Leanette Mabinton, 15, testifies at a February 2019 school board meeting, asking the board to wait to approve a school boundary change until they can consider student input. (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) One hour into a February 2019 school board meeting in Salem, tensions were running high as parents and teachers[Read More…]
SCHOOLS
Fall enrollment down 4.5% in Salem-Keizer as more families opt for homeschooling
School buses parked in the Salem-Keizer School District lot on Hawthorne Avenue (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) More than 6,000 Oregon families opted not to enroll their children in public kindergarten this fall, driving a statewide 4% decline in overall public school enrollment compared to 2019. The data, released last week by[Read More…]
Kindergarten, first graders heading back to Salem-Keizer schools March 2
James Gough, an incoming kindergartner at Kalapuya Elementary School, laughs after making a mistake on an assessment test to gauge his alphabet comprehension on Thursday, September 17. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) About 4,400 of Salem’s youngest students will be back in school buildings part-time starting March 2 under a plan district[Read More…]
PHOTOS: High school resumes in-person at Blanchet Catholic School
Freshman Emily Barnett, 15, works on her laptop from a socially distanced seat at Blanchet Catholic School on Thursday, Jan. 28. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) Blanchet Catholic School students were back to in-person classes this week at the start of their second semester, months after the Covid pandemic shuttered schools across[Read More…]
With desks in lunchroom and temperature scanners, Blanchet Catholic students back on campus
A socially-distanced English class taught by teacher Rachel Polzer at Blanchet Catholic School on Thursday, Jan. 28. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) Freshmen now eat lunch in the school gym. Larger classes are held in the lunchroom so desks can be spread further apart. And the office manager’s desk is behind a[Read More…]
With fewer requirements and a disrupted senior year, Class of 2020 posts graduation records in Oregon, Salem
Majida Aryan and other North Salem High School seniors stand during their graduation ceremony on Thursday, August 6. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) Stacie Creighton spent her summer knocking on doors, tracking down North Salem High School seniors. Creighton, an assistant principal at the high school, was on a mission: get more[Read More…]
By the numbers: Salem-Keizer hits 81% graduation rate for 2020
Yasmine Duarte, right, and Jennifer Duarte, left, hold up their sister, Genesis, following her graduation from North Salem High School on Thursday, August 6, 2020. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) The Salem-Keizer School District awarded diplomas to a record 81% of seniors last year, with 2,482 students graduating high school on time.[Read More…]
New state guidelines mean Salem schools need Covid testing on-site to bring kids back
Highland Elementary School Principal Christi Cheever greets students coming in for brief in-person lessons on Oct. 20, 2020 (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) It will be at least a month before any Salem-Keizer students can resume in-person classes – and a new set of state rules released Tuesday means the district must[Read More…]
Salem-Keizer aims for late February to resume kindergarten, first grade in person
Highland Elementary School students enter the school library for brief in-person classes on Oct. 20, 2020 (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) Thousands of kindergarten and first-grade students could be back in Salem classrooms by late February as local schools move forward with Gov. Kate Brown’s loosened in-person instruction rules. But a firm[Read More…]
Path for more Oregon kids in the classroom opens in 2021 as governor makes reopening decisions local
An empty classroom at Stevens Middle School on Aug. 18, 2020 (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) This article was updated at 4:06 p.m. Thousands of Oregon students could be back in school by mid-February after Gov. Kate Brown announced Wednesday that local school districts, not the state, would make decisions about when[Read More…]
