Memorial honors ‘Grandma’ Dorothy’s generational impact

A monumental figure for Kids Unlimited has been honored with a monument to her memory. 

The legacy of “Grandma” Dorothy Schoder, who passed away in January, will be inscribed on a book-shaped sculpture close to KU’s front entrance. Nearby, flower beds recall Grandma Dorothy’s belief that every child was a seed that, nurtured with love and attention, could uniquely and beautifully blossom in the garden of life.

“She’s been a huge advocate of everything from literacy and sciences to the investment in young women’s leadership through sports,” said KU’s CEO and founder, Tom Cole, who counted Dorothy among his dearest friends during her 15 years of involvement with KU.   

Cole and KU leadership celebrated the life of Grandma Dorothy at a May event for about 50 guests at KU. The campus library and science lab don’t just commemorate Grandma Dorothy’s monetary contributions. Visits with students in these spaces reinforced her value of education and encouraging kids with a kind word and a few minutes of undivided attention. Grandma Dorothy, said Cole, wasn’t just a donor but a doer.

Dorothy Schoder peacefully passed away at age 97, Jan. 19, 2025, at her Medford residence. Her namesake “reading corner” in KU’s Kimmel Family Resource Center remains a cozy nook where staff and other volunteers can connect with kids, as Grandma Dorothy did. Despite the day’s challenges, Grandma Dorothy upheld the motto: “The best is yet to come.”

KU’s priceless relationship with Grandma Dorothy will live on for the next generation of students through the projects she cherished most.

Alumni Achievement: Beto Vargas

Beto Vargas’ Kids Unlimited experience has come full circle. 

Employed for the summer teaching KU’s migrant education students, Vargas is fresh off graduating with his doctoral degree from University of San Diego and planning his next career move, either as a university professor or researcher. Coming home to Medford for a few months provides a poignant perspective on how far Vargas has come.   

“I was a migrant ed kid myself,” he said. “Just to see Kids Unlimited change so much — it’s incredible.”  

Vargas’ journey, shaped by KU, also is nothing short of incredible. The son of agricultural workers, Vargas received the highly competitive Gates Millennium Scholarship at the conclusion of his senior year in 2010 at South Medford High School. The scholarship fully funded his higher education, up to 10 years, paying for his undergraduate degree at Maine’s Bowdoin College. KU prepared him, Vargas said, for leaving family and friends and moving to the opposite coast.   

“I felt very confident leaving Oregon to pursue something in a different state,” he said. “At KU, I learned to tackle more challenges and embrace new opportunities with confidence.” 

In his sophomore year at Bowdoin, Vargas was awarded a Common Good Grant, allowing him to intern at KU’s summer camp as a migrant education specialist who taught workshops on college readiness. More than a decade later, he’s teaching mathematics and reading to English language learners enrolled in KU Academy’s summer school to strengthen their academic skills.   

Since earning his Ph.D. in Education Leadership, Vargas has worked at USD’s Jacobs Institute for Innovation and Education, researching how much struggle is beneficial for students in the areas of science, technology, engineering and math. He plans to relocate to North Carolina in the fall, where his partner was offered a post-doctoral fellowship at Duke University. Vargas said he would love to join Duke’s faculty.

It’s a world away from where Vargas started in one of KU’s first afterschool cohorts at Oak Grove Elementary. He excelled in school and KU Pass to Play basketball, no small contributor to his success. 

“KU became the bridge that connected everything,” said Vargas. “At KU, I gained the social capital and confidence to take on the world.”

S.O. Open registration grows, generates more hospitality revenue

The largest registration in more than five years boosted Kids Unlimited’s annual benefit basketball tournament. 

The Southern Oregon Open hosted nearly 200 youth basketball teams from across the West Coast and Nevada May 10-11. The 17th annual S.O. Open — with nearly 2,000 participants and approximately 10,000 spectators — generated an estimated $1 million in economic impact for the region through hotel bookings and other hospitality and tourism sales over the Mothers Day weekend.   

