Not every student grows up expecting to graduate from high school. Take Jenneffer Martinez. At age 14, she became pregnant and dropped out of school. It wasn't until her daughter was a little older when Martinez decided she needed to set an example and finish earning her diploma. Now 18, Martinez will be the first person in herContinue reading "Salem-Keizer students beat the odds, honored at special ceremonies"

About half of Salem-Keizer's special needs students are not graduating on time. The district's nearly 6,750 students with Individualized Education Programs — a designation to access special services — have a four-year graduation rate of 49.9 percent. The state target is 78 percent. Other Oregon school districts perform much better. For example, West Linn-Wilsonville and Woodburn school districts are onlyContinue reading "50 percent of Salem-Keizer special education students don’t graduate"

The decision was made — Claudia Campos and her eight-year-old son Jimmy would stay at Simonka Place women's shelter in Keizer. Her husband, Oscar, and their 14-year-old son AJ would sleep on the streets. The Campos family had been homeless for over a month, but they'd been able to keep the children from sleeping outside until JulyContinue reading "Homeless family fights to keep son off streets at night"

Originally published 12:42 p.m. PT March 1, 2018 | Updated 2:35 p.m. PT March 2, 2018 For Salem school psychologist Chris Moore, it isn't uncommon to see a student come to school, settle into a routine and then, without warning, go into crisis. Maybe the student punches another kid in the face, flips over a desk and curses at theContinue reading "Student mental health crisis spurs Oregon to try in-school programs"

Originally published 11:29 p.m. PT Feb. 24, 2018 | Updated 10:04 a.m. PT Feb. 26, 2018 The youth of America are sending a very loud message — grownups are not doing their job. From Parkland, Florida, to Washington, D.C., to Salem, Oregon, teenagers are speaking against gun violence in a way only they can. This value-basedContinue reading "Analysis: How teens are driving Florida shooting debate"

Story by Natalie Pate and Abby Luschei | Read the original at http://www.StatesmanJournal.com More than 3,000 people — three times the anticipated crowd — marched from Oregon's Capitol into the streets of downtown Salem Saturday morning, demanding stricter gun laws. “Hey, hey, ho, ho — the NRA has got to go,” participants chanted. “No more silence; end gunContinue reading "Thousands raise voices for gun reform during March for Our Lives at Oregon Capitol"

After attending Howard Street Charter School for eighth grade, Andrea Hogan was supposed to move on to Sprague High School. But with her younger sister still at Howard Street, her family, instead, decided to transfer Hogan to South Salem, which houses the charter school. There were other benefits as well. Hogan, now 23, wanted to take part inContinue reading "6,750 Salem-Keizer students transfer schools, but not for sports"

Story by Natalie Pate, Lauren Hernandez, Connor Radnovich and Anna Reed | Read the original at http://www.StatesmanJournal.com At 10 a.m. Wednesday, thousands of Salem-Keizer students walked out of class to protest gun violence, calling on state and national leaders to bring change soon. They demonstrated for 17 minutes — one minute for every life lost inContinue reading "Salem-Keizer students join national walkouts over gun violence"

As a doctor, Elizabeth Steiner Hayward worries about her responsibilities as a mandatory reporter. Say a 17-year-old comes into her office and asks, "Doctor, my boyfriend and I have been together for a year and a half, we're thinking about having sex, can we please talk about how we stay safe?" Since Steiner Hayward is mandatedContinue reading "Will all mandatory reporters in Oregon follow Salem-Keizer’s teen sex reporting rules?"

EUGENE — In many ways, Javon Robbins is a typical teen. He loves Harry Potter and fidget spinners. He counts his steps on his Fit Bit. He brought his pet tree frog, Norm, to show-and-tell. But Javon, 13, has been in more than six schools since he started kindergarten — and there have always been problems. DiagnosedContinue reading "An invisible problem: One student’s struggle with mental health"