Alternative 1, the new Salem-Keizer School Board zone map adopted on Dec. 14, 2021. A split Salem-Keizer School Board Tuesday night voted to adopt a redistricting map which makes minor adjustments to the current zones used in school board elections. In a 4-3 vote, board Chair Osvaldo Avila, Vice Chair[Read More…]
SCHOOLS
Salem-Keizer sues construction firm over fire damages at Waldo Middle School
Fire damage at Waldo Middle School following the April 29, 2020 fire (Courtesy/Crime Stoppers of Oregon) The Salem-Keizer School District is suing a construction contractor alleging that their failure to secure a construction site at Waldo Middle School allowed an arsonist to set fire to materials at the building and[Read More…]
Salem-Keizer board set to vote on redistricting maps
The Salem-Keizer School Board on Tuesday is scheduled to vote on a new map determining which board director represents which part of the district. The decision between two proposed maps could cut short the term of the board’s vice chair, Ashley Carson Cottingham, who would no longer live in the[Read More…]
Salem-Keizer pilots Covid surveillance testing at 8 elementary schools
A Covid-19 test swab is packaged up to be tested (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) Students at eight Salem elementary schools will have the option to be tested weekly for Covid starting after winter break. The free testing program is a pilot intended to monitor Covid spread and detect cases early in[Read More…]
S-K school board director, county commissioner considers removing children from district
School board director Danielle Bethell poses with a portrait drawn by a student at a Jan. 14, 2020 school board meeting (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) Danielle Bethell, a parent of two Salem-Keizer students, took to Facebook on Nov. 23 to ask for help from her followers. “In search of middle school/high[Read More…]
School board weighs new zones to balance population
Current Salem-Keizer School Board zones, adopted in 2011. Some Salem residents will soon be represented by a new school board member as the board weighs changes to the maps used for board elections. At a Tuesday work session, the board will look at three possible new maps dividing the Salem-Keizer[Read More…]
Juan Fernandez wants to make sure every Sprague student feels welcome at school
Juan Fernandez, community school outreach coordinator at Sprague High School, stands outside of the school on Friday, Nov. 5, 2021. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) When Juan Fernandez’s family moved to west Salem midway through school, the teen knew he wanted to stay enrolled at North Salem High School. “They didn’t provide[Read More…]
Time capsule opening recalls life at Leslie Junior High 50 years ago
Dale Blanchard, center, a Leslie Middle School seventh grade student in 1971, unloads a time capsule from 1971 that he and his classmates created at Leslie Middle School on Friday, Nov. 5, 2021. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) It was easy to ignore the fading metal plaque hanging on the wall just[Read More…]
Supply challenges delay HVAC improvements at Salem schools
New HVAC ducts in the CTE building at McKay High School on Friday, Oct. 8, 2021. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) A hot market for heating and ventilation equipment is proving challenging for local schools. Salem-Keizer School District officials have tweaked ventilation settings and added new air filters to schools, but so[Read More…]
Details surrounding deaths at Chemawa brought to light by local researchers
Freddie Lane, a citizen of the Lummi Nation and tour manager for the Red Road to DC journey, bows his head in prayer during a ceremony paying respects to children buried at Chemawa Cemetery on Friday, May 14, 2021 (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) Over 270 Native children from across the Pacific[Read More…]