p.m.