The signature fundraiser is possible with generous financial support from title sponsor Lithia & Driveway, as well as City of Medford and Travel Medford, both of which pledged their support for the 2026 event, headquartered at Medford’s Rogue X. Team registration fees, spectator admission, food and apparel sales and other funds raised benefit KU’s work to empower kids, regardless of race, culture and background, with opportunities to succeed.  

“It’s one of the biggest basketball tournaments in our Pacific Northwest region, and best of all — 100% of the proceeds are dedicated to ensuring vulnerable kids and families have opportunities to participate in education, arts, sports and access to healthy meals,” said Tom Cole, KU’s founder and chief executive officer. “This sporting event has an impact that lasts far after the last buzzer has sounded.”

New this year, KU operated an Asian-inspired mobile food unit at Rogue X, serving freshly made bubble waffle cones, popularized in Hong Kong, in tandem with teriyaki chicken plates. KU also offered on-demand screen-printing of T-shirts, sweatshirts and other tournament gear with the S.O. Open logos. 

Giving back through basketball inspired a senior project for South Medford High School standout Kyle Singler that evolved into the S.O. Open. The first tournament in 2007 not only fulfilled Singler’s school senior project requirements but took shape as an event that involved his family, friends, fellow players and the larger community.

Singler went on to lead Duke University to an NCAA national title and played for seven seasons in the NBA. He and his brother, EJ Singler, supported the event during their college and professional careers. Over the years, the S.O. Open has hosted numerous future college players and is one of Oregon’s highest-profile basketball tournaments for boys and girls in grades 5-12.

Basketball has been a key component of KU programming for more than 20 years. Cole created a free Southern Oregon youth basketball league, with help from Medford Rogue Rotary, in response to participants’ interest in learning and playing the game. KU Pass to Play incentivized a generation of kids to complete their homemade and achieve passing grades.

Additional tournament sponsors were T-Mobile, Toyota, AllCare Health, Rogue Regency Inn and Oregon Ice Cream Co.

See unlimitedbball.org

Multi-Tiered Systems of Support lead to student success

Students made major strides in 2024-25 under Kids Unlimited Academy’s Multi-Tiered Systems of Support.

This holistic system that merges computer diagnostic tools and staff observation didn’t just strengthen students’ academic performance, according to KUA Principal Lindsay Ochs. Behaviors dramatically improved among students who were struggling in reading and mathematics prior to MTSS intervention. 

The success of MTSS over nearly two years at KUA has inspired administrators to apply a social-emotional learning focus to MTSS in 2025-26 and use it to collect data about student behavior. This system, according to Ochs, is the most powerful tool to date preventing certain students from being lost in the system. 

In every grade, the number of students at risk in reading dropped, based on data that MTSS coordinator David Thygeson collected, analyzed and discussed with the staff and school community in 2024-25. KUA students at all grade levels became much more accurate readers. And their testing success rates collectively leaped from 20% in some cohorts to more than 80% in a single trimester. 

MTSS interventions range from instructional extensions or reviews to small groups and one-on-one tutoring. About 80% of students receive the least intensive intervention, aligning with schoolwide standards. Under MTSS, all KUA students are supported in the specific ways they each need to be supported as the educational lens focuses on academic skills rather than deficits.

The approach promotes inclusion and equity among students. It normalizes individualized education plans and prevents unnecessary referrals to special education. 

KUA classroom teachers were key players in this process, confirming the impact they make every day at KUA public charter school.

KU Academy 5th graders receive full St. Mary’s scholarships

Two fifth-grade graduates of Kids Unlimited Academy are set to attend Medford’s St. Mary’s School on full scholarships.

Arjen Cubillos and Kimberly Valle Cortez are the first KUA fifth graders in the school’s history to receive St. Mary’s scholarships. Their selection represents three additional years each of St. Mary’s attendance, which historically has begun for KUA alumni entering their freshman year of high school. A private school, St. Mary’s enrolls grades 5-12.

