Catholic Schools in the Diocese of Baker are a beacon of hope in our communities.

The Diocese of Baker and four parishes within the Diocese sponsor and support four Catholic Schools.  These schools range from the smallest with 65 student’s Pre-K through 6 ^th grade to the largest which has an enrollment of 200 student’s Pre-K through 8 ^th grade.

St. Francis School in Bend has been in existence for almost 90 yearsand St. Mary’s in The Dalles has been open since 1864 when the Civil War was going on in our country.

• St. Francis of Assisi Catholic School, Bend
• St. Thomas Catholic School, Redmond
• St. Peter Catholic School, Ontario
• St. Mary's Academy,  The Dalles

These schools are primarily staffed by lay women who are the educators and school administrators.  Currently there are three religious order nuns teaching at St. Francis in Bend.  In addition, St. Thomas in Redmond and St. Peter’s in Ontario each have one sister teaching religious education to school students and children in their respective parishes.

The total enrollment in all four schools exceeds 500 students and has been steadily growing in enrollment over the last couple of years.  The Diocese of Baker provides financial support to the schools by paying for a part-time superintendent of schools and subsidizing staff in each school to address increasing Hispanic students into the schools and providing special education support to teaching staff and students.

Jim Golden has been a professional educator for the past 35 years. During this time he has served as a vocational education teacher, science teacher and special education teacher.
Jim spent most of his career in Central Oregon, where he worked as a special education director and as a high school assistant principal in Sisters.  He then moved to Prineville where he served as a high school principal for Crook County. Jim also served as the Director of programs for children at the High Desert Education Service District. Finally, he worked as a school superintendent for 8 years (5 of those years in Sisters and 3 years in Albany). During his work as a school superintendent,  Jim was elected by his peers to be the President of the Oregon Association of School Executives.

Jim is interested in instructional methodology and insuring that every student learns to be a critical reader and thinker.  He is excited to serve the students, staff and Catholic Communities in our 4 schools in the Baker Diocese.

Jim lives in the Columbia River Gorge near The Dalles with his wife, Rebecca. Jim and Rebecca, married 35 years, have two adult children. Jim loves whitewater rafting, fishing and traveling both domestically and to other countries. He also loves good food and Oregon State Baseball !