Seasons are quickly changing and so are cell phone policies this fall for Ashland high schoolers. Besides having a new school resource officer on campus at Ashland High School this fall, the most notable change students are experiencing is likely its new cell phone policy implemented as the school year began in early September.
A new free breakfast and lunch program at Ashland schools got off to a slow start but is now offering meals to more than half the K-12 students. Ashland qualifies to offer the free meal program because it has a childhood poverty rate that exceeds 50%, based on federal guidelines.
After nearly a decade hiatus, Ashland School District is starting the school year with a full-time school resource officer again. Ashland Police Officer Michael Bates officially started in his new special assignment as SRO for ASD on Monday. Bates is a 2010 Ashland High School graduate and has spent the last nine years as a patrol officer, including previously for Talent Police Department.
As a school bus pulled around the backside of Ashland Middle School Monday morning, sixth-graders and new incoming students stepped off to start their first day of middle school and to be greeted by new Ashland School District Superintendent Joseph Hattrick, who wished them a cheerful “good morning” one-by-one.
Senior year of high school can be hard enough without navigating a cancer diagnosis, chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant, but Ashland High School graduate and Ashland City Band bassoonist James Dyson navigated all these things and more before turning his tassel and graduating with high marks on June 6.
With Oregon’s public schools staring down a fiscal cliff this school year as the historic federal investment from the last few years expires, Gov. Tina Kotek is proposing changes. She’d like to help schools keep up with rising costs in the years ahead by updating the way schools are funded.
Most Ashland High School grads don’t know about the annual all-class reunion, which has been a tradition since 1894. This makes it one of the longest-running high school reunions in the entire country! The all-class reunion is now held every year on the first Saturday in August.
As Joseph Hattrick takes the helm of Ashland School District on Monday, July 1, preparing to oversee a recently approved overall budget of more than $95 million, about 400 employees and about 2,500 students in the district, he told Ashland.news ahead of his first day that he’s up for the challenge and committed to Ashland for the long term.
School may be out for summer, but free lunches are being served up at two Ashland elementary schools after a newly funded free onsite lunch program launched earlier this week for youth ages 1-18.
Adaptable, creative, flexible, optimistic and poised for a bright future. That’s how Ashland High Principal Benjamin Bell described the Class of 2024 on Thursday as grads prepared to turn their tassel and the next page of their lives. Bell noted the class faced a “unique set of circumstances” during the last four years, possibly more than any in recent history.
Mt. Ashland Ski Area’s first new chairlift in more than three decades will open this weekend. The Lithia Chair will open at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 14, giving skiers and snowboarders greater access to easy and intermediate slopes, according to a release issued Tuesday from the nonprofit ski area.
Review: This year’s production of “A Christmas Carol,” playing at the CTP and directed by Tommy Statler, is original, imaginative and lighter than last year’s production of the same. The story of the miserly curmudgeon who finds redemption in the meaning of Christmas keeps with the spirit of the season.
The Salvation Army in Jackson and Josephine counties is pleading for volunteers to help ring in the holidays during the annual Red Kettle donations campaign as the organization faces a critical shortage of staff. “We are sounding the alarm,” said Capt. Yohani Ortiz with The Salvation Army Grants Pass.
Obituary: It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Patricia “Patti” Ann Metz (Seely), a devoted mother, friend, and pillar of the Rogue Valley community in Southern Oregon for the past 44 years. On Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024, Patti left us at the age of 86, after a long illness, leaving behind a legacy of love, kindness, and unwavering dedication to those she cherished.
Real Estate Corner: I’ve been noticing an interesting trend. There’s movement both ways — people discovering Ashland as their dream destination and others leaving for the next chapter in their lives. So, what’s driving these shifts? Let’s examine why people are moving to (and from) our fantastic town.
Ashland’s TC Chevy has shifted into high gear on sustainability, becoming a shining example of clean energy innovation with the addition of three new Stracker solar arrays to its existing five units. The dealership now is in a position to run entirely on sun power, achieving net-zero status and proving that the road to a greener future starts at home.
(It’s free)