In
“
All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten,
”
poet Robert Fulghum reels off a list of simple, yet critical, skills learned in kindergarten. Read moreLearning all they really need to know
The fall 2015 semester classes at Gila Community College start Monday, Aug. 17. Read moreCommunity college classes will resume
The Arizona Game and Fish annual elk viewing workshop at Mormon Lake will offer the chance to see hundreds of elk in … Read moreElk workshop this weekend
Shirley Dye, Payson Unified School District board member, thinks as Governor Doug Ducey does—the Arizona State Land T… Read moreCan federal lands save schools?
A little more than a year ago, Gila County School Superintendent Linda O’Dell sought the Board of Supervisors’ approv… Read moreDigital educational plan collapses
The Payson Unified School District will offer free and reduced-price lunches on all of its campuses again this year b… Read moreApply for free, reduced school meals
Gila Community College professor Cindy Fisher-Smith will start teaching classes in health care education, administrat… Read moreBilling classes offered
Ever have someone in the family that stole a school van to drive to Flagstaff for no reason they could ever really explain? Read moreMental illness imposes tragic toll
Devon Wells spent 33 years teaching the art of the home and kitchen to high school students and received a Distinguis… Read moreFormer culinary arts instructor honored
At the front office, a sign directs everyone—students and guests alike—to the playground. Read moreOMG! It’s actually the first day of school!
Arizona continues to lag further and further behind the rest of the country when it comes to producing an educated wo… Read moreEducation level dropping
Lacey Tackett has to contend with her husband’s notoriety with young people all around Payson. Read moreLocal boy makes good, comes home to teach
Under a blue sky accented by fluffy white clouds, seven-year-old Lexi Alexander and her three-year-old sister Karlie … Read moreOpen House at Payson Elementary, Julia Randall schools
Flanked by all but one of the Payson Elementary School kindergarten teachers, Jane Pond and Sylvia Sandoval on July 2… Read moreKindergarten teachers plead for smaller classes
Arizona tied Alaska for the lowest college completion rate in the country in 2013, with just 29 percent of students a… Read moreArizona suffers low college graduation rate
Last year, the Payson Unified School District board requested the culture of the district change after a tumultuous year. Read moreChanging the culture of PUSD
Staff with the Payson Unified School District will receive a one-time stipend during the 2015-16 school year. Read moreSchool board approves 2015-16 staff stipends
The Tonto Apache Tribe has donated $4,060 to the Payson FFA chapter, to help seven top agriculture students attend a … Read moreTribe supports award-winning Payson FFA chapter
School-age children, from preschoolers to college students, need vaccines. Read moreCounty urges vaccines for all students
The Gear Up program has returned to Payson Unified School District and former Rim Country Middle School physical educ… Read moreGear Up returns to PUSD
Jennifer White will head up Rim Country Middle School as its new principal starting the 2015-16 school year. Read moreFamiliar face takes over RCMS
Rim Country residents can get the basics for a new career in health care with classes this fall at Gila Community College. Read moreGCC offers allied health classes
Linda Scoville, the new principal at Julia Randall Elementary, found her passion for education while juggling her tim… Read moreJRE principal says supporting teachers supports students
Registration for Payson High School and Rim Country Middle School students is July 21 through July 24, with classes r… Read moreRegistration for PHS and RCMS
With the 2015-2016 school year right around the corner, I want to welcome back all the PUSD students and challenge ea… Read moreTaking charge of your learning
Gail Milton’s office at Payson Elementary School sports an inviting shade of lavender on the walls. Read moreIt’s all about the relationships for new PES principal
A children’s riding program run by Connie Agnes and a group of parent and grandparent volunteers offers a free work-t… Read moreProgram lets youth learn about horses
Federal agents arrested Viktor Lisnyak, 29, of Staten Island, N.Y., July 17 on five counts of transmitting threatenin… Read moreNew York man charged with making threatening calls to Flagstaff elementary schools
ASSE International Student Exchange Programs, in cooperation with the Payson Unified School District, is looking for … Read moreHost families for high school exchange students sought
Water is essential to our lives in Payson, from the moment you wake up and flush—to your final rinse after brushing y… Read moreGCC course will explore water use in Rim Country
Find your creative side through movement and music this fall at Gila Community College. Read moreGCC to offer dance, piano and photography classes in fall
For the second year in a row, Payson High School will not offer Advanced Placement physics—nor will it offer AP chemi… Read moreClasses dwindle
At its first-ever board retreat on March 27, Gila Community College board member Jerry McCreary agreed to create a ne… Read moreGCC inching toward accreditation
Barely a year after hiring the lobbying firm, Polito, the Gila Community College board will seek a new firm. Read moreGila Community College needs new lobbyist – again
The Gila Community College board has decided to research how to find, keep and support students at the community coll… Read moreCollege ponders how to keep more students
The Read On Gila County Stakeholders will hold its quarterly meeting on Friday, July 10 from 3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. i… Read morePlans to help Payson Kids Read
Three years ago, the Payson Unified School District adopted Beyond Textbooks. Read moreSchool tempest
