Lady Horns play three this week; three next; then it’s onto playoffs
The Payson High School varsity softball team blew through three games in two days winning all three.
Special meeting on Frontier at noon Friday
Payson Unified School District Superintendent Ron Hitchcock said he expects some sort of formal action on the sale of the Frontier Elementary School on Friday, April 19 at a special meeting at noon in the district office.
Lady Horns on a roll...
PHS girls overwhelm Miami and Fountain Hills in storybook season that stokes hopes for state championship
Last Thursday and Friday, the Payson High School girls softball team trounced both Miami and Fountain Hills, the latest in a string of wins that has already earned perhaps the best softball team in Rim Country history a berth in the state playoffs.
Soak it, drip it, sprinkle it: Too many gardening choices
Payson Community Garden asks one thing of me — create my own water system. They provide the water; I just have to figure out how to deliver it to my plants. I’m stumped, stuck and stressed. Why? Too many choices.
JRE student health fair features healthy fun
Good habits taught with exercise, Pumpkin Guts and some real yo-yos
Three hours into the Student Health Fair, the Julia Randall Elementary School gym still rocked with activities.
Achievement director vows to boost scores
Brenda Case plans to use her 27 years in the Arizona education system to turn around the Payson Unified School District.
Special school board meeting on FES tonight
The Payson Unified School District school board could settle the fate of the Frontier Elementary school site tonight at a special meeting. The board will meet at 5 p.m. in the district office, 902 W. Main Street, and discuss offers made on the building in executive session. The public meeting will resume at about 5:30 p.m. and the board could announce what will become of the space, which has sat empty since the district closed it two years ago.
New leaders must meet heavy mandates with fewer resources
School districts around Rim Country had upheavals in leadership, changing the landscape of the schools — with an mudslide of state and federal mandates and cutbacks moving down the steep slopes of educational reform threatening to engulf them.
Already hired
Tonto Basin superintendent finds job with county schools
Outgoing Tonto Basin Superintendent Mary Lou Weatherly has already found a new home with Gila County Superintendent Linda O’Dell’s office.
Run for the geeks slated for May 4 at Green Valley Park
Geeks, brains, nerds — whatever label given them, they are loveable and worthy of support.
Hydroponics: Creating an intimate relationship with your plants
More than 28 people came to the Community Garden class to learn about getting intimate with their plants.
Why a garden’s like an unruly reunion
Planning garden can overwhelm the faint of heart
I’ve decided planning a garden has all the elements of planning a family reunion: lots of special needs, the ever-present threat of fights and visits from weedy, unwanted neighbors.
Child advocate program coping with scourge of abuse
CASA of Arizona seeks to raise awareness of Child Abuse Prevention Month
April is Child Abuse Prevention Month and abused children need help.
Schools facing cutback
So, Gila County finally feels some of the effects of sequestration — and what gets hit? The schools.
Laughs, learning, and doing the earth good
Recycling program teaches sustainable and social skills to special education students
Brandon Nicholson could not hold back the chortles. He kept giggling then laughing out loud, pointing and trying to express his excitement, but he has challenges most kids won’t ever face
District hires achievement director
Taking its No. 1 goal to heart, the Payson Unified School District (PUSD) quickly hired Brenda Case as the new director of student achievement.
Should we arm teachers?
Payson schools upgrade security, as bill to arm some teachers advances
The Arizona Legislature seems poised to ensure school safety by arming teachers, despite the qualms of many school administrators like Payson Unified School District Superintendent Ron Hitchcock.
Teachers face changes
Payson schools plan shift to evaluation system that relies on student test scores, despite mixed results elsewhere
This month, Payson Unified School District (PUSD) will reveal its new and improved teacher evaluation system.
The princess screams, the students learn
Payson schools experiment with iPads in elementary school classrooms to boost reading skills and students’ grasp of technology
The cartoon princess pranced across the iPad screen, her castle in the background.
How do you spell clever kid? C O L I N
Rim Country Middle School (RCMS) eighth grade student Colin Nossek loves to read —which combined with his Japanese language class helped him to place sixth at the statewide spelling bee on Saturday, March 23.
Why a garden’s like an unruly reunion
Planning garden can overwhelm the faint of heart
I’ve decided planning a garden has all the elements of planning a family reunion: lots of special needs, the ever-present threat of fights and visits from weedy, unwanted neighbors.
Payson school district needs $2 million computer upgrade
Outdated servers, software will hinder Common Core Standards mandate
Payson Unified School District (PUSD) needs between $2 million to $3 million to rebuild its technology infrastructure, Joni de Szendeffy, director of technology, told the school board at its meeting on Monday, March 25.
Frightening failure rate
Payson schools grant helps the 35 percent of students now failing at least one class
With a stunning one-third of high school students failing at least one class, the Payson Unified School District (PUSD) has been casting about for solutions.
Payson loves its pets
Pets and their owners attended the grand opening of the Payson PetSmart in Rim Country Mall on Saturday, March 23 to see what the new store offered.
Students vanishing
Since 2009, the six Gila Community College (GCC) campuses have seen a 52 percent drop in enrollment at all age and credit levels.
Salt River Rafting: A blast of a splash
Fledgling rafter finds, it’s not the fear, it’s the ride
I hate roller coasters. In fact I can’t stand anything that suddenly loses altitude: A plane in an air pocket, a car in a dip — anything that makes my stomach float above my heart.
