Superintendent Andrea Castañeda said Tuesday that the Salem-Keizer School District has made progress towards “almost every important indicator of student growth and health” in the last year. 

The second annual State of the District event on Tuesday, Feb. 24, gave people an overview of the district’s progress toward school board goals, efforts to improve literacy instruction, curriculum updates and more. 

“Our growth is slow, but it is comprehensive,” Castañeda said.

She would choose comprehensive growth over “intermittent and unreliable” growth “because it means that our staff and our leaders are doing thoughtful, broad work to move the system forward,” she said. 

The school board’s current goals aim to improve literacy among third graders, students’ sense of belonging in schools, student attendance, the percentage of high school freshmen on track to graduate and four-year graduation rates.

The district didn’t meet targets for third-grade literacy, with only 25% of students testing proficiently last year. Students tested approximately one percentage point higher than the previous year, and the rate remains roughly three percentage points below the district’s annual target. 

The state rate for third graders was 40%. 

Castañeda acknowledged the low percentage, saying “a quarter is not enough.”

“But to people who say that we are not successful, I urge you to think about our progress,” Castañeda said. “Because great work always starts somewhere.”

Reading test scores sank across grade levels after the pandemic, and slightly decreased each year until last school year. Third grade students in five elementaries in Keizer made gains last year.

In January, the district closed schools for two days to train nearly 2,000 staff members in literacy instruction.

Staff from Liberty Elementary School spoke on changes made at the school, including implementing time dedicated to foundational skills, using data to identify students needing more support and ensuring curriculum is consistent across classrooms.

In another presentation, Claggett Creek Middle School Principal Robin Buckingham and Vice Principal Tamika Hampton said their school is also ensuring grade-level curriculum is consistently implemented across classrooms. Previously, teachers individually developed lesson plans. 

Erik Jespersen, district director of curriculum and instruction, said the district is half way through a five-year effort updating core curriculum across the district. He said the district has adopted new materials for middle schools, and this spring will select new materials for next school year’s elementary literacy instruction and high school math. 

A pamphlet distributed at the event said the district met the annual target for sense of belonging in secondary schools, with a rate of 36% last year. It did not specify the target. 

The pamphlet reported targets met for freshmen on track to graduate, at 84.6% last year, and attendance. Approximately 57% of students regularly attended school last year, which is one percentage point more than the previous year.  

“That is good, but there is still a lot of work to do,” Castañeda said.

The pamphlet said the district didn’t meet annual targets for four-year graduation rates last year, which was consistent with the prior year at roughly 80%, or sense of belonging in elementary schools, reported at 58% last year. 

The event also highlighted the district’s efforts supporting students with behavioral health needs. This included last fall’s implementation of rapid response teams for some of the district’s “most complex needs,” according to Chris Moore, district director of mental health and social-emotional learning.

He said there were 35 deployments across 31 schools this year. 

Moore also noted the recent opening of the Behavioral Health Center at Straub Middle School. 

Near the end of the evening, Castañeda addressed community concerns related to federal immigration enforcement activity, speaking in both English and Spanish. 

“As a school district, we have been absolutely clear. Every student is welcomed, protected, respected and educated every day, no exceptions,” Castañeda said. “And we cannot let tonight’s event go by without recognizing the true fear and pain and trauma the immigration enforcement is having on our children and their families.”

Carlos Ruiz, principal at West Salem High School, added in English and Spanish that students are coming to school with “deep empathy, compassion, care and willingness to take action in supporting one another.” 

“What I want everyone to know is that every student that comes through our doors deserves to be there and belongs,” Ruiz said. “As school leaders our priority is the safety of our students and creating great conditions for teaching and learning.”

NEWS TIP? Contact reporter Krista Kroiss at [email protected].

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