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.
Sprague High School principal stepping down
Craig Swanson (Courtesy/Salem-Keizer School District) Sprague High School Principal Craig Swanson is stepping down weeks before a new school year to take a job as principal at Lebanon High School. “You all have helped build one of the best high…
Salem Elks partner with EasterSeals to help homeless veterans transition to housing
Trenton Allinson, left, who helps house veterans for EasterSeals Oregon in Salem, buys raffle tickets from Salem Elks Lodge #336 President Blake Whitson (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) Edie Higgins has a talent for conjuring kitchen supplies out of thin air. In…
PHOTOS: 2019 summer graduation at West Salem High School
In many school districts, seniors who don’t finish their diplomas by June don’t get to walk with their classmates. But Salem-Keizer holds a small summer graduation in August to acknowledge the students who made up credits during summer school to…
Salem-Keizer celebrates graduation for seniors finishing diplomas in summer school
Devon Bunselmeyer talks with case manager Jamee Calentine before summer school graduation on Aug. 1, 2019 at West Salem High School (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) Devon Bunselmeyer wasn’t on anyone’s list of potential summer graduates. The Sprague High School student failed…
After financial turnaround, Salem-Keizer Education Foundation announces Kelly Carlisle as new director
Kelly Carlisle will lead the Salem-Keizer Education Foundation after a decade at the Salem-Keizer School District (Courtesy/Salem-Keizer Education Foundation) After a tumultuous year to get its finances on track, the Salem-Keizer Education Foundation board announced Friday the hiring of Kelly…
Sexually transmitted diseases on the rise in Marion County
Marion County health officials are promoting STD testing in light of rising local infection rates. (Courtesy/Marion County Health Department) Marion County health officials are urging people to get tested for sexually transmitted diseases to fight a five-year rise in local…
Oregon wants to give you $25 to open a college savings account for your kindergartener
Bailee Moore, center, and classmates work on a computer math exercise in Becky Montgomery’s second grade class at Highland Elementary School in Salem Wednesday March 13, 2019. (Fred Joe/Special to Salem Reporter) Have a kindergartener in your life? Oregon wants to…
Hats, shorter shorts, yoga pants, ripped jeans allowed under new Salem-Keizer dress code
The new Salem-Keizer School District dress code, released July 31, 2019. Salem-Keizer students can wear hats, tank tops, leggings, yoga pants and ripped jeans under a new districtwide dress code released Wednesday. The change comes after a group of female…
Salem police sergeant will oversee Salem-Keizer risk management
Cliff Carpentier (Photo courtesy/Salem-Keizer Public Schools) Longtime Salem Police Sgt. Cliff Carpentier loved being a school resource officer nearly 15 years ago. That experience led him to seek a job as director of Salem-Keizer School District’s security and risk management…
Salem’s United Way looks to tiny homes as market-rate affordable housing
A United Way visitor tours a demonstration tiny home in the organization’s parking lot on July 17, 2019 (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) Ron Hays, chief executive officer of United Way of the Mid-Willamette Valley, has had a phrase follow him through…