KUA News
February 2025 Newsletter
Empowerment Through Opportunity
Our mission: to break down barriers for students by providing more instructional time, enriching programs and a high-expectations, no-excuses environment to ensure high school graduation, college success and career readiness are reasonable goals for all students regardless of race, language, ethnicity, gender, economic status or zip code.
Administrators’ message
February is a month for milestones! Kids Unlimited Academy marks the 100th day of school the first Monday of this month, Feb. 3, with fun math- and centennial-themed activities. Parents who want to volunteer for future school events must have completed the application through Medford School District.
As KUA anticipates its next school celebrations, we fondly look back on our time with Mimi Davis, who resigned her post as vice principal amid health concerns. Ms. Davis formed strong connections to White City families during the 2023-24 school year and, since August, specialized at KUA’s consolidated Medford campus in K-2 behavior referrals.
Daily systems of support for KUA student behavior remain in place. Families who previously communicated with Ms. Davis can expect to work with KU Director of Educational Services Lupita Vargas. If you would like to request a meeting with KUA administration, please contact the front office. Parents can bring their questions about administrative operations to KUA’s next Site Council meeting at 5 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 13, on Zoom.
Any questions or concerns about KUA morning enrichment should be directed to Vargas or Program Director Judy Patterson. KUA leadership welcomes parent and student feedback and suggestions for our enrichment options!
Lupita Vargas — KU Director of Educational Services, lvargas@kuaoregon.org
Lindsay Ochs — KUA Principal, lindsay.ochs@kuaoregon.org

Lindsay Ochs
Principal
From the Principal’s desk
Students’ academic progress continues to validate the “science of reading” at Kids Unlimited Academy, where teachers are gaining more understanding of this approach.
Presented by Southern Oregon Education Service District, the first of three training sessions will engage KUA teachers this month in the evidence-based practices reinforced in our school’s English language arts curriculum. Foundational English letter sounds, how to combine them and how the brain processes these components into words are the main elements of the “science of reading.”
Teachers and education experts credit a return to teaching phonics, as opposed to whole language comprehension, for student success. Supporting this stance is “How to Teach Reading and Spelling,” a book published in 2021 by longtime Southern Oregon resident Sasha Borenstein. She took KUA teachers on a deep dive into her methods last winter.
Through strong teacher training and support, Borenstein says, the scientific approach to reading can achieve literacy and spelling skills in 95% of all students, regardless of age, socio-economic status or other barriers to learning. Before educators’ return to phonics-based instruction, the most common approach to teaching ELA across the nation over the past 25 years resulted in 65% of all fourth-graders failing to learn to read at grade level, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress.
“To me, that isn’t OK,” Borenstein told KUA teachers last year.
The science of reading is grounded in humans’ recognition and replication of sounds that constitute language. In the classroom, students combine sounds to create words — even nonsense words — which help kids to understand the mechanics of language, rather than relying on their memories of words, Borenstein says.
Sounds can be simple or complex, with first-grade students usually focusing on one-syllable words. Parents observing a classroom may hear recitations of letter chains, like “slip-lip-lap-rap-rat.” Or they may see students write letter chains on a personal white board: “met-mat-sat-sag-sog.”
Second graders usually work on two syllables, third grade and older on three syllables. Letter tiles can help students move sounds around to make new words. And teachers need to craft lesson plans around letters whose sounds have been taught before moving on to new letter sounds that form new words.
Segmenting, or breaking up sounds, helps students to spell more efficiently while blending — combining sounds without any space between — helps them to read more efficiently, Borenstein says. Language learners eventually learn to recognize and replicate prefixes, suffixes, root syllables, the origins of words and spelling patterns.
Since KUA instituted the science of reading, student progress has been accelerating. Kindergartners, previously expected to read short sentences by the end of the school year, are mastering that skill by winter break.
At home, parents can guide their children and adolescents toward becoming more thoughtful, engaged readers and spellers using Borenstein’s book, available on Amazon. An educational consultant who teaches teachers, Borenstein worked in Oregon special education and literacy for about 50 years.
Review January’s Site Council notes for more tips about how to develop kids’ reading skills at home. And mark your calendars for KUA’s annual book fair, Feb-24-28.
Attendance matters!
Regular school attendance promotes school success and is required by Oregon Law, which mandates that students miss no more than 15 school days each academic year. Any student absent for 10 or more consecutive days will be dropped from KUA enrollment. Your child may lose his/her spot at KUA.
The loss of learning that takes place when your child is absent cannot be replaced. Chronic absenteeism in kindergarten can predict lower test scores, poor attendance and retention in later grades. If you need help getting your child to school on time, please reach out to us!
