Description of North Santiam School District North Santiam School District...We Change Kids' Lives! North Santiam School District is located approximately 15 miles east of Salem along Highway 22, continuing into the foothills of the Cascade Mountain Range. The District includes the communities of
The community of Stayton has experienced significant demographic changes in the last five years with increasing numbers of Hispanic residents who speak Spanish as their primary language, as well as significant increases in the numbers of families experiencing poverty. The school district has shown a strong commitment to supporting English Language Learners in its hiring and staff development practices. Reductions in school funding since the year 2001 also have significantly impacted the district. Like most other districts in Oregon, North Santiam School District has had to make difficult choices in how best to support student learning. Maintaining manageable class sizes, providing electives at the middle and high school levels, balancing administrative staffing with teacher and classified staffing, improving access to technology, and adopting new textbooks have been significant challenges. The limited space in some of the school buildings and inadequate facilities in others has significantly impacted these decisions. In order to have adequate classrooms for the K-5 population, it was necessary to move the 4th grade class from Stayton Elementary to Stayton Middle in preparation for the 2005-2006 school year. The resulting grade configurations for the district are as follows: Mari-Linn and Sublimity serve K-8 students; Stayton Elementary serves K-3; Stayton Middle serves 4-8; and Stayton High serves 9-12. While this action certainly resolved some of the immediate issues around over-crowding, it did not adequately address other issues such as maintaining facilities over 60 years old, providing space for supplemental services, and adding additional classroom space at Stayton Elementary School. An attempt was made at passing a bond measure in September 2005, November 2006, and November 2008 to update buildings and add needed space, but failed each time. With reduced funding from the Economic Crisis effecting State School Funding again in 2008, finding others solutions to the facilities issues that plague the district will consume much of the school board’s attention in 2009-10 and in the future. |
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Lyons, Mehama, Stayton, and Sublimity and covers approximately 100 square miles. Stayton is the largest community in the District with a population of 7,720 residents and serves as the commercial and cultural center for the surrounding area. It is located near agriculture, timber, tourism and state government. A large number of area residents commute to Salem to work. Our communities have some activities for people of all ages, including a local YMCA, swimming pool, city parks, a movie theater, libraries in Stayton and Lyons, and the new Stayton Performing Arts.
