Tag LOCAL SCHOOLS
High schoolers are failing fewer classes this year, but still struggle adjusting from online school
A science classroom in at McKay High School (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) When the end of lunch bell rings at McKay High School, Ranae Quiring starts making the rounds. The principal of Salem’s largest high school said she usually has a few tables of students who…
Salem’s first electric school bus is on the road
Bus driver Chris Mitzel demonstrates the controls on the Salem-Keizer School District’s first electric school bus at the district bus lot on Feb. 21, 2022 (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) Bus #427 has a control panel nearly identical to its neighbors in the Salem-Keizer School District’s transportation…
School board directors join protesters at rally against school mask mandates
Protesters line Commercial St. during a Feb. 18 rally against school mask mandates. (Joey Cappelletti/Keizertimes) Over 200 people gathered outside Salem-Keizer School District’s Student Services Center Friday morning to protest mask requirements in the district’s schools. Many of the “Rally for Our Students” protesters stood…
Fourth graders render Salem-Keizer school board in colorful portraits
Fourth grade students at Chapman Hill Elementary School in Salem drew portraits of the district’s school board directors for School Board Appreciation Month in 2022. Members of the Salem-Keizer School Board got a special treat recently – a portrait hand-drawn by local fourth grade students.…
Volunteers help Salem educators de-stress with personal pies
Irma Dowd, left, an Auburn Elementary parent and city of Salem worker, delivers pies to the school’s community outreach coordinator, Yuri Coronado, on Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2022 (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) Elisa Evert thought some fresh cookies might help her coworkers at Swegle Elementary School feel…
As Oregon moves to local control on school masks, Salem parents and educators rally against mandates
As an elementary school principal in south Salem, Beth Freeborn said she saw masks get in the way of children learning. Students who came back to Battle Creek Elementary School this fall were stressed and struggled to regulate their emotions or recognize how their peers…
Salem students are glad to be back in school. That doesn’t mean it’s easy.
Miriam Cruz Bravo, student body president at Early College High School poses for a photo on Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2022. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) Salem’s high schoolers have a few things they’d like you to know. They’re glad to be at school in person and able…
As Salem schools seek emergency subs, some experienced teachers struggle to get into classroom
Anne Haskell knew she wanted to substitute teach after she retired in June 2021. She’s been teaching in the Salem-Keizer School District since she graduated college in 1982, most recently spending a decade at Cummings Elementary in Keizer. Subbing would allow her to keep covering…
Substitute needs more than double as Salem-Keizer struggles to fill teacher, bus driver absences
A kindergarten student arrives by bus at Richmond Elementary. Driver and educator shortages are making operating local schools a daily challenge. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) Local schools are short hundreds of teachers and classroom assistants daily, with educators forgoing training, preparation time and administrative tasks just…