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Amy Klarup was Eugene Weekly's special sections editor and education reporter.
“That’s what she said.” When students walk into Denise Velasco’s sex education classroom at Network Charter School, they see this phrase on a poster. This appeal to juvenile humor is not what it seems: Look closer and you’ll see two women kissing beneath a word in bold letters — “Yes.” As corny as the poster is, it sends a clear message about sex. Continue reading
At first glance, it looks like a landfill — abandoned couches and chairs, food wrappers piled on top of plastic bags, electronics and old clothing. But in actuality, it’s a strip of riverbank along the south side of the Willamette River between Autzen Footbridge and Knickerbocker Bike Bridge, and a recent YouTube video portraying trash along the riparian zone has garnered the attention of homeless activists, environmentalists and Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy. Continue reading
On the agenda for the Eugene 4J school board tonight is approving the implementation of full-day kindergarten, officially moving the 4J district towards a full-day transition in the 2015-2016 school year. Full-day kindergarten may help close the achievement gap in Oregon, according to an "item for action" memo on 4J's website: Continue reading
As a journalism instructor at the UO, Eugene author Melissa Hart tells her students to write engaging beginnings to their stories. She followed her own recipe with her latest memoir, Wild Within: How Rescuing Owls Inspired a Family, which opens with her husband’s vasectomy. Such begins a story about a quirky romance, rescued birds of prey and the process of adopting a child. Hart will read from her book at the UO’s Museum of Natural and Cultural History Oct. 28, along with local author Tom Titus. Continue reading
Like it or not, the Common Core and the associated Smarter Balanced testing are on their way. As the Statesman Journal wrote last week, the Smarter Balanced test will cost Oregon about $4.5 million more than the old Oregon Assessment of Knowledge and Skills. As the story says: Continue reading
With full-day kindergarten and the new Smarter Balanced standardized tests looming on the horizon, Eugene School District 4J can’t afford to lose any source of funding. That’s why the district is asking voters to renew a five-year local option levy on the Nov. 4 ballot. Continue reading
A 4-year-old girl from Eugene diagnosed with a form of nerve cancer called neuroblastoma is receiving treatment at Doernbecher Children’s Hospital in Portland, and she needs help from her community to afford it. Scarlet Craig, along with her parents Tim and Elena Craig, have already raised $43,782 on the website GoFundMe as we go to press. The cancer, which doctors first discovered on Scarlet’s adrenal glands and has now metastasized to her bones, is the same kind of cancer affecting Leah Still, daughter of Cincinnati Bengals football player Devon Still. Continue reading
With what felt like 100 mph winds slamming into us, my parents and I stood on a rocky outcropping overlooking the thundering waves and sandy beach of Bandon, Oregon. We’d visited Bandon many times over the years, usually in summer, when glorious sunsets silhouette iconic Face Rock and fat harbor seals bask on rocks. Though the experience left us with hopelessly tangled hair, we discovered that the colder months in Bandon are no less delightful than what summer has to offer. Continue reading
Women make up 50.5 percent of Oregon’s population as of 2013, and yet Oregon does not have an Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) in its Constitution. While the fight for a federal ERA continues, Oregon has a chance on Nov. 4 to vote for its own ERA, which would amend the Oregon Constitution to include specific language establishing equal rights for all, regardless of sex. Continue reading
The expansive atrium of Oregon State University’s Kelley Engineering Building fills with the mid-morning chatter of students. Light streams in through the immense glass windows of this certified Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold building, reducing the need for electric lighting as it illuminates half-built solar vehicles that look like Mars rovers in a nearby classroom, complete with solar panels and heavy duty wheels. For all OSU’s orange-and-black bravado, the marks of “green” living are everywhere. Continue reading