Rachel Alexander
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.
Polk County leaders press for more preschool as a crime prevention move
Polk County Sheriff Mark Garton, left, District Attorney Aaron Felton, Independence Police Chief Robert Mason and Monmouth Police Chief Darrell Tallan read to preschool students at the Oregon Child Development Coalition in Independence (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) Polk County law enforcement…
Salem school one of most rapidly improving in Oregon, driving up scores with innovation, focus
Scott Stenlund, Washington Elementary School principal (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) Washington Elementary School has countered disappointing student test performance across Salem schools, nearly tripling in the past two years the percentage of students on track in math with similar gains in…
Meet the Salem-Keizer educators honored with 2019 Crystal Apple awards
2019 Crystal Apple Award winners pose at the Elsinore Theatre (Courtesy/Salem-Keizer School District) On Thursday night, 12 Salem-Keizer teachers, office workers, bus drivers and more went home with the coveted Crystal Apple Award from the Salem-Keizer Education Foundation. The award…
NORPAC closing Salem plant, laying off 900 workers
Corn being processed at a NORPAC plant (Courtesy/Oregon Department of Agriculture) More than 900 workers in Marion County will be left without a job come January, after farmer’s cooperative NORPAC sent a layoff notice to employees of the Salem plant…
Chavez counselor brings deep compassion – and a gecko – to help struggling kids
Chavez Elementary counselor Crystal Armstrong leads a lesson in a first-grade class about the parts of the brain. (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) Parents, students and colleagues nominated 53 local educators for Crystal Apple Awards this year. The award, given annually by the Salem-Keizer…
Schirle PE teachers use cowbells, ugly sweaters, disco alter-egos to inspire
Christi Kurtz, a Schirle Elementary PE teacher, cheers a student on with cowbells during a jogging lesson on Nov. 7, 2019 (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) Parents, students and colleagues nominated 53 local educators for Crystal Apple Awards this year. The award, given annually…
Oregon now lets you turn empty bottles and cans into college savings
Chuck Zobrist sorts empty bottles and cans dropped off by a neighbor to redeem for charity. (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) Empty bottles and cans are the latest way for Oregonians to save for college. A new partnership between BottleDrop and the…
Salem teen parents honor bus driver for inspiring them to graduate
Bus driver Terry Woods holds one-year-old Kash Bledsoe, one of his regular bus riders, at Salem-Keizer’s Teen Parent Program (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) Parents, students and colleagues nominated 53 local educators for Crystal Apple Awards this year. The award, given annually…
AGENDA: Salem-Keizer board will appoint budget committee members
The 2019-20 Salem-Keizer School Board (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) Salem-Keizer school board members will fill two vacancies on the district’s budget committee at their meeting Tuesday night, picking from among 15 people who have applied for the volunteer role. Committee members…
Thousands more Oregon kids can attend free preschool next fall
Preschool students play in a Salem-Keizer classroom at the East Salem Community Center on Oct. 22, 2019 (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) Oregon will spend millions of dollars to allow thousands more kids to attend preschool next fall, including tripling the size…