The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current, August 13, 2020, Image 5

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The Observer., August 13, 2020, Page 5, Image 5

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Newspaper Page TextTHURSDAY, AUGUST 13, 2020 THE OBSERVER — 5A SHAKE-UP Continued from Page 1A through. We had almost every family dinner around the table.” Educational impact In mid-March schools in Oregon were closed at part of the initial steps taken to counteract the pan- demic, and in April classes reopened in an online format. Parker is a multidis- ciplinary teacher at the sixth-grade level. One of the major challenges, he said, was connecting stu- dents with the material and supplies needed for online study, but he praised the efforts made by the school district. “It was a major adjust- ment for kids and families, and as educators. I think our district really tackled the challenge and embraced it, all the way from admin- istration down to the teachers, our cooks (and) custodians,” he said. “Our entire district staff really tried to make it the best we could for kids and their families.” Although Jill already instructs in an online format at Baker Web, she also meets in person with students in an advisory role, and the pandemic has highly altered that aspect of her job. She said her students’ lives were heavily impacted outside of school. “Our students were a little bit lucky that their schooling wasn’t inter- rupted, per se, but their lives were interrupted. I have a student who does plays at Elgin Opera House,” she said, adding “As much as I love our home, I don’t want to be here 24/7 through the whole school year,” she said. I have. I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know how to help guide them.” Jill McKinley is on the board for La Grande Little League, which during the spring also had to cancel. “I knew when that deci- sion came down, it felt like it was disappointment after disappointment,” she said. “Everyone had that experience.” Perspective Even with the plethora of changes, cancellations and the unknown that still lies ahead, the McKinleys feel fortunate. “Parker and I both have commented we’re super lucky,” she said. “We both have jobs, both have job security going into next year.” Parker said faith was a key for the family as well. “We did a lot of praying, a lot of trusting in what was going on and knowing we were trying to make deci- sions the right way and for the right reason,” he said. “I believe we are being looked out for. I believe that faith has played a major part in it too.” They also commended each other for what they brought to the table while going through the last few months. Jill pointed to Parker not only helping set structure at home with the changes, but how he dealt with the challenges, especially with the loss of baseball. “Parker handled not having a baseball season so well that I was thoroughly impressed with how pos- itive he maintained,” she said. Parker added the rest of the sixth-grade teaching staff and his coaching staff was a huge support, but said his wife was vital. “She is by far a rock that I can lean on,” he said. “She understands everything that goes into what we have to do as far as coaching (and) teaching. She gets it and supports it 100%.” Home life Staff photo by Ronald Bond The McKinley family, back row from left: Parker, Cade, Shea and Jill. Front row, Emma and Ryker. that the student has an interest in pursuing acting. “There isn’t a timeline when it can open back up.” BWA won’t be con- ducting those in-person meetings all this school year, which Jill said will be a challenge. “That’s kind of weighing on me,” she said. were more than happy to accommodate that. People have been good to talk about it. If they wanted us to put them on hold and wait, we’ve done that. We had another that wanted to communicate (by) phone. All of those are just a part of our community working together.” Business Spring sports cancellation Parker McKinley co-owns We Paint La Grande, and while there was an impact with the business — he said things were put on hold during the ﬁ rst month of the pandemic — it wasn’t nearly as severe a hit as others in the region have taken. “We’ve been able to keep our employees working and business moving forward,” he said. “We’ve had a few cus- tomers who were a little bit uneasy with the state of the pandemic, and we There were high expec- tations for the La Grande High School baseball team, which Parker would have been coaching for his sev- enth season this spring, as the squad was loaded with seniors and athletes who had been part of the foot- ball and wrestling state championships earlier in the school year. He said he held out hope as long as pos- sible that the season would happen, but as state man- dates in April kept Oregon largely closed, the Oregon School Activities Associ- ation eventually was left with no choice but to cancel the spring season. “I didn’t want that to be taken away from the kids. My biggest hope was for that big group of seniors, and certainly the high hope we had for success for the year,” he said. “It was going to be a lot of fun to be part of. Even more important, that group of kids com- mitted four years to the pro- gram. You practice and play (as a) freshman, sophomore, junior and really all of it is for that year, the senior year.” He said when he realized the season was gone, he was left speechless. “When it ﬁ nally did set in that it wasn’t going to happen, that we were going to lose (the season), it was really hard on me, and I didn’t know what to say,” he said. “I was trying to ﬁ nd something positive to say, that leadership quality I feel While there was more