Category Schools

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…

School in the fall will include face masks, smaller classes and online learning for some students
Students get off the bus for the first day of school at Bush Elementary. (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) Salem schools can resume in-person classes in the fall, but students should expect to see smaller classes, bus drivers wearing masks and logs of contacts to aid in…

Hundreds call on Salem-Keizer to end contracts for police in schools
Students organized by Latinos Unidos Siempre urged the new Salem-Keizer School Board to address the mental health needs of immigrant students and stop policies that disproportionately punish students of color at a July 2019 meeting. (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) Hundreds of community leaders, teachers and citizens…

Salem-Keizer Education Foundation to dissolve, transferring many programs to YMCA
The Salem-Keizer Education Foundation is dissolving after almost 40 years serving thousands of students in the Salem area through mentoring programs, youth sports and after-school activities. A near-total loss of revenue over the past three months as local schools have shut their doors proved insurmountable…

Principal Sara LeRoy leaving North Salem High School after large gains in graduation rate
Sara LeRoy, North Salem High School principal (Special to Salem Reporter/Moriah Ratner) For the second time in four years, North Salem High School will start the year with a new principal. Sara LeRoy, a former North teacher who took over as principal in 2017 is…
