Crayon drawing of five smiling children holding hands among hearts, flowers and a butterfly Silver Rail Together. Better Together.

Stay Together. Heal Together. Here Together.

Silver Rail families are asking the Bend-La Pine Schools Board to keep our children, teachers and staff together as one school community, in our own Silver Rail building.

Sign the Petition

In memory

We carry in our hearts Rhoam Summer (5), two other children (8 & 11) and teacher Megan Lambert, whom we tragically lost on October 15, 2026, and we hold their families close. Together, we are keeping teacher Becky Drury and student Saylor Graham in our hearts and prayers. We are grateful beyond words to the Silver Rail staff, first responders and neighbors who protected our kids.

Why together matters

Our children have been through something no child should face. Right now, the people who help them feel safe are the ones who were there: their classmates, their teachers, the staff who know them by name.

We understand the district is considering how Silver Rail moves forward, including the possibility of sending students to different schools. We believe splitting up our kids would add new loss to their grief. Keeping them together gives them familiar faces, shared understanding and a community to heal inside.

Our hope is to return to our own building. With care, time and thoughtful changes, Silver Rail can become a place of healing again, not only a reminder of loss.

What we're asking

  • Keep Silver Rail students, teachers and staff together as one school, in our own Silver Rail building, with a shared temporary home only if needed in the meantime.
  • Let any family who wants a fresh start transfer easily, with full support.
  • Include Silver Rail families before decisions are made.
  • Provide lasting counseling and trauma-informed support.
  • Increased security and safety measures and protocols.

Every family's choice matters

Some families and staff may decide another school is right for their child, and we respect that completely. This petition protects that choice. Our hope is simply that families who want to stay together can.

Sign the petition

This petition is for parents and guardians of current Silver Rail students, and current Silver Rail teachers and staff. We will share the total number of signatures with the school board. Your email always stays private, and your name and comment go to the board only if you check the boxes to share them.

To the Bend-La Pine Schools Board of Directors and Superintendent Cook:

We are parents and guardians of Silver Rail Elementary students. We are grieving with our whole community, and we are deeply grateful to the teachers, staff, first responders and neighbors who protected our children on October 15.

We understand the district is weighing what comes next for Silver Rail. As Silver Rail Elementary families, we respectfully ask you to keep our children and school together.

Our kids have lived through something no child should. What steadies them now is each other: their classmates, their teachers, the staff who know their names. Scattering them across other schools would ask them to face new buildings, new routines and new faces while they are still healing, and to do it apart from the people who understand what they went through – potentially adding another layer of trauma to what they have already experienced.

Silver Rail is more than a building to our children. It is their school. We believe that with care, time and thoughtful changes, it can become a place of healing again, and our hope is to return there together.

We ask the board to:

  1. Keep the Silver Rail community together as one school, with its students, teachers and staff, in our own Silver Rail building. If the building needs time to be prepared, we ask that students and staff stay together in a shared temporary home until they can return.
  2. Give every family a choice. Any family who feels their child needs a fresh start at another school should be able to transfer easily, with full support.
  3. Include Silver Rail families in the decision before it is made, through listening sessions and direct communication.
  4. Commit to long-term support, including counseling and trauma-informed care, for students, families and staff through this school year and beyond.
  5. Increased safety protocols, including parents, teachers, first-responders and safety officers in the process.

We are not asking anyone to forget. We are asking that our children be allowed to heal together.

Signed by the Silver Rail families listed below.

Add your name

Your name, email and how you're connected to Silver Rail. Kept private unless you choose to share. We never ask for children's names.

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Questions families are asking

Does this petition mean my family has to stay at Silver Rail?

No. We are asking the district to make transferring easy for any family who wants it. This petition protects every family's choice.

Do you want students to return to the Silver Rail building?

Yes, in time. Our hope is to return to our own building together. When and how should be decided with families and trauma experts. If the building needs work first, we ask that students and staff stay together in a temporary home until then.

Who can sign?

Parents/guardians of current Silver Rail students and current teachers/staff of Silver Rail Elementary. Others who want to help can share the page and email us.

What happens to my information?

Only the total number of signatures is public. Your name goes to the board only if you check the box to include it, and your comment only if you allow it, without your name. Your email address is never shared, published or sold. Signatures are kept in a private, password-protected file that only the organizers can open.

Is this connected to the school district?

No. Silver Rail Together is organized by Silver Rail parents. We want to work alongside the district, and we are grateful for everything staff have done.

How else can I help?

Share the page with other Silver Rail families, come to the next board meeting, or email info@silverrailtogether.org.

Who we are

Silver Rail Together is a group of Silver Rail parents and families. We are not affiliated with Bend-La Pine Schools.

Organized by Silver Rail Elementary parents Miranda Bryant and Andschanna Russell.

Stay connected

Questions or want to help? Email us.