Board rejects plea for coaches
Worried about the district’s liability, Payson High School (PHS) Athletic Director Don Heizer recently asked for additional assistant coach positions for softball and baseball — but the request never got to first base.
Free class Saturday at community garden
Saturday, March 23, the Payson Community Garden will host the first of its free Saturday morning classes.
Tragedy on the line
Students learn toll of texting, cell phones on drivers
The cell phone rang again and again in the silence. No one answered. After minutes of silence, it rang again. Over and over and over it rang — but the hand that held the phone did not move. Tragically, its owner could no longer raise the phone to his ear. He had died in a car crash caused when he texted a message.
Blow up marshmallows and expand kids’ minds
Chemistry demonstrations turn students into teachers
Seven first grade students crowded around the table, staring intently at Payson High School (PHS) sophomore Natalia Olivares and junior Jessica York.
School board OKs ‘achievement’ administrator
Budget woes complicate effort to hire person to boost student test scores
The financially-pressed Payson School Board on Monday voted to add a director of student achievement to the staff, with a potential salary of $88,000.
Tonto Basin school head quits her job
Weatherly bows to uproar, but defends efforts to cope with mandates
Caught in a riptide between tradition versus school reform, Tonto Basin Superintendent Mary Lou Weatherly resigned from her position a short year-and-a-half into her tenure.
Controversy over new classroom process
The Payson Unified School District’s plan to hire a consultant to help teachers engage students has provoked decidedly mixed reviews.
Terrible turnover
School sees 21% of its pupils come and go
Last year Julia Randall Elementary (JRE) teachers struggled to cope with a student turnover rate of 21 percent as students came and went. This year looks like more of the same.
Taste of the Rim triumph
Top chefs contend to benefit library
“It’s more than a library, it’s a community center,” said Kathy Morgan, chair of the Taste of the Rim committee during the sell-out fund-raiser featuring some of Rim Country’s best chefs.
Weather forecast: Winter will yield to spring
After an intense cold system from the north dumped inches of precipitation on Rim Country over the weekend, the week’s weather now calls for increasing temperatures.
Board rejects offer
School district calls special meeting to consider offers for shuttered Frontier
After an hour of discussion in an executive session, the Payson Unified School District board rejected three offers from potential buyers for the mothballed Frontier Elementary and 501 S. McLane school sites.
New high school class creates confusion and controversy
Careers class provokes teacher, student complaints
Discontent has seethed under the surface of Payson High School (PHS) since the beginning of the school year over the new Career and Technical Preparation (CTP) class.
Community rallies to support local teen
The signs have popped up all over town, on store windows and at the front offices of schools: “Benefit for Kayla Woolwine April 6 at the Spur Bar, Star Valley at 12:00 p.m.”
Board could vote on selling Frontier Thursday
The Payson Unified School Board will hold a special meeting Thursday, March 7 at noon to discuss and possibly act on offers to buy former Frontier Elementary School and the former Payson Center for Success building at 501 S. McLane.
Students falter
Special education rates high, scores low
A daunting 18 percent of Payson Unified School District (PUSD) students are enrolled in special education classes (SPED), some 10 percent more than the average Arizona districts, said Director Barbara Fitzgerald at the Feb. 25 school board meeting.
College-bound teens hunt for scholarships
On a recent winter morning, a local Rim Country father and business owner stopped by the Roundup offices looking for answers on scholarships.
School position filled
Wala now rounds out diverse Payson board
With the appointment of Devin Wala to the Payson Unified School District (PUSD) board, Gila County Superintendent Linda O’Dell has completed the cast of characters that will lead the district for the next two years.
Pine gets superintendent
With small-town style, the Pine- Strawberry School District hired Duncan Elementary School Principal Cody Barlow to replace retiring Superintendent Mike Clark.
Bicycle Adventures
Mick Wolf has a wandering streak like his relative Arizona Charlie — but Payson called him back
After a stint wandering the West Coast, the owner of the only bike and repair shop in Rim Country, Bicycle Adventures (formerly Hike, Bike and Run), has returned to his roots.
Storm covers Rim Country
Payson gets 9 inches sitting in snowstorm’s ‘sweet spot’
“You were in the sweet spot for snow accumulation,” said Chris Outler, meteorologist for the National Weather Service (NWS), referring to the storm that blew through the Rim Country this week.
Testy teachers
Superintendent says reforms may well drive teachers away
Times have sure changed, Payson Unified School District Superintendent Ron Hitchcock told the Rim Country Democratic Women’s Club. To prove the point, he offered a comparison.
New county assessor settling in just fine
After 25 years, the Gila County Assessor’s Office has someone new at the helm, and Payson realtor Deborah Hughes is settling in wonderfully.
Teachers reveal fears about reforms, job security, testing
New system will link teacher pay, promotions to controversial national test
Teacher’s concerns over a new student test, lack of training and a plan to link teacher pay and job security to student test scores dominated a Feb. 5 town hall on the incoming Common Core national academic standards sponsored by Gila County Superintendent of Schools Linda O’Dell.
High school ecology class visits water treatment plant
Sage Pearce held her nose, wrinkled her forehead and squinted her eyes.
