2 La Grande Pride August 2022 • www.lagrandesd.org From the Superintendent's Desk ... George Mendoza LA GRANDE SCHOOL DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENT Dear Parents, Guardians, and Community Members, Greetings and welcome to the 2022-2023 school year! My hope is our families, students, and community stakeholders had a great summer. Our school year starts on August 29, 2022! This means get ready for busses, students in classes, and teachers and staff members doing great things to encourage, connect, educate, and support our students. Also, get ready for sports, activities, arts, and more. As an educator, there is nothing like the start of the school year. I see hope, optimism, purpose, passion, the dedica- tion to serve our students energizing our staff and eagerness to hear the sounds of students learning and thriving in our buildings. Our district’s theme for this upcoming year is “Trust, Engage- ment, Belonging.” These are all fundamental values and needs that are important to a thriving society. Our goal as a district will be to maintain, build upon or re-build trust, through engage- ment opportunities with all stakeholders. We also need to create a sense of belonging for all students, staff and families that we serve. We have far more in common when we focus on students and invest in their best future. From a safety perspective, I expect this year to start similarly to how we ended our last school year as it relates to COVID proce- dures and operations – with fewer rules and requirements and more local control and decision making. I am thankful we are now in this place; however, please know we have a COVID manage- ment plan in place that we will need to follow. We will continue to sanitize and disinfect, increase fresh airflow through our HVAC systems, and have requirements related to keeping sick children at home. To learn more about our COVID Safety Plan please visit lagrandesd.org/covidmanagement or come visit our schools and hear more from our exceptional staff. As you prepare for the new school year, I encourage you to visit our website at lagrandesd.org for important information about open house dates, enrollment, academic calendars, and a variety of other information. Our district website is an excellent resource to stay up to date on all the latest LGSD news and information. We also offer a free mobile app available for download on both the iTunes® and Google Play® app stores. Simply search for “La Grande School District.” Thank you entrusting your child’s education to the La Grande School District. We will do our best every day to provide them with a high quality education. Our Mission: Empower La Grande’s learners to learn, staff to thrive, and our community to prosper. Our Vision: Preparing all La Grande students for their brightest future! Best wishes, George Mendoza This publication serves as a platform to keep our community informed and connected to the school district. We appreciate your involvement and support. Should you wish to contact me, my phone number is 541- 663-3201; email: george.mendoza@lagrandesd.org.