After just five months on the job, Payson Unified School District Superintendent Stan Rentz has resigned. Read more
Education remains on the top of the list of voter concerns, according to a statewide poll of likely voters. Read more
Advisory classes at Rim Country Middle School have been engaged in conversation regarding what makes them happy as a person. Read more
On Oct. 16, 35 Payson Center for Success and eight Payson High School students went to Northern Arizona University (N… Read more
Daily, more than 400 Payson High School students prove that Career and Technical Education (CTE) is “Learning That Wo… Read more
Julia Randall Elementary fourth grade students and teachers teamed up with the Town of Payson Water Department to lea… Read more
The safety of Payson Schools is often on my mind. Every day when school ends and our students arrive home safely; our… Read more
A group of students from the Payson Future Farmers of America chapter traveled to Indiana to attend the National FFA … Read more
“There are three ways to ultimate success: The first way is to be kind. The second way is to be kind. The third way i… Read more
Fewer and fewer kids are going to college — but they’re coming out deeper and deeper in debt. The trend’s especially … Read more
While the Gila County Regional Science Fair competition is in early March, the Gila County School Superintendent’s Of… Read more
Eastern Arizona College-Payson offers a comprehensive gardening class for the coming spring term. Read more
Eastern Arizona College’s Small Business Development Center (SBDC) is offering a one evening seminar entitled, Start … Read more
This month, Rim Country Middle School students and staff nominated eighth-grade student Brooklyn Klein for the Payson… Read more
The Payson School Board last week pondered the gains and losses in the latest school-by-school state report card. Thi… Read more
Last year, the Arizona Legislature put an extra $20 million into the state’s School Safety Program, which covers the … Read more
The kindergarten through second grade Payson Elementary School Christmas Concert packed the Payson High School audito… Read more
Masoud Yasami decided his painting and sketching students weren’t noticeable enough at the EAC Payson Art Show, so he… Read more
The award-winning Julia Randall Elementary School bell choir drew a standing ovation from the folks at the Payson Sch… Read more
Payson schools’ bump in enrollment and the messy mucking about with state funding formulas has yielded a pleasant $60… Read more
EAC Payson Campus students and the Payson community are in for a treat from the campus biology instructor, Cameron Mower. Read more
On Monday, most of the Payson Unified School District’s administrators walked out of a school board meeting after rea… Read more
Watching all of the kids on the stage dressed in their glittery well-pressed best, it’s clear the holiday season has … Read more
The Payson Elks Lodge has started a new monthly scholarship program for students. The Elks Lodge Student of the Month… Read more
A math wiz with a different way of doing things amazed students at Julia Randall Elementary on Wednesday, Nov. 20. Read more
The most iconic tradition of Hawaii arrived in Rim Country in early October. Native Hawaiian and new resident Tiana P… Read more
Molly Beier, Payson, has earned a spot on the University of Wisconsin-Madison Dean’s List for the spring semester of … Read more
Are you interested in learning about photography or would you like to brush up on your skills? Read more
Ever found an injured or orphaned wild animal and not know what to do? Attend the next meeting of the Library Friends… Read more
Payson’s school grades continue to slip, but the Tonto Basin and Pine elementary school districts both maintained the… Read more
The Rim Country Rotary recognized DJ Pedler as its student of the month. Read more
With enough planning and hard work, Payson High School students can graduate with both a community college AA degree … Read more
Seems simple: It’s all about the teacher. Read more
The Payson Community Presbyterian Church has offered child care for more than 100 years. The Stafford House on the ch… Read more
Gila County offers effective, age-adjusted health and sex education classes for students — but few Rim Country school… Read more
Voters offered overwhelming support for Payson Schools, with 61 percent approving a continuation of the 10 percent bu… Read more
What do pumpkins, costumes and hot chocolate have in common? Read more
The Pride of Payson marching band strutted their stuff at the Oct. 19 Northern Arizona University band day. Read more
The Payson Unified School District has spent a lot of time thinking about the unthinkable. Read more
During the week of Sept. 4-8, Payson FFA students took part in the Northern Gila County Fair in Payson. Read more
You got your algebra and your chemistry and your history classes — and all your standardized tests to see what you le… Read more
The Payson School District recently celebrated its latest batch of AzMERIT champions, although confusion persists in … Read more
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You got your algebra and your chemistry and your history classes — and all your standardized tests to see what you learned in school. Read more
AZ MERIT CHAMPIONS
The Payson School District recently celebrated its latest batch of AzMERIT champions, although confusion persists in the community about the t… Read more
Arizona remains perhaps the worst state in the country to be a public school teacher, according to a recent national survey. Read more
Override pitch at the tea party
Advocates for a ballot measure to extend the Payson Unified School District’s $1.4 million budget override took their case to the Payson Tea P… Read more
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Everywhere Pine teacher Dean Pederson goes — students run up to greet him. Read more
Performance pay plan
The Payson school board last week unanimously approved the district’s state-mandated “performance pay” system for teacher bonuses. Read more