On June 18, the Payson Unified School District board voted to change the name of Payson Virtual Academy to Payson Cen… Read morePayson schools struggle to juggle online classes
This fall, acclaimed photographer Randy Hust will teach Beginning Digital Photography, ART 128, at Gila Community College. Read moreGCC offers photography
The Mogollon Health Alliance and Banner Health on Friday completed their merger, with enormous implications for healt… Read moreBanner/MHA complete $40 million merger
The Payson Unified School District board at its retreat on June 27 admitted the reverberations of the last two years … Read moreKinder, gentler school board
The EF High School Exchange Program relies on the support of the school districts and high schools that host the stud… Read moreExchange program honors principal
American Leadership Academy, a multi-campus charter school from the Valley, announced it will open a K-12 campus in P… Read moreCharter school due
Performing“Pity Party”in the cozy Black Box Theatre behind the Payson High School Auditorium provides a personal feel. Read moreCommunity theater group gives ‘Pity Party’
Rim Country will have a new option for its kindergarten through high school students by August of 2016 - the charter … Read moreNew charter school coming to Payson
With Arizona cutting school budgets, while the governor demands they increase classroom spending, Payson Unified Scho… Read moreBreak even budget
by Sidney Pearce, Special to the Roundup Read moreHeroin at the high school
Do we mostly want“productive citizens”? Read moreSchool board debates new version of vision
Last year, Payson Unified School District shelved its online school, Payson Virtual Academy. Now, the district wants … Read morePayson may revive online classes
In a clash between the old and new, the Payson Unified School District board voted on what to do with old, obsolete t… Read moreCommon Core prompts textbook worries
Last year, Payson Unified School District shelved its online school, Payson Virtual Academy. Now, the district wants to resurrect the program. Read morePayson may revive online classes
In a clash between the old and new, the Payson Unified School District board voted on what to do with old, obsolete textbooks and the new online curriculum framework, Beyond Textbooks. Read moreCommon Core prompts textbook worries
At recent meetings hosted by the Payson Police Department on the heroin problems in Rim Country, members of the public appealed to the schools to provide a solution. Read moreSchools struggle to cope with drug use
Six fourth-grade classes from Julia Randall Elementary School recently got a chance to visit Tonto National Monument, thanks to a grant from the National Park Foundation, which paid for bus. Read moreFourth-graders learn about Tonto National Monument
Small, but mighty would serve as a motto for Payson High School
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s FFA (formerly Future Farmers of America) program. Read morePayson FFA racks up awards at state conference
Each year, the Payson Unified School District board mulls over what to do with foreign exchange students
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this year, the discussion fell on May 26. Read morePUSD board grapples with foreign exchange student tuition
A mistake in a budget bill could cost districts like Payson with charter schools millions. Read moreBungled state law will punish schools
Twenty-one acts took to the gym floor at Julia Randall Elementary the last day of school to celebrate the talent of the student body. Read moreNow, that’s talent
Alarmed by the rising number of teens without enough support to finish their schooling, a collaboration of church leaders and caring Rim Country community members joined together in 2009 to create Payson Assisting Displaced Students. Read moreHomeless, displaced youngsters need a helping hand
In an effort to get the public involved in plans to build a university, the Rim Country Educational Foundation is sponsoring a contest to
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design the sign.
” Read moreDesign the Sign Contest for "A University Campus in Payson"
Each year the bands from beginning to advanced set up on the lawn behind the Rim Country Middle School gym to entertain friends, family and the community. Read moreJammin’ with the band – for 18 years
Payson Unified School District has initiated a recognition ceremony for those employees that have served for a decade or more. Read moreTeachers honored
It
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s not so easy to stand in front of 120 of your classmates who have watched you for 12 years, cry and laugh, goof off and be serious, succeed and fail to share words of wisdom. Read moreGraduates won’t stop believing
The Payson Town Council last week moved ahead to rezone a 253-acre Forest Service parcel so that it can only harbor an educational institution or related facilities. Read moreTown moves to rezone university site
The Rim Country Educational Alliance Thursday took another concrete step toward buying the land to build a 6,000-student university campus in Payson. Read moreUniversity land sale takes step forward
On Friday, May 15, Payson Unified School District illustrated that its text alerts to parents work great. Read morePepper spray, threat riles school
Julia Randall Elementary students with help from staff, took matters into their own hands requesting a healthier school to win recognition from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Arizona Department of Education through the Healthier U.S. Schools Challenge. Read moreJRE revamps food service – wins national recognition for district
In their final shows as Payson High School thespians, this year
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s graduating seniors ambitiously produced five shows. Read morePayson seniors stage sorrowful plays
Clutching their egg cartons, nine groups of excited third-grade students followed their teacher to different stations to learn about minerals, igneous, sedentary and metamorphic rocks from the Payson Rimstones Rock Club. Read moreThese kids rock!
