PTS In the News
Local and regional news coverage focused on the Phoenix-Talent School District
Nine aspiring amateur masons faced off on Friday at the 2026 Oregon State SkillsUSA Masonry Competition hosted by the Phoenix-Talent School District.
One of dozens of events around the state — an estimated 1,300 students competed in annual SkillsUSA competitions to earn a chance for a national competition this summer — SkillsUSA is a national nonprofit partnership between middle schools, high schools and colleges, and industry professionals to prepare students for careers in trade, technical and skill service occupations.
PHOENIX, Ore. - High school students are competing to build freestanding brick and block walls, judged on everything from alignment to cleanliness.
The competition challenges students to keep walls straight and level while maintaining uniform joints.
David Ford, a teacher at Phoenix High School, said students are being judged on those technical details as they practice their skills.
Seven elementary school students from the Phoenix-Talent School District traded sleeping in on the first day of spring break for a shot at something bigger: turning family recipes and cooking skills into a winning dish.
The Future Chefs Challenge is run by the food service company Sodexo, which serves the district. These students were chosen to compete from a pool of others who submitted recipes for consideration.
Archives
October 2023-March 2024
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KOBI-5 (03-22-2024): TMS staffers take pie in the face for good cause
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KDRV-12 (03-21-2024): PTS students compete in Future Chefs Challenge
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ROGUE VALLEY TIMES (03-20-2024): PHS track team hosts Phoenix Icebreaker
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KDRV-12 (03-18-2024): TMS staffers take pie to the face after fundraiser
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KDRV-12 (03-18-2024): TMS Sources of Strength program raises funds for Sparrow
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ROGUE VALLEY TIMES (03-16-2024): Editorial: OES club spreads a little sunshine
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KDRV-12 (03-14-2024): PHS students organize fundraiser for Sparrow
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ROGUE VALLEY TIMES (03-13-2024): PTS board discusses proposal for bullet-resistant buildings
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KDRV-12 (03-12-2024): TMS holding Sources of Strength assembly
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KDRV-12 (03-11-2024): PHS student to represent Oregon at Rural Education Summit
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KDRV-12 (03-10-2024): PHS student surprised with New Orleans event
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ROGUE VALLEY TIMES (03-10-2024): OES newspaper club spreads news
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KDRV-12 (02-29-2024): PHS hosts Career and Technical Education Night
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KDRV-12 (02-28-2024): PES students compete in Battle of the Books
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KDRV-12 (02-27-2024): PTS encourages academic success through Family Math Night
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KDRV-12 (01-18-2024): TMS students start Sources of Strength training
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KDRV-12 (01-03-2024): PTS hosts hats, gloves and mittens drive
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Rogue Valley Times: Phoenix teen has attitude of gratitude despite third cancer battle
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Rogue Valley Times: Phoenix's Feeley ready for one final chance
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KDRV-12: Phoenix Elementary readies for Día de los Muertos
PHOENIX, Ore. -- Phoenix Elementary School is preparing for their second annual “Día de los Muertos” celebration this upcoming Thursday.
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Ashland.news: PHS sends Love for Lahaina across miles
More than 2,400 miles separate Phoenix, Oregon, from Lahaina, Hawaii, but a fundraiser that kicked off on Wednesday brought the two communities closer together in spirit, in light of the town’s similarly devastating wildfires.
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KDRV-12: Community supports PHS fundraiser
PHOENIX, Ore. -- Phoenix High School leadership students hosted a fundraiser for Lahainaluna High School during Wednesday’s Pirate Country Parade.
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KDRV-12: PHS tallying up funds for Love for Lahaina fundraiser
Phoenix High leadership students yet to calculate final donation total.
March 2022-October 2023
October 21, 2023: Rogue Valley Times: Phoenix High students launch 'Lahaina Love' fundraiser for teens affected by Maui fire
When fire raged through the community of Lahaina on Aug. 8, destroying more than 2,000 buildings and killing at least 97 people on the northwest coast of Maui, news reports of the devastation gave some Phoenix High School students a dreaded sense of déjà vu.
October 14, 2023: KDRV-12 NewsWatch 12: Students who lost homes in Almeda Fire fundraise for Lahaina students
October 13, 2023: KOBI-5: Phoenix High School raising money for Maui school
Students will be selling Hawaiian Barbecue plates and T shirts outside the gym after the homecoming parade. You can also drop off cash or checks to Phoenix High’s office at 745 North Rose Street.