Always notify the school, by calling the office at 541-774-3900 between 7:30 a.m. and 9 a.m., when your child is absent or going to be absent for any reason. Please provide the student’s full name, grade and reason for absence. A doctor’s note is required for absences of longer than 3 days.
Attendance matters!
Regular school attendance promotes school success and is required by Oregon Law, which mandates that students miss no more than 15 school days each academic year. Any student absent for 10 or more consecutive days will be dropped from KUA enrollment. Your child may lose his/her spot at KUA.
The loss of learning that takes place when your child is absent cannot be replaced. Chronic absenteeism in kindergarten can predict lower test scores, poor attendance and retention in later grades. If you need help getting your child to school on time, please reach out to us!
Always notify the school, by calling the office at 541-774-3900 between 7:30 a.m. and 9 a.m., when your child is absent or going to be absent for any reason. Please provide the student’s full name, grade and reason for absence. A doctor’s note is required for absences of longer than 3 days.
Why year-round school?
We can’t speak highly enough of our year-round academic calendar, which is overwhelmingly supported by our families. Below are a few key reasons why we decided in 2021 to become Oregon’s first year-round public school.
- Students retain what they learn all year, rather than experience summer learning loss.
- Additional time for authentic hands-on learning opportunities, excursions and field trips.
- Additional school days help to close the achievement gap.
- Increased opportunities for extra help and tutoring.
- Consistent routines lead to better-adjusted students — and teachers
- Easier access for vacations during the school year.
- Decreased teacher and student absences.
What’s cooking?
Our new Food Program puts more variety on students’ plates.
Breakfast, lunch and dinner menus incorporate more locally produced ingredients, including seasonally fresh fruits and vegetables. Beef and veggie Stroganoff and chicken, sausage and veggie jambalaya are new recipes to complement favorites like carnitas tacos and green pozole. Check out the menu at kuaoregon.org/menu
All KUA students are eligible for free breakfast, lunch and dinner — cooked from scratch using fresh ingredients in our on-site kitchen. We are an equal opportunity provider and employer.
Our nationally recognized, award-winning food program is unique in the Medford school district, and we take pride in providing students’ daily nutrition. Build your kids’ healthy habits at home with whole foods instead of processed ones.
Sweet, chocolatey treats don’t have to contain a lot of sugar and fat. Mixing up this decadent dessert is easy, even without a pudding packet that comes in a box. Lightly sweetened with honey and ripe banana, this pudding from Cooking Matters contains low-fat milk but still comes out thick and rich. Save the leftover egg whites for whisking into scrambled eggs or an omelet for a higher-protein, lower-fat breakfast.
Find more family-friendly, quick-fix, wholesome recipes at cookingmatters.org
Chocolate Banana Pudding

Ingredients:
- 1 ripe banana, peeled
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- Pinch ground cinnamon
- Pinch salt
- 2 cups low-fat milk
- 1/3 cup honey
- Yolks from 2 large eggs
Instructions:
- In a small bowl, use a fork to mash the banana to a smooth pulp.
- In a medium bowl, use a fork to whisk the cocoa powder with the cornstarch, cinnamon and salt.
- In a medium pot over medium heat, gently heat the milk and honey until honey melts into milk. Sprinkle cocoa mixture a bit at a time into milk, whisking continuously and gradually incorporating so no clumps form. Raise heat and bring mixture to a simmer for 1 minute to activate cornstarch.
- Beat the egg yolks in a medium bowl and pour a small amount of hot milk mixture over egg mixture. Whisk continuously until smooth. Continue adding milk, a little at a time, whisking, until about half of milk mixture is used.
- Add egg mixture to pot with remaining milk. Cook over medium heat, stirring continuously with a rubber spatula until mixture bubbles and thickens, for 1 minute. Remove from heat.
- Whisk in mashed banana right away until fully combined. Alternatively, use a blender to blend banana into pudding for the silkiest results.
- Immediately pour warm pudding into 6 small cups; pudding will set quickly. Eat warm or refrigerate until set, for about 2 hours.
Makes 6 servings.
Table Talk
Family conversations during meals or before bedtime are a great way to reconnect, help younger kids to develop language skills and help parents to stay informed about happenings at school.
If kids are reluctant to talk about events of the day out loud, encourage them to explore their feelings by drawing or — for older kids — writing some thoughts on paper. Use the Table Talk flyer sent home with students as a guide and return it to the front office for credit toward fulfilling monthly volunteer hours.
“How do you show kindness toward others?”
“What kinds of things make you feel loved, appreciated or cared for?”
“What’s your favorite book and why?”