1344 NW Ithaca Ave
Bend, OR 97701

Amazing! This is an incredible school with dedicated staff that love what they do. It is a magnet school, os you must either live in the neighborhood zone or get in through the district lottery. They use the Scottish storyline method which fosters so much creativity in their academics. One review mentioned a negative experience because of the lack of a tour.; Highland @ Kenwood is a magnet school with a lottery that has to be submitted by a mandated spring deadline. There are only a few open houses for all Bend magnet schools and they are always on the district website in the the spring. Tours are not given to public wanting to just walk in. In addition, the safety at the school was recently updated with new construction and new district safety protocols. The building will be 100 years old in the fall of 2019.

Our family LOVES Westside Village! We think it's a hidden gem. We have 2 kids there (kinder and 1st). They are thriving! We feel they learn tons academically and socially/emotionally. We love the teachers, the principal, everyone that works there honestly. Everyone including the principal knows all the kids' names and they greet them by name in the halls! We love their alternative options and field trips: ice skating, watershed investigating, skiing, camping trips, community gardening...We also love that it's K-8, it's a small community, the start times are a bit later than other elementary schools since it goes to 8th... They have aftercare and before care, clubs that our kids love...They mix ages in classes and meet the kiddos where they're at. They are super supportive of their social interactions and them as whole people, not just kids learning school things. We also love their 6 weeks celebrations where your family goes to the school to interact with other families and teachers, see what your kids have been working on, and watch them do a little performance. Can't say enough good things!

High lakes principal and staff bullied my special needs niece and basically made it to where she is now missing all her fifth grade graduation activities. With only a couple more of weeks left in the school year, she was forced to go to another program even though she has been at this school since kindergarten. The principal fat shames children with medical conditions and shares personal information that should not be told to others. 10/10 would not recommend as this school and the district do not acknowledge their own issues and cause harm to special needs students and families.