In this Issue

Upcoming School, Community Events
KFCS Headlines
KUHS Alumni
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KFCS Board of Education

Oregon Tech Men's and Women's Basketball Visit KFCS After Attendance Improvement

Oregon Tech men's and women's basketball teams took time to visit Ponderosa Middle School, Pelican Elementary School, Mills Elementary School, Conger Elementary School and Roosevelt Elementary School this week.

Jeff Haudenshild, KFCS Attendance/Behavior Coordinator, invited Oregon Tech's basketball teams to visit during lunch and recess time as part of saying congratulations to the schools after having improved attendance this year in comparison to last year.

Haudenshild asked Oregon Tech Men's Basketball head coach, Justin Parnell, and Oregon Tech Women's Basketball head coach, Joy Lease, if they would take the time to visit with their basketball teams and both agreed. Both basketball teams made sure to greet every student in the school as they stayed during all lunches and recess times.

Parnell's visit was extra special as he was able to take time to have lunch and spend time with his two children, who both attend Conger.

KFCS Students Participate In Chess for Success State Tournament

Two Klamath Falls City School teams and several individuals competed at the Chess for Success state tournament held in Hillsboro, OR on April 26 – 27. Teams from Ponderosa Middle School and Conger Elementary School each earned a spot to attend the team tournament on Saturday and the individual tournament for these groups was held the following day. High school students only had the individual competition, which was played on both days.

Students participating in the event were as follows (grade in parentheses).

KU students: Willard McClintock (12) and Gideon VanderWaal (10); Ponderosa Middle School students: Brayden Henderson (7), Wallace Stevens (6), Aiden McPherson (6), Audric Singer (6), James Xu (6), and Isaiah Quintana (6) of Klamath Home Learning Academy; Conger Elementary students: Silas Moon (4), Brogan Henderson (4), Alex Huang (3), Olivia McPherson (3), Jaxon Ogborn (2), and Brannon Henderson (1); Roosevelt Elementary students: Emery Singer (5), and Oliver Singer (2).

The best chess players in the state attend this huge tournament, which hosts hundreds of competitors. After a grueling two days of tough competition, KFCS students performed incredibly well with most earning two wins for the day both in the team and in the individual competitions. Places are dependent on how others in the tournament score. Special congratulations to Wallace Stevens who won a second-place trophy with three wins/points in the individual 6-8 grade middle school tournament on Sunday, and also to Willard McClintock of KU who placed fourth in the high school division with three points resulting from two wins, two ties and only one loss in the challenging high school level. Congratulations to all of our Klamath Falls chess players – we are so proud of you all.

Klamath Union's Orchestra Competes In OSAA State Championships

Klamath Union's orchestra performed at the state competition this week. Klamath Union's orchestra, under the direction of Lexi Candy, performed Wednesday, May 14 in Corvallis at LaSells Stewart Center on the Oregon State University campus.

Review Proposed Middle and High School English Curriculum: CommonLit 360

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Klamath Falls City Schools Invites Community to Review Proposed Middle and High School English Curriculum: CommonLit 360

Klamath Falls City Schools (KFCS) invites parents, guardians, and community members to review and provide feedback on CommonLit 360, the proposed new English Language Arts curriculum for middle and high school students.

A diverse committee of teachers, administrators, and parents convened over the past several months to evaluate English curriculum options for grades 6–12. The committee developed a comprehensive rubric grounded in research- and evidence-based adolescent literacy practices to guide the review process and ensure any proposed curriculum meets the academic, developmental, and cultural needs of our students.

Following a careful evaluation process, the committee has identified CommonLit 360 as the curriculum that best aligns with the district’s instructional goals. The program offers rigorous, engaging content that supports reading, writing, speaking, and listening—core components of a comprehensive English Language Arts education.

Community Review Opportunity

KFCS believes in transparency and collaborative decision-making. All community members are invited to view the proposed materials online and share their thoughts. The curriculum is available for public review at:
KFCS CommonLit360 Community Review Site

Feedback collected during this review period will be considered before a final recommendation is presented to the KFCS School Board.

“We value the voices of our community,” said Fred Bartels, Director of School Improvement. “Your input plays a critical role in helping us make the best decisions for the academic success and well-being of our students.”

Community comments and questions can be emailed to: curriculum@kfalls.k12.or.us

STEM Night At Roosevelt

STEM students from Oregon Tech brought science to life at Roosevelt Elementary School this week.

Part of the KFCS 21st Century Community Learning Centers, Kyra Morris, a Renewable Energy Engineering major, and Isaias Peña, a graduate student in the Biomedical Masters program, partnered to host a STEM Night at Roosevelt.

The event featured hands-on science activities aimed at sparking curiosity and building connections between college students and young learners in the community.

Driven by a shared passion for inspiring a love of STEM in youth, the organizers aimed to make science engaging, approachable, and fun.

Petersen, Norton and Wyatt Jensen Make State Tennis Championships

A big congratulations to seniors Bryce Petersen, Logan Norton and Wyatt Jensen for advancing to the OSAA Class 4A state championships after they excelled in the 4A districts tournament in Medford.

Petersen, Norton and Jensen are headed to Oregon State University next week to compete in the state championships.

Jack Jensen and Roland Vannarath also performed well and reached the quarterfinals and sophomore Mason Dawson made it to the semifinals.

Also celebrating wins was Walter Hartley, Elliott Huntoon DeRoche, Dallin Petersen and Eli Hedrick.

With 12 total match wins, KU clinched second place as a team in the district tournament.

Newly Elected Klamath Tribal Council 2025-2028

Photo: Front Row: Secretary- Joe Allen Jr; Vice-Chairman- Marvin Garcia; Chairman- William Ray Jr.: Treasurer- Brandi Hatcher.

Back Row Members-at-Large: Les Anderson, Natalie Ball, Ellsworth Lang, Willa Powless, Shawn Jackson, Brandon Tupper.

May 14, 2025, marked another significant day in history and sovereignty for the Klamath Tribes of Oregon.

The Klamath Tribal Council is comprised of four executive positions (Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Secretary, and Treasurer). These 4 positions are full-time.

The other six positions are known as ‘Members-at-Large’ and serve as part-time positions.

Elections, per the Klamath Tribal Constitution are held every three years, making this Council the May 2025- May 2028 Elected Governing Body of the Klamath Tribes of Oregon.

Elected to serve as the Governing body for over 5,600 enrolled Klamath Tribal Members.