For the first time, Julia Randall Elementary had a Fine Arts Night dedicated to all the fifth-grade artists. Read moreArt night at JRE
What happens when an angel donor, Biosphere 2, the Arizona Museum of Natural History, middle school students and the Sweet Tomatoes restaurant mix it up? Read moreAngel donor gives students the gift of discovery
An old saying describes nurses:
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Angels are nurses who have earned their wings.
After competing against a slew of state Future Business Leaders of America students in Tucson, four Payson students will move onto National Leadership Conference this summer in Chicago. Read morePayson FBLA students move on to nationals
The Rim Country Educational Alliance Board this week signed the long-awaited purchase agreement for 253 acres of Forest Service land on which it will build a four-year university in Payson. Read moreSale signed
What could be more perfect on Earth Day than a lesson in how plants grow? Read moreEarth Day brings high school and elementary students together
In their last performance as Payson students on May 7 and 9, the Payson High School Longhorn Theatre seniors will direct the Senior Directed One Act Plays. Read moreStudents direct one-act plays
Payson Unified School District Superintendent Greg Wyman now has his full leadership team in place for the upcoming school year, although teachers continue to leave the district. Read moreNew principals hired
The McKinney-Vento grant position filled by Joe Sanchez to help homeless students graduate and move onto post-secondary education will receive a boost from paid tutors. Read moreTutors for homeless kids
Register now for English and math classes this summer at Gila Community College and get a head start on the fall semester schedule. Read moreGila Community College starts summer classes
Payson High School math teacher David Meidinger has a secret weapon to help his kids do better on their AP Calculus exam
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Calculus Camp. Read moreCalculus Camp is secret weapon to help students do better on AP exam
When Payson Unified School District employee Barbara Sturlin heard that the KNXV-TV ABC 15 newsroom would take DECA marketing and business club students through its studios, she contacted Joe Parone and Jeff Simon. Read morePHS marketing students tour ABC 15 newsroom
For years, students and staff of Payson Unified School District have made jokes about the outmoded and painfully slow computers and Internet access. Read moreSchools to get technology upgrades
The Jan. 20 Payson Unified School District lockdown exposed a flaw in the district
’
s communication system the tech department has now fixed
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the ability to send out text messages to parents. Read moreTexting confusion
Four Payson High Culinary Arts students received great honors at the recent C-CAP (Careers Through Culinary Arts Program) awards banquet. Read moreCulinary Arts students receive awards, scholarships
Maybe it
’
s because we have more streams running through Rim Country than anywhere else in Arizona or maybe it
’
s because the skies are so clear that every star glows or maybe it
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s all the ranches, but this year, Rim Country students flexed their scientific muscles to triumph over many Valley schools in the Arizona Science and Engineering Fair. Read moreRim Country students show a surprising flair for science
Payson has launched the rezoning of a 253-acre Forest Service parcel on which it plans to build a 6,000-student university. The rezoning would limit use of the land to educational purposes, which would include spin-off facilities crucial to the financing of the campus. Read moreRezone for college
Show up at the Dimi Espresso for a beverage and stay to enjoy the art on the walls done by Gila Community College Dean Pam Butterfield. Read moreGCC dean shows off artistic side
Gila Community College
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s 2015-16 budget looks better than last year, but the senior dean wants the board to vote to raise the property tax rate to the legal limit to protect programs. Read moreGila Community College considers tax hike
At the April 13 Payson Unified School District board meeting, more names appeared on the agenda as separations from the district. Read moreExodus of principals, teachers continues
The Kiwanis Club of Zane Grey Country is now accepting applications for scholarships from graduating high school seniors. Read moreDeadline for scholarship applications is April 24
“
Tarzan,
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the Payson High School 2015 musical, brought laughs, tears and fun to audiences during its three-night run. Read moreTarzan swings into action
So, the official state budget has been signed and the cuts are in: Payson Unified School District has to peel away services to cover a $600,000 loss, which amounts to 4 percent of its operating budget. Read moreSchools cut budget
Longtime police officer and drug educator Joe Leduc offered a sobering summary of the drugs available to our children this Saturday at the Payson Unified School District
’
s Parent University session. Read moreThe drugs that endanger our children
In his 26 years as a cop, Joe Leduc has seen it all. Read moreTragedy’s root
Last fall, the Payson district launched a program to bring parents, grandparents, guardians and interested community members into the school to educate and address concerns and questions. Read moreSchools reach out to parents
Kathy Siler, director of the Payson High School Theatre Department and director of the upcoming musical Tarzan, thought it would be fun for me to fly with the pulleys and wires the actors will use. Read morePHS Theatre Troupe offers a flighty sample of the magic of Tarzan
Citing only two deficiencies, the Arizona Auditor General presented Payson Unified School District with an exceptional financial performance audit
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according to administration. Read morePUSD performing better than peer districts
By the end of the 2014/15 school year, Payson Unified School District will lose 50 percent of its principals
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Rob Varner and Asa Hall. Read morePayson losing principals
