Wednesday, August 19, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
SCHOOL: Flexibility
is key as educators
prepare for teaching
Continued from page 1
for schools, which, as was
expected, did not change
the fact that Sisters School
District will be start-
ing the year under the
Comprehensive Distance
Learning (CDL) model.
Superintendent Curt
Scholl introduced the build-
ing administrators to give
brief feedback of where they
are in the process of starting
the school year.
<I have great confidence
in our staff and our building
leadership to do the best they
can in this difficult time,= he
said.
Scholl clarified for the
public that CDL is not to be
equated with <online= educa-
tion. Requirements for stu-
dents and interactions with
teachers under CDL will be
vastly different than what
students experienced in the
spring, according to Scholl.
He pointed to news articles
and other publications that
often use the term <online=
or <virtual school= inter-
changeably with CDL when
describing what schools will
be doing this fall.
<Comprehensive Distance
Learning is led by a teacher,
directed by a teacher and
planned by one of our Sisters
teachers, which is much dif-
ferent than some of the online
opportunities available,= he
said.
Under CDL regular atten-
dance will be required and
grades will be assigned.
Sisters School District
families do have the option to
enroll in Sisters Educational
Options (SEO), which does
include online curriculum.
Scholl said, <We want
to keep all of our families
engaged one way or another
and so we are working hard to
engage families and reach out
so they understand the differ-
ences to make the choice that
is best for them.=
As he segued to the reports
from the building principals
about reopening plans, Scholl
explained that the district is
committed to making plans
that will allow for <seamless
transitions= once the district
is able to move from CDL to
a hybrid or in-school model.
<This isn9t going to be
over in six weeks, so we are
looking at longer term plans,=
he said
Joe Hosang said the high
school is working on a plan
from which they can quickly
pivot, breaking the school
year into six week segments
in which students would
carry two classes at any given
time in addition to math, PE
or music during <flex time= at
the beginning and the end of
each day.
According to Hosang, lim-
iting the number of classes
students carry keeps things
simple and more focused,
and is also necessary in order
to meet the requirement of
keeping cohorts to a mini-
mum once students return to
the school building in person.
<We are working hard to
make sure that students still
have choices and that we can
meet the needs of individual
students,= he said. <We know
we will have to adjust and
change as we go.=
Sisters Middle School
Principal Alison Haney said,
<Flexibility is the name of the
game and we know the one
constant will be change.=
She said she has met with
her staff twice this summer to
strategize, which she said she
really appreciated. The initial
plan, like the high school, is
to keep things simple by lim-
iting the number of classes
students will carry, especially
in the initial phase of CDL.
Students will focus on the
four core subjects of science,
social studies, math and lan-
guage arts, but will also have
opportunities in the afternoon
for electives.
The middle and elemen-
tary schools have been poll-
ing families to gather more
information about what they
are considering (CDL, SEO,
hybrid or other). Haney said
that 20 percent of the middle
school respondents are lean-
ing toward continuing in the
CDL or SEO models even if
schools reopen, which would
have an impact on how her
staff will need to respond if
that percentage continues as
more parents respond.
Fewer than 25 percent
of the middle school par-
ents have responded to the
questionnaire, according to
Haney, so it is hard to tell
what the actual numbers will
end up being.
The full refinement of
the middle school plan is
expected in the next week or
so, according to Haney.
Elementary school
Principal Joan Warburg
started her update with infor-
mation about the Preschool
Promise grant that the district
received, which will allow
for preschool to be housed
and funded at the elemen-
tary school. The grant was
awarded later than originally
expected due to COVID-
19, but Warburg said that
job postings had been pub-
lished and hiring will be tak-
ing place soon. Elementary
teacher Mylee Card will be
changing roles and will split
her duties between teaching
and serving as the director of
the preschool.
A start date for preschool
has not yet been established,
but that information should
be available soon, according
to Scholl and Warburg.
The immediate work for
Warburg regarding K-4 stu-
dents is continuing to gather
Backs to Indian Ford Meadow!
We are working hard
to communicate with
families to help them
determine what will be
the best option for them.
— Joan Warburg
feedback from families in
order to make plans.
<We are working hard to
communicate with families
to help them determine what
will be the best option for
them,= she said.
Warburg mentioned that
because the Oregon Health
Authority metrics are differ-
ent for students K-3, it is pos-
sible those students could be
back in regular classes before
the older students.
Scholl acknowledged that
he understands that it can
be challenging for everyone
to not have more concrete
21
information about the 2020-
21 school plan.
<Changes in the state
guidelines have been com-
ing every week or two so our
planning has to continue to
flex, which can be quite frus-
trating for families.=
The school district and
individual school websites
(www.ssd6.org) include the
latest updates as well as con-
tact information for parents
and students to reach school
staff.
Scholl also reported that
the new transportation facility
located near SPRD is nearing
completion and remains on
budget.
The meeting concluded
with first readings of board
policy related to drug and
alcohol testing for transpor-
tation personnel, expulsion,
and prescription and non-pre-
scription medication.
The next school board
meeting is scheduled for
Wednesday, September 9 at
6 p.m.
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