Mission Statement

OUR MISSION

We’re committed to helping each child reach his or her peak of excellence through a curriculum that integrates core academic knowledge and the arts with inspired instruction, individual attention and the latest technology. We are dedicated to working with families to help each child reach his or her highest potential in a safe and nurturing environment.

OUR HISTORY

Seven Peaks School began as a dream of parents who wanted more for their children. Over the past ten years, our institution has grown from a small grassroots school with two classes to a preschool through eighth grade private school with a reputation for academic excellence, child-centered learning and family involvement.

In 1996, a small group of parents and educators launched a kindergarten and 1st grade class for eight children in two rooms of a building located on the northeast side of Bend. Over the next two years, a close-knit community of families and educators grew their small school one class and family at a time with very limited resources and huge contributions of volunteer time, support and funding from parents.

By 1998, interest and enrollment in this small but very successful school had grown significantly. At the same time, the Bend LaPine School District was experiencing a shortage of schools for the area’s growing population of elementary-aged students. Seven Peaks School applied to operate as a contract school under the District and was granted a four year contract. This relationship was both beneficial and challenging for Seven Peaks School. Partial funding of the school’s ongoing operating expenses through state funds helped to stabilize the financial position of the fledgling institution and the District assisted the organization in further developing its basic operating infrastructure and systems. On the down side, enrollment in the school was relegated to a lottery system, there was significant pressure to increase class size, and curriculum was more tightly controlled.

In 2005, Seven Peaks School and the Bend LaPine School District parted ways. The school had secured a permanent site on Bend’s west side and built a beautiful new campus through the support of many of its current families. Seven Peaks School, now a preschool through eighth grade institution, reverted back to a tuition-based private school. The new campus afforded the school an opportunity to increase its staffing, enrollment and curriculum over the next five years.

In 2008, Seven Peaks School will have an opportunity to serve a total of 300 students, with up to 150 students enrolled in its preschool through fifth grade elementary school program and up to 150 students enrolled in its sixth through eighth grade middle school program. After 10 years in operation, Seven Peaks School is now a mature institution. School Administration and the Board of Directors deemed it an opportune time to develop a strategic plan to guide the growth and continued success of the school over the next three years.