The clinic set up shop in Warm Springs on Thursday, April 27 and Madras Performing Arts Center on Friday, April 28. In those two days, they sent glasses and a new prescription home with 143 students in the Jefferson County School District. Buses transported students on “vision field trips” from JCMS, Metolius and Bridges. While students walked from Buff Elementary, Madras Elementary and Madras High School.

Madras High School Junior Keith Charley III was one of 81 students who went through theVision Clinic at Warm Springs K-8 Academy.

Charley is now one of the students whose life is improved because OneSight provided eyeglasses free of cost.

“I’ve known I needed glasses since the third grade,” he said. “They put me in the back of the class and I couldn’t see the board. I told my teacher and she called my parents and I got my eyes checked and it turned out I needed glasses.”

He had two pairs of glasses that he used, but he lost both of them unfortunately and has been without a pair since.

Charley will have an easier time learning in class with a new pair of glasses. While waiting for his the team to assemble his new pair of glasses, he was looking forward to being able to see clearer.

“Hopefully, I can read better without squinting,” he said. “I don’t like squinting, and honestly, I just like glasses and I think they look cool.”

Jefferson County School District Nurse Christina Kelley was instrumental in setting up the clinic and bringing the nonprofit organization to Jefferson County. It all started after the Lions Club performed their annual vision screenings in the Fall of 2022. Approximately 20 percent of students screened were flagged because they needed to see an eye doctor.

“We recognized a basic need that was not being met.” Kelley said.

The clinic walked students through a number of tests to determine what prescription would best fit their needs.

“We have visual acuities, we have color and depth perception,” Clinic Manager Steve Stockton said. “We do NCT which is glaucoma testing, and we have health checks.”

Once the students completed those exams, they went onto the mobile clinic where the optometrists conducted their exams. It is a two-lane mobile clinic and the eye doctors are able to do about 100 eye exams per day. There were three doctors seeing patients in the mobile clinic.

Also, on the mobile clinic are more than 100 pairs of lenses. There is a laboratory where the lenses are cut and matched with a brand new frame the student choose earlier in the process.

“Kids actually leave with glasses the same day,” Stockton said.

The student pictured below, Gerardo, is a kindergarten student at Warm Springs K-8 Academy. He also received a new pair of glasses and when first putting them on, he exclaimed to the room.

"I can see!"

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In our District, we strive to make this a place where staff cares for each other. One school that exemplifies that core value is Buff Elementary. Staff describes the school as a place that values relationships, is collaborative, joyful, caring, family-like atmosphere.

Buff Elementary is a place that demonstrates how we care for each other in our District. Watch the video to hear directly from teachers and Principal Billie White about working at Buff.

Madras High English Language Arts Teacher Beau Herman is representing Jefferson County School District 509J on a national level. He is the first eSports coach from the state of Oregon to be named a PlayVS Super Coach.

PlayVS is one of the leagues the MHS eSports team plays in. Super Coaches are some of the most passionate and committed individuals to ensuring eSports programs are successful. Their role, in addition to coaching their own school’s team, is to help other schools and coaches who are thinking of starting their own eSports team.

“They would get in contact with me and I would help them write their proposal,” Herman said. “I could talk to their school board, help set up funding, and find resources for them.”

Herman was nominated by an anonymous colleague.

“It’s pretty special to me because I’ve always coached everything else,” Herman said. “To be acknowledged for starting this club here and it’s done really well in the two years that we’ve had it and people are seeing that and recognizing it, it’s a huge honor.”

The eSports team at Madras High has seen tremendous success in a short amount of time. They average around 22 players and they play a multitude of games.

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This school year, JCSD 509J adopted a new form of school-to-home communication called ParentSquare. This unified communications platform is designed to keep parents and guardians informed and encourage greater engagement and connection with 509J. It provides a safe way for district administrators, school principals, teachers, staff, and parents to:

• Send and receive school and class information
• Share pictures and files
• See calendar items
• Sign up to volunteer
• Schedule parent-teacher conferences
• and much more . . . all in one centralized place!

In mid April, WSK8 held a college and career week. It culminated with Career Day where more than a dozen guest speakers talked to our students about their experiences and careers. We had a wide variety of careers on display for our students. From business owner, healthcare, law enforcement, radio broadcasting, and so much more!

The school also brought in more than a dozen local and regional organizations and colleges to talk to our students about opportunities that are right here in our communities!

Our elementary students also had a chance to hear from Warm Springs Fire and Safety about their careers.

Thank you to all the organizers of the event and thank you to all the guest speakers who took time out of their busy schedule to share their expertise with our students!

March's recipients were:

Scott Shannon, Health/Careers Teacher at Bridges High School

Karrie Walters, Educational Assistant at Metolius Elementary

Watch the videos below to learn more about them and their work!

For a full list of events at the PAC, follow the link below!

PAC Events