Category SCHOOLS

The Salem-Keizer School Board is seeking comments about a plan to change school boundaries that would affect thousands of students and families. The new boundaries, together with ongoing school construction, are designed to address overcrowding based on population projections and would take effect next school…

Jessica Zamarron helps students with a math assignment in a bilingual Swegle Elementary School classroom. (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) Jessica Zamarron was inspired by her first-grade teacher at Swegle Elementary. Seeing Karina Rodriguez, another bilingual Latina, in front of the classroom, Zamarron knew her teacher had…

The Salem-Keizer School District is going to court to force a Keizer church to sell its land. At issue are about six acres of bare land owned by St. Edward Catholic Church that district leaders say they need to expand the campus of the adjacent…

Bus driver John Svendsen stands outside the white van he drives. His four-hour route transports six homeless students from schools in Dallas, Monmouth and Independence to Salem. (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) John Svendsen’s bus route is unusually quiet. The veteran Salem-Keizer School District driver starts his…

Salem-Keizer Superintendent Christy Perry (Moriah Ratner/Special to Salem Reporter) With one dissenting vote, the Salem-Keizer School Board on Tuesday approved a three-year contract extension for Superintendent Christy Perry. Perry, who has been superintendent since 2016, will earn $239,126 this year and $248,691 for the 2019-20…

Proposed elementary school boundaries under the most recent Salem-Keizer School District proposal. (Courtesy/Salem-Keizer School District) After months of discussion, the Salem-Keizer School District is nearing a final plan to shift the boundaries of dozens of local schools. That plan would leave schools in Keizer and…

Olga Cobb, Salem-Keizer director of elementary education, explains proposed boundary changes to parents at Four Corners Elementary School on Dec. 4, 2018. (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) Parents are concerned a Salem-Keizer School District proposal to ease high school overcrowding by shifting some students to different schools…

Proposed changes to Salem-Keizer high school boundaries are being reviewed. (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) A group of community volunteers and Salem-Keizer School District staff wants to hear from the community before finishing a proposal that would shift thousands of local students to new schools. Four community…

North Salem High School is among the first schools slated for significant renovations starting in the summer of 2019. (Special to Salem Reporter/Moriah Ratner) No dirt has moved yet, but behind the scenes, the Salem-Keizer School District is hiring staff, buying land and lining up its first…