Local school districts are cautiously – and excitedly – approaching transition to on-campus learning this month.
NORTH SANTIAM
North Santiam School District is planning to tentatively shift from limited in-person instruction to a hybrid model on Feb. 22.
“This model, in general, will allow about half the students on campus each day with limitations on the size and number of groups that each student is a part of,” said Andy Gardner, NSSD superintendent. “Our planning will be focused on safety, as well as providing continuing instruction to students not yet comfortable returning
to in-person school.”
Gardner said the district will be required to provide COVID-19 testing on site as a safety precaution.
“As we work these various details out, we will communicate them to our families,” he said.
Gardner said teachers have been excited to once again be around students in the limited in-person model.
“When we move to full days of in-person instruction, we do not want to be haphazard so that we end up having to close,” he said. “We intend to do this in as safe a manner as possible.
“When we return, our focus will be on our safety routines and protocols, but it will be great to see kids in the buildings again,” Gardner added. “We have received questions about the potential new COVID variants which have been detected in Oregon. We will continue to be in contact with the Oregon Health Authority and the Oregon Department of Education as they monitor current rates and the prevalence of the new COVID variants.”
Due to adherence to protocol, the district’s experience with COVID has been no exposures to the virus through its schools, he said.
“We have had cases that have been traced back through employee family members, however,” Gardner said. “We stress to our families who will be sending students back to our schools to follow health care guidelines. This will keep their family and other families safe as we make this shift.”
CASCADE
Cascade School District rolled its plan for reopening this year, starting Jan. 11 with limited in-person instruction. On average, the district brought about 500-600 students per week district-wide for a maximum of two hours per day as per state guidelines. From Jan. 19 to Feb. 12, more students were and are being added, upping student numbers to 900-1,000 per week. Students also have the option of staying home and accessing Comprehensive District Learning daily.
“During the week of Feb. 15-19, Cascade School District will transition to a hybrid learning model for kindergarten through 12th grade,” Supt. Darin Drill told parents. “While not every detail has been settled on, the goal starting that week will be to have all students who wish to attend school be at school at least two days per week. Cascade is looking at several ways to accomplish this goal. The most common way to make this work is to build an ‘A/B’ schedule.”
According to Drill, the district will work with all staff associations, administrators and parents to build what the hybrid school day will look like.
“At the moment, we are leaning toward a hybrid day by alphabet where half the students will be in school at least two days a week and the other half will be in school two days a week,” Drill told parents. “The fifth day will be online for students and will allow staff to prepare for this unique situation.”
For example, Cascade students with the last names from A-M will come to school Monday and Wednesday, and Cascade students with last names from N-Z will come to school on Tuesday and Thursday. Friday would be an online learning day with additional cleaning at each school.
“Cascade staff will need to look at bus capacity issues, new guidance from ODE, legal counsel guidance, and other suggestions from staff before we finalize the day,” said Drill, who noted not everyone will be happy.
“Please remember that we are doing what we can to get our students back to school and make everyone involved as safe as we can,” he wrote. “There will be changes to this plan based on the new information we receive, and the entire plan itself can change based on a new order from OHA, ODE, or the Governor. We must be flexible, patient, and provide grace to all involved. Cascade will work toward bringing students back to school safely as per the Governor’s request, and we will do the best we can considering all the circumstances.”
For a school to return to in-person instruction through the Oregon Department of Education’s on-site or hybrid instruction models, the county metrics must be met. Santiam Canyon and Scio school districts must consider Marion and Linn county statistics. Currently, both counties remain at level 1 or distance learning.
SCIO
“Stages for our learning models allow us to pivot, when required to do so, between comprehensive distance, hybrid, and in-person learning,” Scio district officials related in a post addressing COVID-19 updates.
“These stages will be determined by the impacts of a changing health situation, available resources, and direction from OHA, our Governor and our local health department(s). Individual school schedules and models may look different when we enter each stage, and these plans will be communicated.”
SANTIAM CANYON
In a Dec. 17 letter to the Santiam Canyon School District community, Supt. Todd Miller wrote, “Wildfires and COVID closures have created a difficult environment for schooling, yet we will continue to do all we can to provide the best solutions for our students. There is no ‘right answer’ as to how to handle this situation moving forward, but below is our plan for schooling and the rationale for it.”
Factors influencing the district’s plans included strict COVID requirements set by the State of Oregon and the ODE, Miller said.
“We realize that some students/families feel comfortable returning to school, while some do not,” he said. “Providing options during this time is important, but it does make the job of our teachers very challenging. If we reopen our schools, we must do it safely. We will need families to be cautious in sending students to school if they are concerned about symptoms or possible exposure, to help keep our schools safe and open.
“Things are constantly changing, so we will need to be flexible,” he added
Miller moved the opening day for Santiam Elementary School to Jan. 11, based on then-current COVID trends and research.
“This gives time for post-holiday COVID exposures to either show symptoms or allow the contagious phase of the virus to subside based on the latest CDC guidelines,” he posted. “It is sort of a post-holiday quarantine before starting school.”
Santiam Junior/Senior High School is planning to return students to in-person learning starting the second semester, which begins Feb. 16. The district is working on the logistics of this transition and will contact families closer to the date.
“We see a real value in allowing students back on campus,” Miller said. “We know this has been a difficult experience for many families. By allowing some students on campus and some to stay working from home, it offers options to families to allow them to select what is best for them, and it helps keep our in-person students numbers low to limit exposures even more.
For stay-at-home and return-to-school guidelines, visit your district website: NSSD, www.nsantiam.k12.or.us; CSD, www.cascade.k12.or.us; Scio, www.scio.K12.or.us; SCSD, www.santiam.k12.or.us.