October 9, 2023: OSBA News: Community Care program goes to heart of students' needs
Girls on the Run is just one of the new initiatives launched as part of the Phoenix-Talent School District’s Community Care program. The mental-health focused program aims to help students do better in school by lowering the stress level for students and families. The program enlists “community care specialists” to help families overcome obstacles, everything from filling out a job application to finding glasses for a needy student.
October 4, 2023: Rogue Valley Times: Phoenix High School opens new full-service medical clinic with mental health component
“It really helps because students don’t have to leave, go across town, to get medical attention,” said Kalin Cross, principal at the high school.
September 6, 2023: Back to School Series Part One: Phoenix-Talent
In part one of our back-to-school series, we caught up with the principal of Phoenix Elementary School who’s entering her 19th year as an educator in the Rogue Valley.
September 8, 2022: PTS shares fire lessons with Weed community following its own devastating fire.
KDRV-12: click to view
KTVL-10: click to view
June 21: University of Oregon: Family is everything
For Rene Cabrera, MS ’22 School Psychology and former Phoenix-Talent SD intern, family is everything. He sees his accomplishments as a reflection on the hard work of his parents, who were immigrants from Mexico.
June 20: Mail Tribune: Eating their way through summer
Phoenix-Talent School District will offer a summer meal program at the following dates, times and locations.
June 13: Mail Tribune: National Assistant Principal of 2022 tapped to lead Talent MS
Over the last year, Ashland Middle School Assistant Principal Katherine Holden impressed the education world enough to win “Assistant Principal of the Year” titles at the state and national levels. Now, she’s impressed the Phoenix-Talent School District enough to move up to a principal position.
June 12: Mail Tribune: In photos: Phoenix High School graduation
Photos of Phoenix High’s 2022 graduation ceremony by Mail Tribune photographer Andy Atkinson
June 8: KTVL-10: Honoring the seniors at Phoenix High School for their resiliency
The graduating class of 2022 has experienced a lot, particularly for the seniors at Phoenix High School.
June 8: KDRV-12: Graduating seniors show resilience
Phoenix High’s Class of 2022 went through a lot to earn their diplomas.
May 31: KTVL-10: Medford elementary students hold penny war fundraiser for Ukraine
With Ukraine still fending off a sustained attack from Russia, a Rogue Valley elementary school invited kids to fundraise for Ukrainian citizens through a friendly competition
May 29: Mail Tribune: Hats off to the valedictorians of the class of 2022
A list of the valedictorians and some biographical information
May 27: Mail Tribune: Phoenix High principal to lead Cascade Christian HS
Phoenix High School’s principal is leaving to head up Cascade Christian High School next year, and the principal of McLoughlin Middle School in Medford was chosen to replace him in Phoenix.
May 23: Mail Tribune: Phoenix-Talent schools get relief from 2020 fires
The Phoenix-Talent School District board created a new fund Thursday to store over $4 million it could use to supplement property tax revenues lost as a result of the 2020 Almeda fire.
May 23: KOBI-5: Talent Elementary School students rally for their sparrow
Students from Talent Elementary School met their “Sparrow,” a fellow kid in medical need, for the first time on Friday.
May 21: Mail Tribune: Phoenix’s Hosking wins 800 for second 4A state title
Elwood Hosking had Valley Catholic’s Henry Tierney right where he wanted him as the two entered the final 100 meters of the boys 800-meter run at the Class 4A state track and field championships at Hayward Field in Eugene Saturday.
May 20: Mail Tribune: Hosking, Stubblefield win 4A state titles for Phoenix
Phoenix seniors Elwood Hosking and Sophia Stubblefield stayed true to their game plan and were rewarded for it Friday to open the Class 4A track and field state championships with a bang for the Pirates at Hayward Field in Eugene.
May 15: Mail Tribune: Students help rebuild Almeda community
Most reply with “hypotenuse,” the correct answer. It’s a lead-in to use of triangles as middle school students from the Phoenix-Talent Rising Academy build furniture for residents displaced by the Almeda fire.
