Nika Bartoo-Smith
Underscore Native News+ ICT
TOLEDO, Oregon — Students and staff of Siletz Valley School poured into the gymnasium for a school assembly Wednesday morning while the school’s drum group opened with a celebration song. Staff were eager to share news with students after the school board made a decision about the school’s future the previous day.
“We are in the gym today to celebrate the fact that we are not closing,” Acting Superintendent Debra Barnes said as applause filled the air. “Our school is staying open, but the work has not stopped.”
Students and staff at Siletz Valley School join the drum circle on the gym floor during an assembly on April 15, 2026 where administration announced the school will stay open next year. (Photo by Nika Bartoo-Smith, Underscore Native News / ICT)
At the Lincoln County school board meeting at Oceanlake Elementary School in Lincoln City, Oregon on April 14, Siletz Valley School community learned that their lease agreement will continue in its current form and the school will remain open.
At the board meeting, students, teachers, board members and community from Siletz Valley School filed into the gym at Oceanlake Elementary School, eager to learn the fate of their school. People spoke to the board about Siletz Valley School being at the heart of the community.
Siletz Valley School is a K-12 charter school that opened in 2003. It currently has 189 students enrolled and more than 65 percent of those students identify as Native American, many of which are citizens of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, according to its acting superintendent.
Siletz Valley School’s drum group shares a celebration song during a schoolwide assembly on April 15, 2026. (Photo by Nika Bartoo-Smith, Underscore Native News / ICT)
The vote came about amidst uncertainty as the school worked to get in compliance with its current charter agreement after multiple letters from the school district for being out of compliance in 12 areas.
Lincoln County School District Superintendent Majalise Tolan presented to the board a few options about what could happen with Siletz Valley School ranging from leaving the charter intact to closing the school or even reopening it as part of the district.
Tolan discussed the Oregon School Board Association review, done by Kristen Miles, that was submitted to Siletz Valley School and the Lincoln County School Board last week.
The analysis found the Siletz Valley School has been out of compliance with its charter agreement in many areas since 2023.
Tolan recommended that the board terminate Siletz Valley School’s current charter and lease agreements and form a new one.
At the meeting, only three of five board members voted. Mitch Parsons was not in attendance and Natalie Schaefer recused herself from the vote due to a working relationship with Siletz Valley School.
Of the three there, Jason Malloy and Peter Vince voted to end the current charter and seemed ready to explore an option to reopen the school with a new charter agreement. Dave Cowden voted no on the motion to end the charter and lease agreement.
“All I can say is I hope that Lincoln County School District and Siletz Valley School can continue to develop a positive relationship and get Siletz Valley School in compliance,” said Vince, board chair of the Lincoln County School District.
Without a quorum, the motion failed and Siletz Valley School will remain open.
Siletz Valley School Acting Superintendent Debra Barnes announces to students and staff that the school will remain open next year during an assembly on April 15, 2026. (Photo by Nika Bartoo-Smith, Underscore Native News / ICT)
“Now the real work begins,” Barnes told UNN + ICT. “We take the gift of the technicality and now the real work starts.”
At the assembly on April 15, Barnes, the language and culture teacher Theresa Smith and the school board chair, Jenifer Metcalf, shared in the celebration and reminded students of necessary areas of improvement.
They emphasized the importance of school attendance and encouraged students to show up to school, on time.
“I knew that the children were not going to leave. You guys were not going to be out of this school,” Metcalf, a citizen of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, told the students. “And so for those of you that are here today, and you might see that maybe your buddy’s not here today. You might want to check in on your friend if they go to school here and say, ‘Hey, get to school.’ Let’s fill up our school again. Let’s have that pride.”
Students and staff joined the drum circle on the gym floor as the assembly ended.
Next steps
Though Siletz Valley School is staying open, staff know that there is lots of work left to do in order to get into compliance. From addressing attendance rates and test scores to facility maintenance needs and services for English language learners.
Both administration and the Siletz Valley School Board have said they are committed to getting the school into compliance.
“To us, it’s a second chance for our children,” Metcalf told UNN + ICT. “And we’re not going to lose our identities going somewhere else.”
This story is co-published by Underscore Native Newsand ICT, a news partnership that covers Indigenous communities in the Pacific Northwest.
The post Siletz Valley School will remain open appeared first on ICT.
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