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KFCS Board of Education

KLAMATH FALLS, OREGON — Klamath Falls City Schools (KFCS) is leading the way in early literacy transformation with the adoption of two new science-based curricula: UFLI (University of Florida Literacy Institute) and Bookworms. This critical move, supported by the legislation passed in 2023 called the Early Literacy Success Initiative, underscores the district’s commitment to equipping students with foundational reading skills while supporting educators with the tools they need to succeed.

“These programs are grounded in explicit instruction in phonics, phonemic awareness, encoding, and decoding,” said Chelsea Woods, Principal of Mills Elementary School. “What makes them stand out is the structured approach, with set times for these key elements every day. This clarity and consistency will have a huge impact on our students’ learning.”

Woods emphasized that the new curricula address longstanding gaps in instruction.

“With our previous [curriculum] adoption, Benchmark Advance, we had to create phonics charts, supplement phonemic awareness with other programs, and add explicit vocabulary instruction ourselves. These gaps required additional work and left students without the comprehensive support they needed. UFLI and Bookworms solve those issues by integrating all these components into one clear and effective program.”

KFCS is taking proactive steps to ensure teachers are fully prepared to implement the new curricula. “We’ve included six training days before the school year starts to make sure teachers feel confident and equipped,” Woods said. Additionally, the district has invested in 1.0 FTE instructional coaches at each elementary school, funded in part through the Early Literacy Success Initiative.

“The instructional coaches are key,” Woods explained. “They’ll be in classrooms modeling best practices and supporting teachers as they navigate the new materials. Having this kind of targeted support makes all the difference in ensuring a smooth implementation.”

The district’s choice of Bookworms was particularly driven by its focus on equity. “Bookworms incorporates culturally diverse texts that build background knowledge and represent a variety of student experiences,” said Woods. “This is critical for ensuring all students feel seen and can engage meaningfully with the material. We’re particularly excited about how this will benefit students who may come from lower socioeconomic backgrounds or haven’t had access to early literacy experiences.”

Woods expressed optimism about the potential impact of the new programs on student achievement. “With the explicit instruction and cultural representation in these curricula, I’m hopeful we’ll see student progress sooner rather than later. We’ve centered this entire process on what’s best for students, and I believe these programs will deliver the results we’re aiming for.”

School Board Appreciation Month

January is known as School Board Recognition Month in the state of Oregon. Klamath Falls City Schools wants to thank all the members of our school board for their relentless work and dedication in helping us achieve student success!

School Resource Officer Tyler Young Visits Klamath Learning Center

Photo: Klamath Falls Police Department School Resource Officer Tyler Young during a presentation with Klamath Learning Center students Tuesday, Jan. 28 at KLC.

Students at Klamath Learning Center saw a police car parked outside their classroom as they walked into class Tuesday morning but it was not a reason to spark concern. Klamath Falls Police Department School Resource Officer Tyler Young regularly visits KLC to make sure students are safe there, along at Klamath Union High School.

Young presented his responsibilities as a police officer to KLC students, while teaching them about ways they can avoid a run-in with the police in which they do not want to be in.

Young was specific in his presentation with the attentive KLC students.

“You cannot hold a mobile, handheld device while driving. You cannot pick it up to change your song; you cannot pick it up to forward a call to voicemail,” Young said.

Young described countless traffic laws which might seem like common sense to many people but something he sees disobeyed on a daily basis.

“I don’t write a ton of tickets but there are few that are guaranteed which is if you are driving without a license, your license is suspended or driving without insurance," Young said.

KLC students learned how a driver has to be 500 feet away from a police vehicle and the correct meaning of the open container law in Oregon. Young also described what someone should do if they were to accidentally graze someone else's car door with their vehicle.

“If you do what I had someone do, which is run into a car at KU during a game and then leave a business card on the back bumper and drive away, that is a hit and run, guys,” Young said. “The law says you have to leave your information in a conspicuous place.”

Klamath Union Wrestling Hosts Senior Night

Photo: Klamath Union senior Kevin Willyard competes in his wrestling match against Mazama during his team's senior night Wednesday, Jan. 29 at Pel Court. Photo by Allie Nelson

Klamath Union wrestling hosted its senior night in a set of wrestling matches against Mazama and Henley Wednesday night at Pel Court.

