UKIAH — In the main lobby of the Ukiah School building, shadow boxes and picture frames hold a century of memories from past students. Decades-old letterman jackets share the wall with years of class photos.

For Laura Orr, the new superintendent of Ukiah School District, the wall holds four generations of family memories, too. The faces of her grandmother, father and now her own children greet her as she walks to her new office each day.

Orr was born and raised in Ukiah and completed her kindergarten through senior year in the storied white building. She went on to receive her bachelor’s degree from Eastern Oregon University and continued her education in Utah, where she received a master’s in science education at Western Governors University.

Upon returning to her hometown to teach, Orr joined a staff comprised of her former teachers.

“That was weird, but it wasn’t weird for very long,” she admitted.

For more than 18 years, Orr taught science classes for grades five through 12 in Ukiah. As of July 1, she transitioned once more into a new role at Ukiah School District.

The Ukiah School Board deliberated between local candidates and candidates from outside the region, but ultimately appointed Orr for the position of superintendent.

“Laura will be a great fit for the position as she possesses the drive, ambition and adaptability that Ukiah School District needs to be successful in the future,” said Wendt Eddy in a July 20 InterMountain Education Service District press release.

School Connectivity

For Orr, one of the district’s most pressing challenges — and first orders of business — is internet connectivity.

“Modern education requires connectivity,” she said.

Due to the region’s lacking infrastructure, the school’s internet is often spotty. This makes online learning and testing particularly hard. Orr noted all of Ukiah’s high school students are planning to take at least one online dual credit class this coming year.

With funding support from IMESD, Ukiah School will receive a dedicated fiber internet line within a year — a multi-million dollar project the district would never be able to afford on its own.

“It’s going to make maintaining a modern education for our students possible,” she said.

At the moment, nine educators and support staff — including Orr — keep the school running.

“Everybody knows what’s going on and helps take part in things,” She said. “It’s full support all the way around.”

Orr said she hopes new state incentive programs will help provide districts with what they need to encourage and support talented, local educators to teach in their very own communities.

Despite the unique challenges the district is facing, Orr contends that simply supporting students in their endeavors is the easiest part.

“With good teachers and good materials and good connectivity and intentional support to help them, they’ll go as far as they wanna go,” she said.

Teaching and community matters

Orr is a local and regional science education advocate and a member of several boards, outreach programs and research projects around the country. She also encourages students to get involved in scientific research of their own.

Orr has been an active member of NITARP, the Teacher Archive Research Program organized by NASA and Caltech’s Infrared Processing and Analysis Center. This program partners educators with a professional astronomer for a year-long original research project.

“Through it, you learn better techniques and skills to take back to students,” she said.

For several years, Orr selected a few interested students from Ukiah to work with her on the research and present at national conferences. To Orr, this program gives students confidence that they, too, can make strides in scientific research.

“You don’t have to be a special smart kid from a big school with a fancy research department,” she said. “You could be just an interested kiddo from Eastern Oregon that just really thinks baby stars are cool.”

Outside of school, Orr is active in the Ukiah community as one of the directors of the Ukiah Rodeo, leader of the town’s 4-H clubs and a coordinator of the local NITARP astronomy research.

As she takes on the role of superintendent this fall, Orr will wear many hats. She will also serve as principal of the school and will still teach two science classes every day.

Orr sees the unique challenges of rural education as opportunities, rather than liabilities. According to her, the many years she’s spent at Ukiah school — as a student and a teacher — give her extra understanding, drive and energy to make it the best it can be.

“The community itself would not be the same without us,” she said. “We need to honor that tradition and culture and grow it and support it.”