By James Day Six months since its opening on the Kennedy High School campus the new welding room already is producing dividends. Fundraising for the facility, which opened at the beginning of the school year, has reached $145,000, said John Gooley, the Mt. Angel Community Foundation vice-president and Withers Lumber executive who led the campaign. The additional funds (the facility […]
The Mount Angel School District sees opportunities to improve student attendance now that the state is tracking regular attendees across all grade levels. According to the state’s At-A-Glance reports, published in October, 62% of all MASD students attended at least 90% of their enrolled classes during the ’22-’23 school year. Specifically regular attendance was at 59% for St. Mary’s Public […]
By James Day Kennedy High and Silverton both have received lofty rankings in the annual ratings of American high schools by U.S. News & World Report. Kennedy came in at No. 26 in the rankings, while Silverton took 41st. The U.S. News high school rankings include data on nearly 25,000 public high schools in 50 states and the District of Columbia. Nearly 18,000 schools were ranked on […]
By Stephen Floyd School officials in Gervais have discussed possibly dissolving their district if a facilities bond fails next year, which could lead to schools in Silverton and Mt. Angel absorbing Gervais students. Bond proposals for the Gervais School District suffered landslide defeats in 2022 and 2023, and the district’s board is considering a third attempt for May of 2024. […]
By Melissa Wagoner When Alicia and Justin Roney learned their son Maverick’s daycare – the TLC Child Development Center located at Trinity Lutheran Church in Mt. Angel – was closing its doors, effective immediately, they panicked. “My husband called the daycare and said, ‘What the heck? We need daycare,’” Alicia said, recalling the position they and dozens of other families […]
John Gooley, board vice president of the Mt. Angel Foundation and longtime executive with Withers Lumber, has been honored for his volunteer work. Gooley received the 2023 Community Service Award from SEDCOR, the Strategic Economic Development Corporation of Marion, Polk and Yamhill counties. The award was presented at SEDCOR’s annual membership luncheon Sept. 8 at the Salem Convention Center. The […]
By Stephen Floyd Students in the Mt. Angel School District were greeted by new faces at John F. Kennedy High School and St. Mary’s Public School after both received new principals over the summer. Jessica Brenden, formerly with the Oregon Association of Education Service Districts, joins as JFK principal, while former Molalla River School District administrator Kathleen French is now […]
By James Day Kennedy High’s new welding room, an innovative public-private partnership, is open for business and ready to serve. Officials from Mt. Angel Community Foundation, area building trades and the high school were on hand Aug. 31 for an opening ceremony and the production of the first job by the state-of-the-art equipment. Kennedy teacher Korrie Shull fired up a […]
By Stephen Floyd Mount Angel Middle School Principal Jeff Taylor has been named Oregon Middle School Principal of the Year for his relationship-building and inspiring approach to academics. The title was awarded June 22 during the annual conference of the Coalition of Oregon School Administrators (COSA), in Seaside. In a news release, COSA said Taylor has had a positive impact […]
A $7 million facilities bond for the Mt. Angel School District passed with overwhelming support during the May 16 election, which also secured an attached $4 million state grant. Measure 24-482 passed with 64% voter support out of 869 total votes, according to results published May 24 by the Marion County Clerk’s Office. Superintendent Rachel Stucky said there was “a […]
By James Day Kennedy High School in Mount Angel will have a new welding room in the fall, courtesy of a private fundraising campaign led by the Mt. Angel Community Foundation. The project, which broke ground on April 26, is not related to the facilities bond that Mt. Angel School District voters will be voting on in the May 16 […]
By Stephen Floyd School districts in Silverton and Mount Angel have identified racial and cultural inequity as areas that need greater focus, based on student performance rates published by the state last year. On Oct. 20, 2022, the Oregon Department of Education released its At-A-Glance reports, breaking down enrollment, test scores and other metrics for individual schools and districts. In […]
By Stephen Floyd The Mt. Angel School District (MASD) has closed a $1.2 million projected deficit in its budget for the coming school year without resorting to drastic cuts in staffing or programs. On May 16, the District Budget Committee approved a proposal that reduced the projected deficit to roughly $123,000, which can be covered by emergency reserves if actual […]
By Stephen Floyd The Mt. Angel School District plans to go mask-optional March 14 after state regulators changed a deadline the district expected to fall at the end of the month. Oregon lifted its mandate on masks in public school buildings March 12, however MASD had made plans to carefully craft policy changes up to the state’s original deadline of […]
By Stephen Floyd The Mt. Angel School District is taking a more cautious approach than its neighbors ahead of the March 31 deadline to lift indoor mask mandates in Oregon schools. While the Silver Falls and North Santiam school districts voted to go mask-optional by March 31 and joined the call for an acceleration of the deadline, MASD Superintendent Rachel […]
By Stephen Floyd The Mt. Angel School District Board is seeking to fill a vacant seat after the recent passing of Board Member John Conklin. The board is scheduled to appoint a new member Feb. 14. Qualified residents have until Feb. 7 to apply. An appointee must be a registered voter, have lived within the district for at least one […]
By Brenna Wiegand Rachel Stucky takes the helm as Mt. Angel School District’s new superintendent, taking over for Troy Stoops who stepped down at the end of the last school year after filling the role for ten years. Stucky spent the last five years in the Sweet Home School District as chief academic officer and is eager to bring her skills […]
After completing a multi-state search that began with 26 applicants and included an application screening and initial round of interviews, the Mt. Angel School District’s Board of Directors has announced two finalists have been selected for further consideration to be the next superintendent for the district. The public is invirted to meet the candidates May 17, 5:30 to 6:45 p.m. at […]
