Salem-Keizer School District helping students find success in online school program

KGW has checked in on schools a number of time this year as in-person learning began again. But some students never went back to a brick-and-mortar school and instead chose to continue to attend school online.

KGW reached out to Salem-Keizer Public Schools, Beaverton Schools and Portland Public Schools to get an idea of plans for next year. All three districts, some of Oregon’s largest, plan to continue offering an online option for students.

Artonya Gemmill and Christine Bowlby are both co-lead principals for Salem-Keizer Public Schools' EDGE online program. They say EDGE is in its second year and things are going well.

“We are just under about 2,000 K-12 [students]. It still makes us one of the top largest online programs in the state,” said Bowlby.

They say the kind of education students are getting through EDGE is not the same as the comprehensive distance learning so many parents remember from 2020.