Betsy Hammond
KGW News
Portland, OR, United States
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Past articles by Betsy:
Oregon students face profound learning losses from school closures, especially in math, new research shows
While the projected learning losses are estimates, it’s clear it will likely take years, even in a best-case scenario, to fully remedy the hit. → Read More
Oregon’s May 19 primary election will happen as planned
Voters can register to vote, update their registration or change political parties online ahead of the April 28 deadline. → Read More
2 coronavirus deaths in Florida bring national total of fatalities to at least 18
Two Floridians have died as a result of coronavirus, FloridaHealth.gov said late Friday night, bringing the national death total to at least 18. → Read More
Tourism tax to benefit world track meet in Eugene greenlit by Oregon House
Oregon’s lodging tax will remain at an elevated level rather than be reduced as scheduled this year, in part to help generate millions for the 2021 World Athletics Championships in Eugene, if the Senate follows the House’s lead. → Read More
Kate Brown names judge to Oregon Court of Appeals seat she previously awarded her own lawyer without any competition
When controversy erupted, Brown pressured her general counsel, Misha Isaak, to decline the appointment, which he did. That left the opening to which Brown named Jacqueline “Jackie” Kamins on Friday. → Read More
Oregon plane crash victims identified as friends from Monroe County
The men, both in their early 20s, lived and worked in Lebanon but grew up together in northeast Pennsylvania. → Read More
Teen sues West Linn City Council president for hiding public records
A West Linn college student has taken the president of the West Linn City Council to court over her refusal to provide him with her hand-written notes taken during council sessions and other official meetings. → Read More
School advocates release primer on Oregon education funding
Its main points are familiar to anyone who has watched Oregon schools and state education rankings: Funding for the state's schools has fallen from above-average to below it in the wake of voter-enacted 1990s property tax limits, class sizes are some of the largest in the nation and extras that parents and teachers love, such as art classes, school counselors and summer school, are in short… → Read More
Oregon students' ACT scores best in recent history
Oregon's class of 2016 was the best-prepared for college in recent history, according to results for the 14,000-plus students who took the ACT college entrance exam. → Read More
Eastern Oregon teacher wins presidential award for hands-on classes that turn brownsfields green
An Eastern Oregon environmental sciences teacher won a presidential award from the White House Tuesday for her pioneering classes in which high school students turn brownfields into Department of Environmental Quality-approved property. Megan Alameda, a Portland native who moved with... → Read More
Candidates revealed? Portland schools zeroing in on interim leader
Three former Portland-area superintendents and a former deputy Portland superintendent are among the people who spent time behind a closed door with the Portland school board on Thursday, in a session the board said was to discuss a personnel matter. → Read More
Oregon foster parents who starved preschoolers get 2½ years in prison
The case has also prompted a $30 million lawsuit against Oregon's Department of Human Services, with lawyers for the two siblings accusing child welfare caseworkers and their supervisors and managers of overlooking repeated complaints and glaring red flags during the 2½ years that the children lived with John and Danielle Yates. → Read More
Portland Public Schools messed up on water filters, records show
In 2007, the district paid a contractor, CH2O, to install nearly 700 filters on fountains at 78 schools‚ but it realized in spring 2008 that the company had used the wrong filters, records show. So that summer, the district and CH2O split the $9,000 cost for 700 new filters, the contract shows. → Read More
Lead paint hazards being addressed at 39 Portland schools
District leaders pledge that workers will wear bunny suits and respirators and use plastic to catch all loose lead paint chips as they work to repair dangerous lead paint inside and outside of dozens of schools → Read More
Boy, 2, dies in care of stepfather after DHS was shown he'd hurt toddler; lawyers seek $10 million
Hayden Henry died at his Monmouth home after his stepfather, a violent felon, cared for him alone all day. Police and child welfare workers were alerted one and two weeks before his death of bruises to his neck and face, but they left him in the care of his mother and stepfather. Now DHS faces another multimillion-dollar suit in the death or near-death of a child on its watch. → Read More
Carole Smith stepping down immediately as Portland superintendent in wake of lead controversy
Smith, who had planned to work the rest of the school year, says she is leaving 'now.' The accouncement came just minutes after the school board released a report detailing where things went sideways on addressing lead hazards in school water. → Read More
David Douglas school district names new superintendent
Now the 13th largest school district in Oregon, David Douglas serves a diverse high-poverty population and achieves well-above-average results, given its demographics → Read More
High school graduation measure qualifies for ballot
A ballot measure that would devote money to improving graduation rates has plenty of signatures to qualify to be put before voters in November, the Secretary of State's office says. → Read More
Oregon wins $1.1 million to help spur career success for incarcerated girls, young women
Officials hope that by providing young women locked up at Oak Creek Youth Correctional Facility with computer skills training, apprenticeships, coaching in college and career success and college courses, they can propel them toward economic independence and career satisfaction → Read More
Portland children who tested high for lead were poisoned at home, not school
Multnomah County health officials have determined lead sources in their homes, not tainted drinking water at school, sickened the two youngsters. They were the only ones among 519 people tested at two Portland schools in June who showed elevated lead in their blood. → Read More