Category Schools

Oregon Head Start calls on Gov. Kotek to reallocate nearly $10M in lost funding
State lawmakers cut roughly $35 million from preschool and early childhood programs in the 2025-27 budget because of projected declines in corporate tax revenue.

Salem Reporter to host Town Hall on student reading crisis in local schools
A free, moderated discussion on Thursday, Feb. 5, at the Elsinore Theatre will feature a panel of local experts explaining how student literacy became a crisis and what we can do in Salem.
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School walk coordinator claims local government fired her for wearing Ruby Bridges shirt with racial slur
Beth Schmidt, the former Safe Routes to Schools Coordinator for the Salem area, claimed she was fired for wearing a t-shirt depicting a historic American painting of civil rights icon Ruby Bridges as she worked to organize an annual event in Bridges’ honor.

TOP STORIES: Teaching kids to read, Macy’s history, high school firefighters
Managing Editor Rachel Alexander shares her favorite stories from 2025.

Mississippi’s reading turnaround holds lessons for Oregon
Oregon ranks last in the U.S. in fourth grade reading proficiency. Mississippi, a state some Oregonians like to deride as backward, scores at the very top.

Oregon has a student literacy crisis. Is teaching future teachers the way out?
A state push started in 2023 to reform how Oregon colleges train teachers to teach reading has so far produced little change.

Teacher grants support 50 school projects, from jazz band to field trips
Maps Community Foundation representatives surprised local teachers ahead of winter break with a total of $50,000 in grants to fund field trips, classroom supplies and other projects.

Salem-Keizer School District asks teachers to consider lower raise amid budget cuts
School district leaders are asking teachers in Oregon’s second-largest district to consider reducing a planned 3.5% pay increase next year to avoid layoffs.

After nearly two-year lapse, Congress renews Secure Rural Schools funding
The Secure Rural Schools act provides tens of millions each year to schools and communities across the West.