KU has three seniors on its squad this year in Ben Gour, Kevin Willyard and Levi Hicks.

Hicks has a strong chance to bring home hardware for KU wrestling this year. Hicks, in the 150-pound weight class, is currently ranked third in the state behind Cascade's Brody Copple and Pendleton's Cole Roy.

Hicks has a solid record this year, which includes eight wins and two losses. Hicks is currently the only Klamath Union wrestler who is ranked overall in the state. Hic

Klamath Union senior Levi Hicks looks to take down his opponent during his team's senior night Wednesday, Jan. 29 at Pel Court.

Show Us Your Spirit, KU!

KU family, we’re on a mission to win the OSAA #1 Student Section Video Contest, and we need YOU to make it happen!

We're calling on all students, parents, and fans to send in your smartphone videos that capture the heart and soul of KU school spirit. Whether it's epic crowd moments, acts of incredible sportsmanship, or anything else that screams KU pride, we want to see it!

We need videos from:
KU Swim Team, Pep Band, Wrestling Team, Boys, Cheer Squad, Boys and Girls Basketball, Hockey Team

If you’ve got a clip from this season, send it our way! Just email your videos to Dan Stearns at stearnsd@kfalls.k12.or.us by March 1st.

But wait, there’s more! If our video is selected by OSAA, the winner is decided by public video views. That means we’ll need your help again to share the video far and wide to rack up those views!

First place wins a banner for our gym – let’s bring it home, KU! Anyone that submits a video clip that ends up in our final video submission, will receive a prize.

So, get those phones out, find those clips, and let’s show the world what KU spirit is all about!

Available in hard copy or digital version—read it your way!

Check it out here: https://www.pelspress.com/copy-of-newest-release

KFCS High School Options Information

Community Awareness Information Concerning the Ponderosa Middle School Building

As we look towards the future of our community, I want to bring to your attention a critical need that we must address to ensure the success and readiness of our students: the replacement of Ponderosa Middle School.

Klamath Falls is on the cusp of growth, and we need to be prepared to meet the educational demands of our expanding population. Last year, during our community conversations, we received a clear message: our community wants our youth to be life and career-ready. Specifically, there is a strong desire for more hands-on, applied learning opportunities, such as Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs.

Effective career-ready programs must begin with robust middle school initiatives. During the Board’s visit to California last year, we saw firsthand the exceptional programs at Mad Tech Middle, which serve as an inspiring model for what we can achieve here. These programs are essential for setting our students on a successful path through high school and beyond.

Our district is diligently working to build these programs at the high school level and forge strong connections to postgraduate destinations like the Oregon Institute of Technology (OIT) and Klamath Community College (KCC). However, to truly accelerate our students along this track, we need a middle school that supports and enhances these efforts. Unfortunately, the current Ponderosa Middle School is outdated and does not meet the needs of our evolving educational goals.

The urgency of this need cannot be overstated. While the current middle school building is safe, our engineers have indicated that it could become unusable at any time because it is located on an active fault line. Our trusted advisors and the Long-Range Facilities Planning Committee have unanimously agreed that the time to act is now.

We estimate the budget for replacing Ponderosa Middle School to be around $120 million. This number may fluctuate slightly up or down as we consider incorporating other essential items, such as security upgrades and early learning facility support, into the overall bond. We may also determine that we can build at a lower cost depending on what year we decide to call a bond election to support the possible project in the future.

Replacing Ponderosa Middle School is not just about updating a building; it is about investing in the future of our community and ensuring that our youth have the tools and opportunities they need to succeed in life and their careers.

We appreciate your continued support and engagement as we take these crucial steps forward. Together, we can create an educational environment that prepares our students for the challenges and opportunities of tomorrow.

Over the next year, we will engage more with our stakeholders about Ponderosa. We will also schedule tours of the building for the community to see the current facility.

We do want to be very clear that we have not set any date for a potential Bond election. We just want to make sure our community is aware that we are working on a solution to replace Ponderosa on a different site that does not have an active fault line on it.

For anyone who has any questions about his message please e-mail Keith A. Brown at brownk@kfalls.k12.or.us.