Salem-Keizer Public Schools

Each and every day, members of our custodial teams work from dawn to dusk to ensure our facilities, including each of our 65 schools are safe, clean, healthy and prepared to serve more than 38,000 students and 5,000 staff. 🧹 ❤️ Thank you to all of our SKPS custodians! 👍 #NationalCustodianDay #WeAreSalemKeizer #SomosSalemKeizer

🎉 Congratulations to David Jorgenson in our transportation department for receiving the prestigious Ron Bryan President’s Award from the Oregon Pupil Transportation Association! 🚌 David has made a lasting impact on student transportation in our district and across Oregon. His leadership has improved safety and accessibility for students statewide. We are incredibly proud to have David represent Salem-Keizer Public Schools! 👏 #WeAreSalemKeizer #SomosSalemKeizer

✨ Spotlight on Success ✨ We recognized our Migrant Program at this month's school board meeting for having another successful summer school for our students in PreK through 7th grade. We had over 80 staff members support the summer program, with a total of 656 students attending this year! The Migrant Education Program is a federally-supported program, which provides year-round, comprehensive high-quality educational services to children of essential working families who migrate to work in the agricultural, forestry and fishing industries.

Throughout the district, students and families are greeted by many staff members when they enter our schools. At McNary High School, School Office Specialist Meredith Dameron feels a sense of family, community and support for each and every Celtic she interacts with each day.  “The way we engage with and welcome our students is so special,” said Dameron. “Our staff here at McNary is one big family, and we really enjoy welcoming everyone. Together we can build a community where we can really respect each other and have empathy and grace for everyone.” 

👋 Meet Kenny Ramirez from Safety and Risk Management Services, a 2024 Crystal Apple Honoree! 🍎  The best part of Kenny’s job are the connections he gets to make with students and families that last long into the students' adulthood. He said that he has been able to learn so much over the past three years, and this added knowledge has made him better at supporting students in our community. A student in support of this nominee wrote, “he reminds me of a second chance - he motivates me to believe I can have a second chance.” We have enjoyed introducing our community to our 2024 Crystal Apple honorees and have loved reading all of your kind words about them. ☺️

“We tried to connect the academic with the fun topic where it was possible,” said Choir and Leadership Teacher Danika Locey. “Our hope is that we can help kids understand that’s what school is, and what life is sometimes – we do a little bit of fun, and a little bit of work.” Leslie Middle School Office Manager Cecilia Perez and Choir and Leadership Teacher Danika Locey were the duo that brought a small idea into an impactful opportunity for their students and colleagues through the Leslie Middle School Lion Camp. Together, they helped prepare both incoming sixth-grade and Leslie staff for the upcoming school year. Read the full story on our district website:

👋 Meet Amanda Starkey from North Salem High School, a 2024 Crystal Apple Honoree! 🍎  When you walk into Amanda’s classroom, many noted that you can’t help but feel welcomed and accepted! Amanda said that she “learns so much more from my students than you could ever imagine, their life stories, their tenacity, their grit...they make me a better person every day for knowing them.” Come back each week this summer as we introduce our community to our 2024 Crystal Apple honorees.

Nearly 600 licensed staff came together last week to participate in the 2024 August Institute! 📚 This three-day institute featured more than 20 different sessions designed to kick off the school year, inspiring, equipping and celebrating excellence in education. 👏 “Having this time to come and collaborate together is really nice,” said Rachel Mitchell an eighth-grade math teacher at Judson Middle School. “We very rarely get to sit down and talk about: are we all grading the same way, are we all doing retakes the same way, are we assessing the same way? Having that unity across our team is really important. It’s good for us and it’s good for our students as well.“ 🌟

👋 Meet Lisa Olson from Chapman Hill Elementary, a 2024 Crystal Apple Honoree! 🍎  Lisa said that the staff at Chapman Hill want students to know it’s okay to make mistakes at school because it's part of the learning process. They also remind them that they can do hard things and the staff believe in them! “I had parents and teachers who poured into me, believed in me and never gave up on me. Now, on a day to-day basis, I have the great privilege and honor to give back, by pouring into students,” Lisa said. Come back each week this summer as we introduce our community to our 2024 Crystal Apple honorees.

👋 Meet Max Price from South Salem High School, a 2024 Crystal Apple Honoree! 🍎  Outside of his official titles as teacher and baseball coach, Max’s impact is often more accurately described as being a community leader, advocate and culture-shaper. Max is most proud of how the students at South Salem High School respond to difficult times with resilience and perseverance. He admires their ability to navigate adversity and maintain a positive attitude, demonstrating resilience and strength of character! Max made it to the Crystal Apple Awards ceremony just in time after leading the Saxons to a win in the second round of the state playoffs.⚾ Come back each week this summer as we introduce our community to our 2024 Crystal Apple honorees.