Category SCHOOLS
With smaller ceremonies and more sanitizer, graduation will go ahead for Salem-Keizer’s Class of 2020
McKay High School 2019 summer graduates wait in the West Salem High School lunchroom before the ceremony (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) Salem-Keizer’s high schools will host dozens of small in-person graduation ceremonies in August, recognizing the Class of 2020 while following health guidelines limiting the size…
Salem-Keizer students report little social contact or academic challenge during two months of distance learning
Judson Middle School students in a seventh grade language arts on Oct. 30, 2018. (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) Thousands of Salem-Keizer students struggled with a hasty switch to remote classes this spring, with most saying classes weren’t academically challenging and fewer than half reporting an adult…
Thousands call on school board directors to resign as Salem-Keizer leaders discuss police in schools
The 2019 Salem-Keizer School Board (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) Salem-Keizer school board members spent much of a four-hour public meeting Tuesday night explaining they want to listen to the community about the future of police in local schools, but devoted only one hour to hearing community…
Superintendent Christy Perry rebukes school board over “discounting” experiences of students of color
Superintendent Christy Perry publicly rebuked her supervisors – the elected Salem-Keizer School Board – during a Tuesday meeting, saying she can no longer ask thousands of district employees to fight against racism without sharing how board members have discounted the experiences of students of color…
Board director, community leaders call on Salem-Keizer school board chair Marty Heyen to step down
A screenshot of the Salem-Keizer School Board’s March 30 meeting shows board member Paul Kyllo, top center, holding a mask of former Portland Trailblazers player Cliff Robinson over his face. A school board member and others in the community calling for Salem-Keizer’s school board chair…
For 50 years, police have patrolled schools in Salem. Now, some say it’s time for a new approach.
A 50-year-old program of police in Salem-Keizer schools has become a flashpoint in local discussions about racial justice as activists who have long pushed for changes to school discipline say people in power can no longer ignore them. A petition organized by youth group Latinos…
Should police stay in Salem-Keizer schools? Here’s what local citizens are saying.
Dozens of students, parents, teachers and graduates are weighing in on police in schools as leaders from the Salem-Keizer School District plan for summer community forums to discuss the future of contracts with local law enforcement agencies. A virtual June 9 school board meeting, where…
As athletes prepare for summer training, Salem high school sports plan unsettled
Players from the Sprague Little League team celebrate Saturday as they win the Northwest regional Little League tournament. (Photo courtesy Traci McHenry) A picture has started to emerge of what school might look like when classes return in the fall, but there’s still a large…
Salem-Keizer schools grapple with transportation, clubs, childcare as they plan for fall reopening
Seen through a sliding glass door, Noah Hall, wife Jessica and children Evan, 6, and Ruby, 2, sit at the kitchen table of their Salem home on Wednesday, April 23. The Halls are both elementary school teachers who are currently teaching classes from phone via…