May 12: Rosebud Media: Rise up and build back
Talent Maker City is teaching Phoenix Rising Academy students to build furniture for victims of the Almeda Fire in their Rise and Rebuild Program
May 10: KOBI-5: New course allows Phoenix-Talent SD students to give back to Almeda fire victims
Students at the Phoenix Talent School District are getting their hands dirty while giving back to the community at the same time. The Phoenix Talent Rising Academy, the district’s online school, added a new elective for the school year.
May 9: KDRV-12: Students making their beds for others
A group of online students are on course to supply several beds to Almeda Fire survivors. They're not buying them; they're building them.
April 26: Mail Tribune: Symbols of resilience
When Phoenix-Talent Assistant Superintendent Tiffanie Lambert drove her students back home to Rogue Valley on Monday after a long day of volunteering up north, she noticed everyone was way more “chatty'' than they were when they left at 6:30 a.m. for their destination.
April 20: Rosebud Media: Talent Middle School’s manzanita statues
Talent Middle School Students, taught by Talent Maker City, created and delivered 11 Manzanita Tree statues to their neighboring schools and select locations along the Bear Creek Green Way. Manzanita trees to represent fire resiliency and regrowth in the wake of the fire.
April 19: The Register-Guard: A gift of solidarity: Students bond over resilience in face of Labor Day fires
Students from Southern Oregon and the McKenzie River Valley did not know each other before this week, but they share a bond forged by wildfire and terrible loss.
April 19: KLCC: Manzanita Project gifts welded sculpture to school district hit by wildfires
A year and a half past the catastrophic wildfires of 2020, McKenzie Schools were gifted with a symbol of resilience from an affected district from southern Oregon this week.
April 19: KTVL-10: Phoenix High School receives $10,000 from Trail Blazers foundation
The Portland Trail Blazers Foundation awarded grants to 18 schools across the state of Oregon, including three right here in Southern Oregon as part of the foundation’s ‘Take it To The Court for Education’ school grant program.
April 18: Mail Tribune: Pirates show their neighbors some ‘care’
Some three-dozen students, teachers and community members were up with the sunrise Saturday to infuse helpfulness and happiness into their recovering school district.
April 17: KTVL-10: Phoenix High students and staff host Pirate Care Day
Students, staff, and family volunteers with Phoenix High School took part in the school’s first ‘Pirates Care Day’ and helped several community members with their yard work.
April 16: KOBI-5: Cleaning the community on Pirate Care Day
Students and staff from Phoenix High School teamed up Saturday to clean up their community. About 30-volunteers participated in what the school calls Pirate Care Day.
April 11: KTVL-10: Almeda fire survivors plant trees at Talent Elementary, Middle
The City of Talent Urban Forestry Committee, in partnership with Plant Oregon, celebrated Arbor Month on Saturday with the planting of almost 100 trees at Talent Middle and Elementary Schools.
April 8: Mail Tribune: Trees will grow in Talent
Volunteers, including students, will spend Saturday planting over 70 trees at Talent’s elementary and middle schools.
April 7: KTVL-10: Phoenix High School senior crowned Pear Blossom queen
On March 26, Phoenix High School (PHS) senior Maddy Mayer was crowned queen of the 69th annual Pear Blossom Festival.
April 7: KDRV-12: Phoenix High student crowned Pear Blossom Festival queen
Phoenix High School senior Maddy Mayer was crowned queen of the 69th annual Pear Blossom Festival at the conclusion of the pageant’s competition Saturday, March 26 at Cascade Christian High School.
April 5: Rosebud Media: Saturday tree planting at Talent Middle School
In celebration of Oregon’s Arbor month, volunteers are encouraged to help plant 85 trees on the Talent Middle School and Talent Elementary School campuses.
April 5: Rosebud Media: PHS sends DECA team to Internationals
The Phoenix High School DECA team is heading to the international competition later this month to compete in the international levels, hosted in Atlanta Georgia.
March 30: KTVL-10: Five Phoenix High School students qualify for internationa DECA competition
Five Phoenix High School students studying marketing and business performed well enough at a state-level competition to qualify for the DECA International Career Development Conference in Atlanta, Georgia.
March 29: KOBI-5: 5 Phoenix High School students qualify for international DECA competition
Five Phoenix High School students are qualifying for the DECA International Career Development Conference in Atlanta! The students earned the spot by finishing in the top 3, or by securing an at-large bid during the state conference last month.
