A Message from Dr. Coakley

It was great to see you at our 2026 Back to School Event. Thank you for making it another big success with your presence.

It is my honor to share the 2026-27 all staff photo!

MESD honors the resilience, cultural richness, and lived experiences of the students, families, and staff who strengthen our community. These observances remind us of our shared responsibility to foster belonging, support wellness, and uplift the diverse identities across our programs.

Suicide Prevention Month — This month reinforces our commitment to creating safe, supportive environments where students and staff know help is always available. Explore the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline for guidance, prevention tools, and immediate support.

National Recovery Month — We honor the strength of individuals and families navigating recovery and celebrate the programs that help people heal and thrive. The National Council for Mental Health about National Recovery Month offers stories, educational materials, and resources that promote wellness and long‑term recovery.

Latino/Hispanic Heritage Month — MESD celebrates the cultures, histories, and contributions of Latino and Hispanic communities whose leadership and traditions enrich our schools and region. The Smithsonian Latino Center provides articles, digital exhibits, and classroom‑ready materials to support learning and reflection.

We’re kicking off a new season with George Mendoza, Superintendent of La Grande School District and the 2026 Oregon Superintendent of the Year.

But this conversation goes beyond the title.

Superintendent Mendoza takes us back to his early years and shares the journey from classroom teacher to superintendent—including the mentors, challenges and experiences that shaped how he leads today. We talk about rural education, student success, building strong communities and what it really takes to lead through people.

Catch up on previous episodes and subscribe to stay up-to-date:

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Each year, as we prepare to welcome students back to class, MESD brings together our Cabinet, Administrators, Principals, and Board. These gatherings give us the time and space to learn, collaborate, and plan with intention, so when students walk into their classrooms, they feel welcomed, supported, and ready to learn. Thank you to all the organizers and participants who made these events meaningful and successful.

Our path forward is clear, and we have meaningful accomplishments from the 2025-26 year to celebrate. Each of you—directly or indirectly—contributed to these successes, all of which advance our Strategic Plan, Blueprint ’28 and its three goals. Equity and Continuous Improvement remain our compass, shaping everything we do—from daily interactions to long‑term planning.

MESD’s equity work continues to evolve into a more integrated, systemwide approach aligned with our core mission. We are deepening our commitment to weaving equity into how we design services, make decisions, allocate resources, and build partnerships. This direction recognizes a fundamental truth: much of MESD’s work already exists to remove barriers for students least well served by traditional systems.

As we move forward, our focus will be on applying equity more consistently and intentionally—especially through the use of MESD’s Equity Lens—to guide planning, implementation, and evaluation. Our commitment is steadfast: equity is not an initiative; it is how we work every day to better serve students who have historically been left behind.

At the heart of our Strategic Plan is a simple truth: we are here to serve all students. Every program, every partnership, and every decision is anchored in what will help them thrive—academically, socially, and emotionally. Equity and continuous improvement are responsibilities shared by all of us, in every role, every day.

You can read more about the Equity Overview 2026 recently shared with MESD leaders during the Admin Retreat 2026.

In April, I shared important information about the launch of the new MESD Intranet Hub, a key step in strengthening the systems that support our schools and programs. Because many staff may have missed that update, I want to highlight these resources again, they are designed to make your work easier, more consistent, and more connected across the agency.

• The HR Hub offers a clear, intuitive space for benefits, payroll, retirement planning, leave and time off, professional development reimbursement, and employee evaluations. It also includes high‑value guidance such as the Onboarding Roadmap and Calendar and “What to Expect When Retiring.”

• The Communications Resource Hub centralizes branding guidance, MESD and program logos, templates, safety communication tools, inclement weather information, and all public‑facing request processes. It also houses our growing digital accessibility toolkit, including ADA/WCAG guidance, Grackle training, the MESD Accessibility Toolkit, and new supports like the Alt Text Gem and AI Leadership Team tutorials.

• The Blueprint ‘28 Hub provides resources, processes, and strategies to better understand MESD's Blueprint '28—an action plan that identifies goals, strategies, metrics, and tactics and relies on continuous improvement processes to “course correct” and address changes and trends.