Category SCHOOLS

Salem-Keizer administrators plan to revamp the school district’s programs for teaching English to non-native speakers, add more social workers and counselors in schools and improve middle and high school math programs as part of their plan for spending $35 million in new state funding expected…

Eliandra Yatilman, a fourth grader at Auburn Elementary School, and Dale Dela Cruz, a North Salem High School senior, sing “Lava” at the Auburn Islander Club’s first family night on Feb. 6, 2020 (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) When Kimo Lewis attended Auburn Elementary School, there were…

Rachael Lang, an 8th grade student at Whiteaker Middle School, recently won a national poetry contest (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) Whiteaker Middle School eighth-grader Rachael Lang hadn’t heard of the Kent State massacre until two of her teachers covered it in class this year. But when…

Hallman students gather during the school’s morning assembly. (Fred Joe/Special to Salem Reporter) As the Salem-Keizer School District weighs how to spend millions of dollars in new state money, teachers are pushing to shrink class sizes. That’s put teachers at odds with a volunteer task…

Sprague High School was tagged with swastikas, racist slurs and homophobic graffiti overnight, prompting an investigation into a possible hate crime from Salem police. District security discovered the graffiti overnight during a regular patrol around 4 a.m. Monday and alerted maintenance staff, district spokeswoman Lillian…

Dwight Roberson negotiates snack food options for the McKay High School Black Student Union meeting with junior Leanette Mabinton (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) Dwight Roberson walked the halls of McKay High School carrying a tablet and wearing a drawstring backpack. It was the first week of…

Ruth Langmoir, an August 2019 McKay High School graduate, gets a hug from graduation coach Ken Ramirez after earning her diploma. (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) The percentage of Salem-Keizer students earning a high school diploma climbed again last year, marking a steady increase from five years…

Students get off the bus for the first day of school at Bush Elementary. (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) Salem-Keizer students improve their reading and math more than most U.S. students over the course of their education, according to a nationwide study by Stanford University. But they…

Highland Elementary fifth-grader Emma Donecker, center, shows off new Dungeons and Dragons manuals for the school’s roleplaying game club, now in its second year (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) Last school year Emma Donecker and Aly Mason fought a dragon, talked to a moon goddess, adopted a…