La Grande Superintendent George Mendoza to be honored as Oregon’s superintendent of the year next week
By Garrett Christensen on Wednesday, October 29th, 2025 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
LA GRANDE – On September 24th, 2025, The La Grande School District officially announced that Superintendent George Mendoza had been named Oregon’s 2025 Superintendent of the year by the Oregon Association of School Executives, much to the surprise of Mendoza himself. Serving as La Grande’s superintendent since 2017, Mendoza was awarded for his excellent leadership, unwavering dedication to student success, and a long list of improvements to the school district over the past eight years.
Mendoza will soon formally be honored at the 79th Annual Oregon School Boards Association Convention in Portland, November 6-8, and is also moving forward as a nominee for the AASA National Superintendent of the Year award. In a recent interview with Elkhorn Media Group’s Dan Thesman on the Coffee Hour Podcast, Intermountain Education Service District Superintendent Mark Mulvihill gave his thoughts on Mendoza’s achievements and the upcoming convention. As remarked by Mulvihill:
“George will be recognized next week, and he also is nominated for the national award. So, Oregon always participates in the national program…I’m just so pleased for George to win this, he’s just done incredible work in La Grande. That district has so many positive things going on with facilities, with programs, they’re a great partner with Intermountain ESD.
George was formally a teacher in Ontario, and I started working with him…I think probably eighteen…twenty years ago when he was an assistant superintendent in Morrow County and then got the La Grande job. He’s a good friend, a good colleague, a good educator.”
The full interview with Mulvihill can be found here: https://omny.fm/shows/coffee-hour-podcast/october-28-intermountain-esd
The full announcement on Mendoza’s award, and a few words from the man himself, can be found in our previous article here: https://elkhornmediagroup.com/2026-oregon-superintendent-of-the-year-awarded-to-la-grandes-george-mendoza/
