Silver Rail Elementary Will Stay Closed Through Oct. 30 as Bend-La Pine Schools Asks Families to Rank Five Options for Their Children’s Return

Ten days after the shooting at Silver Rail Elementary in Bend, Oregon, the school’s families still do not know when, or where, their children will go back to class. The building will stay closed at least through Oct. 30, and Bend-La Pine Schools has asked parents to tell it which of five paths back to school they would choose.

District leaders begin reviewing those answers on Monday, Oct. 26. No reopening date has been set.

A Second Week Without Class at Silver Rail

The district’s Silver Rail community information hub said in its Oct. 23 update that Silver Rail students will not attend school Oct. 26 through 30 and that no decision has been made on when they will return. The district said it is working with families on a return-to-learning plan.

The rest of the district is on a different track. Elementary and middle schools elsewhere in Bend-La Pine hold regular classes on Monday and Tuesday, then break for parent-teacher conferences for the rest of the week. Silver Rail will have neither classes nor conferences, KTVZ reported from the district’s Oct. 22 announcement.

Inside the building, restoration work started Oct. 20 after the Bend Police Department released it to the district, according to the hub. Parking lot gates have reopened and police tape is gone, but the playgrounds remain closed to the public and temporary construction fencing surrounds parts of the property. On Oct. 22, memorial gifts left outside the school were gathered and moved to a secure location, after the district said it would photograph the memorials to preserve them.

The Five Options on the Family Survey

The survey asks parents and guardians to rank a first, second and third choice from five options, according to KTVZ:

• Return to Silver Rail
• Move to another Bend-La Pine school
• Access online learning
• Remain with their class at another Bend-La Pine location
• Enroll in an option outside the district

Families can also suggest an option not on the list, say when they want their child to return, and describe what support would help them feel ready. Staff at the school received a survey as well.

Superintendent Steve Cook told families that their input is essential as the district works out its return to school and decides its next steps together, according to KATU. The station reported that the responses will shape the district’s plan but that no date has been given for a final decision.

The choices reflect how different each family’s needs may be. Some children may want to return to familiar classmates and teachers as soon as possible, while others may not be ready to walk back into the same building. The option to keep a class together at another district site sits between those two paths.

What Happened on Oct. 15

The closure follows the Oct. 15 attack in a special needs classroom at Silver Rail, where three students and a teacher were killed and another student and teacher were injured, KATU reported. Most students elsewhere in the district returned for a partial day on Oct. 21 and a first full day on Oct. 22, one week after the shooting.

Police have identified the alleged shooter as Griffin John, 16, who was shot and killed by a bystander, OPB reported. District spokesman Scott Maben told OPB that the teen had once been a special needs student at Silver Rail and was last enrolled in the district in November 2025. His motive remains unknown.

Police have also revised their account of who was in the room. Bend Police spokesperson Sheila Miller told OPB that the classroom held five children and four staff members, not counting the shooter, and that one adult and one student “managed to somehow escape unharmed.” At an Oct. 16 news conference, police had described three adults and four students.

On the day of the shooting, Cook described the district as stunned and heartbroken by what he called a senseless tragedy, in a statement posted on the district hub.

Child Care, Meals and Counseling for Silver Rail Families

While the school stays closed, the Boys & Girls Club has extended 150 child care openings to Silver Rail families from 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on weekdays, the district said. Free grab-and-go breakfast and lunch for Silver Rail students is available weekdays through Oct. 27, from 10:45 to 11:45 a.m. at R.E. Jewell Elementary School, 20550 Murphy Road.

Counseling is available in every district building. The district hub also listed free one-on-one support at the Deschutes County Stabilization Center, 63311 NE Jamison St. “What has happened is traumatic; it has affected everyone in various different ways,” Deschutes County Health Services Director Holly Harris told KPTV, adding that simply talking with someone can help reduce long-term effects. The station reported that trained professionals were also offering support, including help talking with children about the shooting, at the Deschutes Public Library.

The Oregon Department of Emergency Management said the stabilization center is open around the clock and listed the Deschutes County Crisis Line at 541-322-7500, extension 9, the SAMHSA Disaster Distress Helpline at 1-800-985-5990, and the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. The state agency also said GoFundMe has set up a hub of verified fundraisers, with money from related fundraisers held until they are verified, and the district runs its own Silver Rail Recovery Fund.

The district has said it will post further decisions about Silver Rail’s return on its community information hub.

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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.

Image: Roc0ast3r – CC0/Wikimedia Commons