ACADEMIC FACULTY

Instructional personnel at the J Bar J Learning Centers are selected for their commitment to individualized curriculum, educational excellence, innovation, and a willingness to motivate. All faculty are either licensed or have extensive experience in the areas they teach.

Rick Buening

Rick is the Academic Director of J Bar J Learning Center.  He has worked in alternative education at J Bar J for more than 20 years. Rick received his Bachelors Degree in Social Work from the University of Missouri and his Masters Degree in Teaching from Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon. He holds a Standard Oregon Teaching Certificate in Social Studies. Rick is a member of The National Council for the Social Studies and The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. He is past Chairperson for the Oregon Advisory Committee for the Northwest Accreditation Commission and is currently serving on that Committee.  As an educator, Rick is committed to alternative education and to the idea that "all students are capable of being confident, self-directed, lifelong learners”.

In his free time, Rick enjoys hiking, reading, and home improvement projects.  He has a special interest in the people and literature of the "Beat Generation".

Josh Goldstein

Josh can often be heard saying, “Much of teaching is teaching people how to learn:  how to think and be curious.”   Upon leaving Bend, the town where he was raised, he never thought his path would bring him back here.  However, fifteen years later, he finds himself living and teaching in the same “small town”. 

Josh received his Bachelors Degree in Biology at the University of Oregon.  Shortly thereafter he discovered his passion for teaching at an Environmental Education Camp in the backwaters of Tennessee.  Camp life took Josh from Tennessee to Hawaii, to the San Juan Islands, and even to a sailboat on the Puget Sound.  Josh’s nomadic lifestyle ended when he decided to pursue his Masters Degree in Teaching seven years ago.  Teaching in several alternative education settings prepared Josh to bring his teaching to a new level at J Bar J.  He not only teaches to his endorsement in Biology, but has expanded his horizons to teach History, Philosophy, and Writing.  Josh realizes that more matters than just books and facts.  He believes in teaching people how to be whole human beings.

JoAnne White

JoAnne graduated from Cal State Northridge with a Bachelor’s Degree in Child Development and Secondary Health Teaching Credential.  She is certified in Oregon to teach secondary Health and multiple subjects at the middle school level.  She taught Health and Life Skills in the Los Angeles School District for three years and the private sector for two years.  While teaching in Los Angeles, JoAnne also facilitated Impact Gang groups and Tobacco Use and Prevention groups with her students.

JoAnne relocated to Bend in 2007.  During her free time, she enjoys spending time with her husband and two children.  She enjoys the outdoors, karate, and running.

Learning Center / Faculty / Services / Course Information
Schedule / Service Learning / Summer School