Cubillos and Valle Cortez toured the St. Mary’s campus in April with their KUA homeroom teacher, Mrs. Julie Brunson. Each received St. Mary’s T-shirts and congratulations from the staff at both private and public charter schools.

The scholarship program, instituted in 2019, is the only direct collaboration of its kind between St. Mary’s and another school, said Bethany Brown, St. Mary’s director of advancement. She said the scholarship will continue after KUA sunsets middle school this spring, with 2025 awards going to KUA outgoing fifth graders.

The partnership between St. Mary’s and KUA began more than 15 years ago when St. Mary’s students volunteered to read to and mentor at-risk KUA students. Because of this unique relationship, supporters of both schools came together to completely fund four scholarships for qualified KUA eighth graders to attend St. Mary’s for four years of high school, said Brown.

KUA identifies their best and brightest students and encourages them to apply for the St. Mary’s Scholarship. St. Mary’s conducts the interviews and selects students who will enhance its community and benefit from its education.

Recipients of the scholarship receive full tuition including all academic fees, sports fees, textbooks, daily lunch and a Google Chromebook. Representatives of both schools say that a St. Mary’s education would be unattainable for recipient students without the generosity of donors funding this scholarship.

Student talent shines at KU Academy!

Nearly 100 students in grades K-5 wowed audiences with their talent at Kids Unlimited Academy’s annual Visual & Performing Arts show.

The end-of-the-year showcase featured singing, dancing, magic, comedy, acting out original skits, gymnastics, beatboxing, ballet folklorico, performances of piano, ukulele and original songs, even an Olympic-style weight lifting demonstration. KUA’s music and theater arts teacher, BriAnna Johnson, said she believed the participation of 98 students was a record number for KUA.

A display of student artworks, including drawing, painting, mixed media and ceramics, complemented the talent show. Ribbons were awarded to the top entries.

Support KU’s performing and visual arts by making a donation at https://kuoregon.org/donate-2/

Who we are

We believe educational opportunities are for everyone — regardless of economics, background, race, gender or zip code.

This belief shaped Kids Unlimited, a grassroots program founded in 1998 at a low-income elementary school in Medford. KU founder Tom Cole upheld education and opportunity as the keys to overcoming barriers of language, culture and poverty.

KU’s values, more than 25 years later, have become a community norm. We know the community cares about its children, but we are challenged every day to serve kids whose needs surpass available resources.

• Poverty, hunger and family instability are widespread among KU participants.
• Kids’ adverse experiences and social-emotional delays require mental health treatment.
• KU families need wrap-around support, including job, housing and health care referrals.
• Nearly 70% of KU Academy families are Latino, about half of those non-English speaking.
• Nearly one-third of students attending KUA are designated migrant.

What we do

A nonprofit organization, Kids Unlimited relies on government and foundation grants, private donations, business sponsorships, community partnerships and fees for service. We also need you! Our community’s generosity ensures KU can provide these educational opportunities and social supports:

• Afterschool programs at nine of the highest poverty elementary schools in our region;
• Math and reading assistance that supplements students’ regular school day with 20% more instruction;
• Enrichment activities in supervised, safe environments during out-of-school time, including after school, summer, winter and spring breaks;
• A year-round public charter school providing 30% more instructional time than Medford district schools;
• 10-hour structured school days that embed enrichments in arts, music, culinary, sports and other programs often economically out of reach for KU families;
• High-quality preschool and child care for Southern Oregon’s highest poverty families with a focus on kindergarten readiness, social-emotional development and hands-on, active learning;
• Highly qualified, diverse teaching staff, many bilingual, who offer culturally competent programming;
• Thousands of meals each day, all cooked from scratch, often incorporating locally sourced produce and proteins;
• “Free” services to remove participants’ economic and cultural barriers and ensure their access and equity.