March 22: Mail Tribune: You can trust us: Talent student reporters dig deep
Hours after the bell had rung to let students out of classes at Talent Middle School Wednesday, eighth-graders Franklin Ramirez and Aaron Chavez were still working hard.
March 18: Women’s Running: COVID reset her life. Now Amanda Phillips runs for Cascadia Elite with eyes on the trials
Born with an indistinguishable competitive fire, Amanda Phillips has always loved to race. No matter if it’s on the track, on the roads, or on a cross-country course, she’s always been eager to run as hard as possible at just about any distance, even if she’s only been running 20 miles a week and “not optimally fit.”
March 15: KTVL-10: ‘People have faces below their eyes,’ Talent students react to masks optional
Yesterday was the first day that masks became optional for school districts statewide. Students at Talent's Outdoor Discovery Program, a lottery-based magnet program to Talent Elementary, shared their thoughts about it during an interview today.
March 10: Jefferson Public Radio: Almeda fire memories form core of student podcast in Talent
The students at Talent Elementary School had a lot to put in theirs; they've been dealing with the pandemic and masks and all that, PLUS the Almeda Drive fire wiping out hundreds of homes in the community.
March 9: Mail Tribune: Talent students get chance to ‘share our stories’
Inspired to participate in NPR’s Student Podcast Challenge, held annually for students in grades 5 through 12, Talent Elementary School teacher Jessica Ward posed a series of questions to kids to get them to talk about their lives over the past two years.
April 2020-March 2022
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PTS classified staff lands raise
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Outdoor Discovery Program students produce podcast for NPR contest
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Phoenix-Talent Rising Locker picks up steam
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Funding bill to help PTS introduced
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PHS alum on track to become U.S. diplomat
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Phoenix-Talent, United Way team up for Rosa Parks tribute
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Songbirds program a hit at PTS
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PHS students mentor youth in JPAL camps
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Phoenix High grad rate even higher than expected
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Holiday food drive arranged at PHS
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Phoenix-Talent student designs PTRA logo
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PHS student helps family rebuild home
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Phoenix High's bid to play down as 3A denied by OSAA
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UScellular donates shoes to Phoenix-Talent SD
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Phoenix High holds first concert in new Rose Street Theatre
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PHS holds coat drive
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Gateway Project officially opens as first family moves in
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A photo shoot for fire survivors at TES
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Phoenix High culinary program holds 'Chopped' competition
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TES principal Heather Lowe Rogers praised for leadership
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Phoenix-Talent SD adds fifth-grade band class
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Gateway Project unveiled during ribbon-cutting ceremony
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Phoenix-Talent pushes for funding bill to pass
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PHS student builds new storage shed for Talent Elementary
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Phoenix High scores well amid ODE data dump
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A day at Phoenix-Talent schools one year after they reopened following the Almeda fire
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The Phoenix-Talent School District unveils the collaborative Manzanita Project
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A year after the fire, superintendent Brent Barry reflects on return to school
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Phoenix-Talent's Brent Barry named Oregon Superintendent of the Year
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Talent school supply list calls for 'a few pens' and 'read a book together
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PHS seniors honored for artwork
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Phoenix students return to in-person learning, in brand new campus
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New high school offers ‘beacon of hope’
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Phoenix High School Loses Senior Art Murals - But The Tradition Continues
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PHOENIX-TALENT SCHOOLS RETURN FOR IN-PERSON LEARNING
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Teachers and students adjust to hybrid learning
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Learning online without a home: How families devastated by Oregon’s fires are trying to keep up with school
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Phoenix-Talent relief fund for school families distributes $1.2 million
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Fire Cleanup is a very sad process
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Rogue Valley Symphony donates dozens of instruments
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PTS & Rogue Retreat Partnership
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PTS & Rogue Retreat Partnership (Spanish)
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Staff Spotlight: Phoenix Talent Schools IT Team
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Staff Spotlight: Phoenix Talent Schools IT Team (Spanish)
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Phoenix overwhelmed with support
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Trump issues disaster declaration for Oregon due to deadly wildfires
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Donated RVs making a difference for displaced families
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Everything west of this small town avenue is intact. Everything else is gone
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Almeda Aftermath: Phoenix-Talent folks rise from the ashes, rebuilding lives and towns
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In-Person Instruction Waivers Raise School District Calls for More Exceptions
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Rogue Food Unites: Helping restaurants and fire victims in Southern Oregon