UPDATED: School board approves new reading curriculum, appoints student advisers
Update Friday, April 17:
The Salem-Keizer School Board unanimously voted to adopt a new reading curriculum Tuesday, April 14, with Director Satya Chandragiri absent. They also adopted new high school math and American Sign Language materials.
Board members voted to adopt the long range facilities plan and have school district leaders engage in a feasibility study for a 2027 school property tax bond measure.
The board also voted unanimously to appoint Jolee McMahan and Alexsander Arredondo Diaz as student advisers for the 2026-27 school year.
Original story below:
The Salem-Keizer School Board is poised to adopt a new curriculum that district officials say would give thousands of students in local elementary schools better lessons on reading beginning next fall.
The board will vote Tuesday, April 14, on using “Into Reading,” a curriculum published by textbook company Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, with materials and lessons in English and Spanish. If the board approves, teachers would begin using the new materials in the fall.
Why it matters: Better curriculum that incorporates phonics is a major part of the district’s push to improve the share of students reading at the level expected for their age. Poor and inconsistent curriculum is a major reason the district has struggled to get most of its students on track with reading, Superintendent Andrea Castañeda said at a Salem Reporter Town Hall on the issue in February.
The cost: About $11 million.
Other new curriculum: The board will also vote on new materials for high school math and American Sign Language courses.
Also on the agenda
Student advisers
The board will vote to appoint student advisers for the 2026-27 school year. Advisers sit on the board, participate in meetings and communicate about board decisions to classmates, but don’t have a vote. Current adviser Jolee McMahan, a junior at South Salem High School, has applied to serve again. Alexsander Arredondo Diaz, a current sophomore at McKay High School, also applied. The board typically appoints two students to the role.
Facilities plan
The board will vote on adopting a facilities plan which recommends the district prioritize work including needed HVAC system improvements, roof replacements and adding air conditioning. The plan also recommends renovations to the Wells Fargo center, which the district purchased to house its alternative education programs and server.
Why it matters: The plan will inform the district’s next request for property-tax funded school improvements. School officials typically seek voter approval for bonds funded by taxes every 10 years to pay for building improvements. Voters last approved a school construction package in 2018.
The plan will also inform school closure, consolidation and boundary decisions as the district grapples with declining enrollment.
Contact Managing Editor Rachel Alexander: [email protected] or 503-575-1241.
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Rachel Alexander is Salem Reporter’s managing editor. She joined Salem Reporter when it was founded in 2018 and covers education, economic development and a little bit of everything else. She’s been a journalist in Oregon and Washington for over a decade and is a past president of Oregon's Society of Professional Journalists chapter. Outside of work, you can often find her gardening or with her nose buried in a book.
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I have heard from a friend who volunteers in a kindergarten class that the children use Chrome books. Could you investigate how much time five year olds are using the computers? Today an NPR show did a segment on some schools ending using Chrome books to teach concepts as the children don’t really grasp the learning and aren’t working with their peers. Thank you, Deb Freels