time at home together during the quarantine, there also was a unique aspect of both educators now teaching from home and simultaneously helping their own children — ages 14, 11, 8 and 6 — adapt. Two of their children had better success adjusting to the online study format, but the other two really missed the social interaction. “Our second grader, Ryker, he did ﬁ ne, but our youngest, she’s a person- ality,” Jill said. “She is as social as her dad. She really missed her kindergarten teacher. Those little people run on routine.” Both also said that despite taking a positive outlook on life, they expe- rienced personal challenges during the early stages. For Parker, it was the inability to have even a hint of an idea of what the day would bring. “The constant changing, wondering, shutdowns, clo- sures, it was really hard to navigate through. It was not something anybody had ever experienced,” he said. Jill called the quaran- tine hard, and added that despite the beneﬁ ts of extra family time, at some point you are bound to go a little stir-crazy. SCHOOLS CALLS Continued from Page 1A Continued from Page 1A There are statewide and countywide excep- tions to allow some schools to reopen, according to the update. If a county has fewer than 30 cases per 100,000, kindergarten through third grade are allowed to reopen. A district in the county is allowed to have in-person instruction for all grade levels if there are less than 30 cases per 100,000 for three weeks and if the dis- trict has less than 250 stu- dents enrolled, provided it is able to comply with the guidance set out by ODE and gain approval from its local public health agency. When addressing the requirement for physical distancing, the Oregon Department of Education said students must never be excluded from face-to-face instruction, disciplined for struggling to learn, and/or disciplined for struggling to adhere to new proce- dures for how school oper- ates. Schools and teachers are encouraged to work with students regarding any struggles that may occur when adjusting to this new model of learning. The Oregon Department of Education maintains all students from kindergarten up and all staff must wear face coverings. While a face covering is preferred over a face shield the alter- native is acceptable in cer- La Grande Police reported eight calls in 2019 and 13 in 2020 at Bud Jackson’s Eatery and Taps, 2209 Adams Ave. Owner Ron Bruce said the place has had a few calls for disorderly con- duct when people would get upset after being cut off. Additionally, he said he recently made a call about vandalism. “People aren’t coming down here to get drunk,” Bruce said. “They’re here to have good food, play some pool and have a good time.” Throughout the pan- demic Bud Jackson’s has remained open for takeout, and when allowed it opened its doors for dining in. Justin Marler man- ages Benchwarmers Pub Contributed by Oregon Department of Education The Oregon Department of Education has released new guidelines that allow for in-person education. For counties with less than 30,000 residents, in-person instruction can resume if all requirements have been met. tain situations. Face cov- erings can be removed in some situations, such as when staff are working in their private ofﬁ ce or when a “sensory break” is given for a student who needs to remove their mask away from the other students. If a student will not wear a face mask, they must still have access to learning. The most common way this will be done is through dis- tance learning. However, if a student or staff member cannot wear a mask or par- ticipate in distance learning due to a disability, accom- modations can be made. A school must have phy- sician’s orders stating the child cannot wear a mask or an already established Indi- vidual Education Plan or 504 plan in place to make exceptions to the mask requirement, according to ODE’s guidelines. Attendance is still required in distance learning, according to the ODE requirement. In dis- tance learning or a hybrid model, if there is no inter- action from a student over a 24-hour period, the stu- dent is considered absent for the day, or for the class depending on grade level. Interaction can include logging into video calls, turning in assignments, emailing a teacher or uti- lizing online classroom sys- tems and logging in that day. “Attendance data won’t and should not be used in the 2020-21 school year for comparative or account- ability reporting but as a potential tool in helping understand the changes happening in how and where students learn and teachers teach,” the guid- ance stated. “What is most important at this time is our collective effort to support active engagement and pro- vide resources to meet stu- dents and families expe- riencing challenges with staying connected.” Regardless of the model of learning being used, ODE requires students be taught emergency prepared- ness. The guidance man- dates 30 minutes a month be dedicated to teaching emergency procedures. For hybrid or in-person instruc- tion, schools are required to conduct monthly ﬁ re drills, and twice a year a school must conduct an earth- quake drill and a safety threat drill. COVID-19 pro- cedures can be utilized if they do not compro- mise the drill, and if dis- tancing procedures cannot be implemented the drill must be over in less than 15 minutes. After-school programs, extracurriculars and sports must also follow ODE’s guidelines. Union Coun- ty’s school districts will be announcing their complete and updated reopening plans by Aug. 17. There are no more anticipated changes to guidelines from the Oregon Department of Education before school begins. 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