School buses parked in the Salem-Keizer School District lot on Hawthorne Avenue (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) Hoping to curb a persistent bus driver shortage, the Salem-Keizer School District is raising pay for drivers and other transportation workers. Starting bus drivers will now earn $17.47 hourly, up from a previous wage of[Read More…]
Rachel Alexander
Here’s everything Salem-Keizer plans to do with an extra $35 million
Students get off the bus for the first day of school at Bush Elementary, Sept. 4, 2019. (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) Salem-Keizer administrators want to help thousands of kids do better in school with more than two dozen changes to district programs affecting everything from math class to yellow buses. The[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…]
Uncategorized 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…]
Uncategorized Miller students get creative with art and history inspired field trip
David Wilson, gallery manager for the Salem Art Association, talks with Miller Elementary School fourth-graders about a painting by Salem artist John Oberdorf on a class field trip. (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) Laurie Hoverson’s fourth-grade students relish any chance to do art. But a Friday field trip to the Salem Art[Read More…]
Pacific Islander high schoolers mentor Auburn Elementary students with ukelele and dance
Eliandra Yatilman, a fourth grader at Auburn Elementary School, and Dale Dela Cruz, a North Salem High School senior, sing “Lava” at the Auburn Islander Club’s first family night on Feb. 6, 2020 (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) When Kimo Lewis attended Auburn Elementary School, there were a lot of Pacific Islanders,[Read More…]
Uncategorized North Salem senior wins laptop to help on her quest for higher education
Myrka Morales Romero poses with mentor Amanda Stubblefield Jan. 31, 2020 in the North Salem High School library after winning a Chromebook from Google and Best Buy (Courtesy/Amanda Stubblefield) When Myrka Morales Romero was called to the North Salem High School library in the middle of class, she assumed she[Read More…]
Uncategorized Rotary Club of Salem celebrates 100th birthday with ambitious park project
Gerry Frank, 96, acknowledges a standing ovation at the Rotary Club of Salem’s 100th birthday celebration on Feb. 5, 2020 (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) Gerry Frank proudly sports his button labeled #1, marking him the longest-standing current member of the Rotary Club of Salem. Now 96, Frank joined the club in[Read More…]
Uncategorized After a facelift, Oregon’s 1857 constitution on display at Capitol
Mary Beth Herkert holds the 1857 Oregon Constitution in the Oregon Capitol galleria on Monday, Feb. 3, 2020 (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) Mary Beth Herkert starts her day walking down Summer Street carrying an unremarkable bag at her side. Inside is perhaps the most important document in Oregon: the original 1857[Read More…]
