Category Schools
Agriscience program teaches urban farming, plant biotechnology to high schoolers
Agriscience teacher Luis Valenzuela shows the aeroponic towers where students will grow plants at Salem-Keizer’s Career Technical Education Center. (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) Running an agriculture program with no soil is a challenge, but Luis Valenzuela is up to the task. Valenzuela teaches agriscience at Salem-Keizer’s…
School attendance push enters second year in Salem-Keizer
Emily Hicks, communications coordinator for the Salem-Keizer School District, talks about the importance of attendance with a student at Mary Eyre Elementary School on Sept. 3, 2019 (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) A giant stuffed eagle sporting a school t-shirt sits on top of a bookshelf in…
Salem-Keizer offering incentives to recruit, retain bus drivers
Salem-Keizer bus driver Alan Booth checks his bus’ emergency exits before setting off to pick up his first student on a November morning in 2018. (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) Salem-Keizer bus drivers will earn extra stipends during their first year on the job under a new…
Gubser Elementary students show off new cafeteria, classrooms
Gubser students Asher Tompkins, left, Kaili Garcia and Jacob Garcia cut a ribbon in the new school cafeteria on Aug. 29, 2019. (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) Angel Carter is used to cleaning milk off student’s chairs. Until this year, it was part of the job for…
One week before school starts, Schirle Elementary gets new principal
Kelsey Daniels (Courtesy/Salem-Keizer School District) Schirle Elementary School is getting a new principal this year after a few last minute shuffles among Salem-Keizer administrators. Former principal Clinton Gertenrich is moving to Sprague High School to work as assistant principal and athletic director, the district announced…
Five benchmarks to help your kid succeed in school this year
A Highland Elementary School student races off the school bus on Friday, Sept. 7, 2018. (Moriah Ratner) Thousands of Salem-Keizer kids head back to school next week, trading summer camps or afternoons at the park for backpacks and pencils. Parents have many options to learn…
Early McNary renovations aimed at improving Keizer traffic as students arrive at school
Workers re-roof the McNary High School gym on Aug. 23, 2019 (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) Even with the school under construction, traffic around McNary High School should be better this fall. That’s Principal Erik Jespersen’s prediction after crews put in a temporary gravel parking lot for…
North Salem under construction as students head back to school
North Salem High School Principal Sara LeRoy walks through the school’s construction zone on Aug. 23, 2019 (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) North Salem High School students and staff are in for changes as they start school in an active construction zone. A $70 million campus renovation…
With expansion, Waldo Middle School will get rid of portable classrooms and add labs for science
Students celebrate at a groundbreaking ceremony for construction at Waldo Middle School on Aug. 15, 2019 (Courtesy/Salem-Keizer School District) When Waldo Middle School was built in 1957, the school cafeteria was designed to hold 227 students. Today, that population has ballooned to more than 1,000,…