Rachel Alexander

Mental health, behavior and elementary reading top spending priorities for Salem-Keizer

Salem’s school system would add 240 full-time employees, lengthen the middle school day and spend more than $3 million to create more after school programs and eliminate fees to improve local education under a plan being advanced by Salem-Keizer School District administrators. District administrators will present their spending plan at[Read More…]

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New south Salem clinic aims to be neighborhood doctor’s office

Physician assistant Christine Rue, left, doctors Paula Spencer and Rashanda Brown, and physician assistant Alyssa Schmidt, front, are the staff of the new South Salem Primary Care clinic (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) When two of Salem’s largest medical providers merged last fall, a handful of local doctors decided on a change[Read More…]

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After losing close friend to suicide, Willamette senior works to get young men to seek help

Willamette University senior Brendan McGonigle wants to encourage more young men to talk about mental health (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) When Brendan McGonigle was a freshman at Willamette University, he lost a childhood friend to suicide. The event spurred McGonigle, now a senior exercise and health science major, to do more[Read More…]

McNary Font Club debuts original musical in quest to remove Comic Sans from school buses

Senior Julia DaSilva, playing Comic Sans, attacks sophomore Ian Madsen, playing Times New Roman, during a Font Club rehearsal (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) If you’re looking to surprise, confuse or engage in a strong debate about the much-maligned Comic Sans font with your Valentine’s Day date, the McNary High School Font[Read More…]

Better math curriculum, bilingual support and school counselors part of early plan for new school funding

Salem-Keizer administrators plan to revamp the school district’s programs for teaching English to non-native speakers, add more social workers and counselors in schools and improve middle and high school math programs as part of their plan for spending $35 million in new state funding expected in the fall. The public[Read More…]

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School board to hear long-awaited plan for $35 million in new state funding

The 2019-20 Salem-Keizer School Board (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) Salem-Keizer school board members and the public will get a first look Tuesday night at priorities for spending millions in new state money to close educational gaps in the district. Community volunteers Adriana Miranda, executive director of Causa, and Reginald Richardson, vice[Read More…]