by Maureen Flanagan Battistella – URI Contributing Writer
Jim Helmen will be joining the Eagle Point School District as superintendent beginning July 1, 2026. He has been at the Vernonia, Ore. School District as superintendent since 2022 and before that held administrative and teaching positions with the Clatskanie, Ore. School District. Helman is looking forward to getting started and is thinking about his new role.
“The biggest thing that stood out to me throughout the interview process was the strong sense of community pride and that’s a big piece that aligns with me,” Helmen said. “The school is the center of the community.”
Helmen also heard loud and clear that the community prioritizes students, and he’s putting students front and center. “There was a very clear commitment, and I heard it over and over and over again, that the number one focus is building a healthy school culture and raising expectations for students,” Helmen stressed. “It isn’t a district that’s just holding on, it’s a district that’s doing well and wants to do better, to continue to strengthen systems.”
Literacy and student development are important to Helmen, and he sees these as at the critical core of his work, even in a district that is as strong as EPSD9. Helmen’s personal history gives him some special insight into students’ needs.
Helmen said that he grew up in a migrant worker household and moving so frequently meant that he was never in one school system for long. As a first generation college student from a working-class background, it took determination, patience and time for Helmen to grow his academic and leadership talents. He was awarded his BA in Elementary Education and his MA in Curriculum, Instruction and Special Ed from the University of Montana. He earned his Education Specialist degree in Educational Leadership from Lewis and Clark College, Portland, Oregon.
Life experience and his academic and work training have given Helmen a unique insight and better understanding of the range of student competencies and needs. He is passionate that students will be able to increase literacy skills and have access to Career and Technical Education, Future Farmers of America and post-secondary opportunities.
Helmen recognizes that the district must meet essential educational requirements, for those students who might be college-bound and those focused on CTE. “You have to have programs through the system that meet the needs of the student,” Helmen noted. “making sure that they are ready to enter that pathway, making sure that whatever choices they make, they’re going to be ready.”
Helmen’s work experience has largely been in smaller school districts. According to the Oregon Department of Education’s At-a-Glance website, both Vernonia and Clatskanie school have fewer than 700 students while EPSD9 has more than 4,000. Helmen is nonplussed and sees that his hands-on experience has given him a direct understanding of both problems and opportunities.
“In a smaller district, I am asked to wear a lot of hats such as human resource, director, curriculum, director, special education, director, you write all district federal program grants, design and facilitate professional development, etc.,” Helmen explained. “That’s taught me how to be resourceful, think strategically, and stay closely connected to our students, staff and community.”
“In a larger district, I know success comes from building strong teams and empowering leaders at every level,” he continued. “My focus will be on setting clear district priorities, putting solid systems in place, and making sure everyone understands the mission and their role in creating the best opportunities for all students. K-12.”
A new job means leaving one position, one school, one place, and starting in another.
“I’m leaving a place that I absolutely love,” Helmen mentioned, but working in Vernonia meant an hour commute twice a day because Clatskanie has long been home to Helmen’s family. His wife Amy is a trained social worker, and these days is a full-time caregiver for their daughter, 22 year old Solana who has autism. A son and younger daughter have already left the nest and graduated college, leaving behind Lilac, a 7-year-old Saint Bernard and Chickoleta, a beloved bird that Helmen describes as a residual 4H chicken. The whole Helmen menagerie can’t wait to live and work together in one community.
Another thing Jim Helmen is looking forward to here in Southern Oregon? Gold.
“I love golfing, all that stuff but I cannot take my mind off metal detecting and panning for gold,” Helmen laughed. “That’s my dream.”
Welcome to Southern Oregon, Jim Helmen. You’ll certainly find gold in the people you meet here and perhaps a nugget or two of the other stuff in Southern Oregon’s rivers.
