IMESD and our school districts presented the 2025 Crystal Apple Awards in May! Congratulations to all the amazing educators who were honored: https://tinyurl.com/9rys2435
IMESD and the Oregon Trail Regional Educator Network are hosting two Multilingual Workshops in June as part of the 2025 Summer Series. These workshops feature Dr. Eugenia Mora-Flores and are designed for new and veteran K-12 classroom teachers, instructional coaches, specialists/interventionists and paraprofessionals.
For details, check out the Workshop Flyer: https://tinyurl.com/ytp634xy
New EOU and GO STEM Hub hire will engage with middle and high school students and educators throughout Eastern Oregon on AI and technology workforce initiatives: https://tinyurl.com/49brstbz
Congratulations to the 2025 Crystal Apple Award Winners! We are pleased to honor these amazing educators in our school districts in Eastern Oregon.
See the list of winners: https://core-docs.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/1455/IMESD/5687297/2025_Crystal_Apple_Award_Winners.pdf
Read the article: https://www.imesd.k12.or.us/article/2234747
Congratulations to IMESD's 2025 Crystal Apple Award winners from Morrow and Umatilla counties!
Selina Madrigal, Migrant Recruiter in the Migrant Education Program
Shadra Sanchez, Speech Pathologist in the Speech-Language Pathology Program
Angel Villalobos, Occupational Therapist in the EI/ECSE Program
These three winners were honored at the awards ceremony in Pendleton on May 13th. Thank you, Selina, Shadra and Angel for all you do for our agency and for students in our region.
Congratulations to Sara Bortz, 2025 Crystal Apple Award winner for IMESD!
Sara is a Speech Pathologist in the Speech-Language Pathology Program in Union County. She was honored at the awards ceremony in La Grande on May 5th. Thank you, Sara, for all you do for our agency and for students in our region.
Student leaders from across Eastern Oregon distributed more than $70,000 in grants to local nonprofits and school programs
Read the full story: https://eastoregonian.com/2025/05/12/eastern-oregon-student-leaders-award-70138-in-grants-to-local-nonprofits-and-schools/
Congratulations to the 2025 Crystal Apple Leadership Award winner, Scott Carpenter of the La Grande School District!Thank you for your dedication and hard work toward student success in your district.
Read the full article: https://www.imesd.k12.or.us/article/2214181
Former National Park Service Director Chuck Sams recently spoke to middle school students in Pendleton about the nation's parks and their importance: https://eastoregonian.com/2025/05/03/chuck-sams-visits-pendleton-middle-schoolers-to-celebrate-national-parks/
On May 6th, Literacy Consultant Yolanda Westerberg traveled to Ukiah, Oregon, to provide customized reading and writing training to teachers on site. Three teachers received instruction that included the modeling of high-leverage literacy strategies designed to increase student engagement and writing performance. Teachers also worked together to create a yearlong scope and sequence anchored to priority standards they identified as a team. At the end of the day, teachers walked away with a toolkit of strategies to support students’ literacy development paired with a plan for execution.
Yolanda Westerberg is a literacy consultant with decades of teaching and consultation experience with Westerberg & Associates. Westerberg hails from Spokane, Washington, but regularly visits school districts in the IMESD region to deliver training as part of her contract with the Oregon Trail Regional Educator Network and House Bill 3499 Funding. The Oregon Trail REN funds series-based professional learning for educators in Umatilla, Morrow, Baker, and Union counties. While some training opportunities for educators function as one-offs, providing only one session of learning for educators, Westerberg’s trainings are ongoing and series-based, enabling teachers to build on their learning and receive training customized to their evolving needs. To eliminate the barrier of access, Westerberg travels to districts to deliver her support on site.
For more information about IMESD/REN hosted professional development, please contact Emily Williams at emily.williams@imesd.k12.or.us.
Join the Regional Educator Network and IMESD for Summer Series! Sign up to attend a variety of FREE sessions during the last 2 weeks of June and/or the first two weeks of August. Sessions for classroom management, literacy, arts & culture, math, multilingual learners, and more will be available!
Visit the IMESD Events Calendar to register for sessions: https://events.imesd.k12.or.us/
School librarians across the region came together on Thursday, April 10th to attend the second annual Regional Library Symposium.
This gathering offers school library staff the opportunity to connect with one another, learn from each other, and take home new skills or ideas to use in their own libraries. Read the full Story: https://www.imesd.k12.or.us/article/2160207
At the end of March, IMESD’s Marissa Loiland, Early Learning Services Director, testified virtually to the Oregon Legislature about Senate Bill 1167. This bill would direct $12 million to early childhood programs across the state to pay for navigators to help expecting parents connect with social service programs. Eastern Oregon could claim a large part of the funding through the Blue Mountain Early Learning Hub, which Loiland oversees.
"Being able to provide information to the Oregon Legislature was a great opportunity to highlight specific issues in rural communities in our state regarding services. With many miles to cover, navigators could make a difference in helping families connect with appropriate programs,” Loiland said.
Come work at IMESD! We are now hiring for a Helpdesk Support Collections Specialist. Check our job description and apply today.
http://applitrack.com/imesd/onlineapp/default.aspx?all=1&AppliTrackPostingSearch=title%3Acollections%20&AppliTrackZipRadius=5&AppliTrackSort=type&AppliTrackLayoutMode=detail
The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation has received a $150,000 grant to support literacy. CTUIR will collaborate with IMESD's Early Learning Hub for training needs for the project.
Read the article: https://tinyurl.com/3zx6c73d
Apply now to our Technology Specialist position! In this position, Technology Specialists support students and school district staff with different technology-based tasks day by day. This position is based in Irrigon, OR.
Position Details: https://www.applitrack.com/imesd/onlineapp/default.aspx?all=1&AppliTrackPostingSearch=title%3Atechnology%20&AppliTrackZipRadius=5&AppliTrackSort=type&AppliTrackLayoutMode=detail
Echo School District freshman Kellan Smith recently won a major title at the Oregon State FFA Convention in March: https://tinyurl.com/782khmvt
IMESD's Chief Information Officer, Nick Lapp, recently provided a statement about the importance of the Universal Service Fund, which provides funding to school districts for internet access and network connectivity through E-rate. This is an issue the Supreme Court of the United States heard arguments about last month.
“Bringing fiber internet to ten small rural districts in Eastern Oregon to replace slow and unreliable wireless connections simply wouldn't have been possible without E-rate funding. This investment has opened previously unimaginable educational opportunities for children in these communities, profoundly impacting their future," Lapp said.
Read the entire article: https://www.imesd.k12.or.us/article/2139114
Umatilla School District middle school students compete in robotics: https://tinyurl.com/u5ru6wpb
Michele Madril and Xenia Velasco from our Communications team attended the Oregon School Public Relations Conference in March. It is an annual gathering for public relations professionals serving Oregon schools and school districts. They were joined by staff from the La Grande and Umatilla school districts.
This year, Velasco was awarded “Oregon’s Best” in the Publications and Digital Media Category for communications teams consisting of one or two individuals. Congratulations!
Read the full story: https://www.imesd.k12.or.us/article/2126785
