District welcomes students to the 21-22 School Year
By Paul Hall on Tuesday, September 7th, 2021 in Northeastern Oregon News Northeastern Oregon Top Stories
LA GRANDE – The La Grande School District had its first week of the 21-22 school year on Monday, August 30. Eighth graders and sophomores through seniors started Tuesday, in order to give younger students at the middle school and high school the chance to orient themselves to the buildings for one day.
Superintendent George Mendoza said the week of school was positive and that everyone is excited to be back for full-time, in-person instruction five days a week. “Our goal is to ensure we have our children back in school and stay with in-person operations the entire school year! School is where kids need to be, and LGSD can provide great support, education, athletics and activities more often if we are operating in person,” Mendoza said.
The number of students currently enrolled at LGSD is 2,232, a decrease from last year’s enrollment. The La Grande Virtual Learning Academy (LVLA), a fully online education in which students remain enrolled in the district, has 135 students currently.
For the new school year, the La Grande School District hired 15 new licensed employees across the district — eight teachers at the elementary level, two at the middle school, and three at the high school, one behavior intervention specialist at the middle school and one counselor at the high school. “It’s been great to welcome these new hires to our team. We know they will be an integral part of our success for students this year,” Superintendent Mendoza said.
The district is utilizing many of the same COVID-19 safety precautions and key risk mitigations strategies as last year, including face coverings, encouraging good hygiene and frequent cleaning of common areas. Mendoza said he appreciates the hard work of district staff to get ready for the first day of school and to continue educating La Grande’s students. He said the good news is that children are in school with high quality teachers and caring adults and will have all student services available to them in person. “With patience and cooperation, we will get through these times together and in support of our children,” Mendoza said.