Anyone who says Main Street is dead hasn’t attended a recent Main Street Merchants Guild meeting. Read more
Payson High School student government recently honored Rim Country’s first responders with a hearty breakfast. Read more
Counselors
Payson faces a tight deadline to apply for state money to either continue funding for a police officer on campus or add to its pool of almost … Read more
The Friends of Rim Country Gila Community College recently raised $10,000 for student scholarships. Read more
Payson High School was put on lockdown Thursday afternoon after a student allegedly made violent threats. Read more
The computer classroom at Payson High School remains quiet, and that’s a good thing believe it or not. This is all because of new headphones t… Read more
PHOENIX — Studies show the best way to get students interested in the STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering, and math) is not through books and lectures, but through hands-on projects that involve interactive problem-solving. Challenges like building full-size cardboard boats and racing them across a public swimming pool, launching weather balloons into inner space and tracking its trajectory, and racing mini-solar cars to test hypotheses on how far they will go in full sun versus shade – these are the kinds of science activities that inspire young minds. As any science teacher will tell you – good science isn’t cheap. Read more
Daycare
The Community Presbyterian Church plans to open a day care center to help fill the void left by the shutdown of Head Start last year. Read more
Override
Payson Unified School District Superintendent Stan Rentz has been introducing himself to the community he now serves — and offering a little e… Read more
Payson schools last week celebrated middle school students who scored as highly proficient on the latest AzMERIT test in English and math. Read more
The Missoula Children’s Theatre (MCT) doesn’t need magic beans to make magic happen. Read more
Top students
Proud parents and brainy students jammed the Payson School Board meeting recently to celebrate top scores on the statewide AzMERIT tests. Read more
Payson High School seniors have a chance to win scholarships from the Elks National Foundation ranging from $4,000 to $50,000. Read more
Testing
Don’t count the new superintendent of the Payson Unified School District as a big fan of national, standardized testing to decide what’s going… Read more
Would you like to spend an evening at the Chaparral Pines Clubhouse, including dinner, an art sale and live auction to help provide GCC studen… Read more
When school bells rang around Rim Country at the end of July, Tonto Village was quiet. The Shelby School has closed its doors, according to lo… Read more
School districts throughout the state once more lurched into the school year with the nation’s worst ratio of counselors to students. Read more
The Missoula Children’s Theatre (MCT) doesn’t need magic beans to make magic happen. Read more
Arizona schools
Despite recent funding increases, Arizona still has one of the weakest school systems in the country, according to ratings by WalletHub, a fin… Read more
Stan Rentz walked up to the Rim Country Middle School student holding a sign that read: “Are you lost?” Read more
Few people eagerly await the start of school like Linda Scoville. Read more
School board meeting
The Payson School Board this week doubled the pay for people who work the gates and concession stands at football games, reasoning that the bi… Read more
Gila Community College is offering four free concerts in August as part of its “Music in the Garden” series. Read more
Dual enrollment
Get this: An energetic Payson High School student can graduate with not only a high school diploma — but a community college degree Read more
Rim Country students can pick up a free backpack between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m., Sunday, July 21 at the TCC Payson store, 401 N. Beeline. Read more
Gila Community College is again offering the study in substance abuse class this fall, taught by Jane Fender. Read more
Salary study
The Payson School Board approved a $15,500 salary study at its last meeting, which will affect the wages, benefits and recruitment of staff. Read more
The Gowers are gone now. Read more
High school roofs
Two buildings at Payson High School will get about $700,000 worth of new roofing, thanks to the first signs of a turnaround in state support f… Read more
The school bus driver crisis dominated newly hired Payson Unified School District Superintendent Stan Rentz’s first meeting this week. Read more
December Tudor crept to the very edge of the water-smoothed boulder above the narrow slot of the foaming East Verde River in the narrows of Wa… Read more
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An art instructor with a master’s degree in fine arts who fell in love with Payson will share her expertise and creativity at Gila Community C… Read more
The Unified Payson School District budget will rise by almost 7 percent to $16 million in fiscal 2019-20, with most of the new money going to … Read more
The Heard Museum has wrapped up its second annual Teacher Institute program, which gives Arizona educators a better understanding of American … Read more
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If you live within a mile of a Payson school campus, your child can’t take the bus to that campus in the fall, the Payson School Board decided… Read more
Northern Gila County educators, their families and friends packed the meeting room at the county offices on East Highway 260 in Payson June 18… Read more
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The Pine-Strawberry School teacher whose personalized license plate reads “Bonaro” has been named the Gila County Teacher of the Year. Read more
WASHINGTON – Gov. Doug Ducey touted Arizona’s first-in-the-nation universal licensing recognition law at the White House Thursday to a recepti… Read more
