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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 1, 2020)
10 AUGUST 1, 2020 Smoke Signals Guidance will continue to be updated SCHOOLS continued from front page fewer than 100 students, students with disabilities and programs such as career technical education will be made provided there is not active COVID-19 school community spread. Also, county cases must be below 30 per 100,000 people in the past seven days for three weeks, and positive test results county- wide must be less than 5 percent in the preceding seven days for three weeks. At a news conference discussing the new requirements, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown announced she would earmark $28 million to be distributed through the Emergency Education Relief Fund to enhance online learning and technology for schools. The Oregon Department of Ed- ucation’s “Ready Schools, Safe Learners” guidance allows schools to utilize three instructional mod- els: on-site, distance learning or a combination of both. However, Director Colt Gill noted during the July 28 news conference that in the six weeks since it was written, coronavirus case numbers in Ore- gon have risen steadily. The guidance will continue to be updated based on COVID-19 effects, input from educators and families, review of equity for stu- dents, efforts in other countries and guidance from Brown’s Heathy Schools Reopening Council. The final update before classes begin will be issued on Tuesday, Aug. 11. When in-person classes resume, the Department of Education has mandated mask wearing for all kindergarten through high school students and staff. Earlier ver- sions of the return-to-school plan recommended, but did not require, face coverings for students, or for staff to wear face coverings in all circumstances. “The new requirement is in re- sponse to mounting evidence that face coverings are effective in mit- igating the spread of COVID-19,” the department stated in a press release. To help school districts meet the requirement, the Department of Education will distribute 5 million face coverings to school districts during the next few weeks. These are not considered medical-grade masks. All school districts are required to make operational plans avail- able on their websites and submit the link to the department no later than Monday, Aug. 17. Willamina plans A majority of Grand Ronde Trib- al students in preschool through 12th grade attend school either on the Tribal campus or at Willa- mina, Sheridan, McMinnville or Salem-Keizer school districts, with the highest percentage attending Willamina schools. Willamina Superintendent Car- rie Zimbrick is in the process of cre- ating a re-entry plan with a team of teachers, administrators, facility supervisor, nutrition supervisor, Graphic by Samuel Briggs III transportation representative, Tribal Education Manager Angela Fasana and parents. The group conducted a parent survey and received 430 responses out of 535 total households. “We were really pleased with the results and plan to complete our plan in early August and have it submitted prior to the deadline re- quired by the Oregon Department of Education,” Zimbrick said. Originally, the district was plan- ning a hybrid model, but the updat- ed metrics have required a switch to a fully online model to begin the school year. In a letter to families, Zimbrick said that bringing children onsite was a priority for the community and staff, and the hybrid plan does that while safely meeting the phys- ical distancing requirements and student restrictions. “Unfortunately our plan must shift to short-term distance learn- ing to begin the school year,” she said. “The OHA and ODE recently established COVID-related metrics to determine when Oregon school districts can re-open to onsite in- struction. In order to safely open to onsite instruction, the Willam- ina School District must meet the metrics for both Yamhill and Polk counties as well as a 5 percent or less test positivity rate for the state. The new metric calls for maintain- ing 10 or less cases per 100,000 people for three weeks and a test positivity rate of 5 percent or less for three weeks. Currently, Yamhill County is at 39.2 cases per 100,000 and Polk County is at 47.6 cases per 100,000.” The district has a projected start date of Tuesday, Sept.15. “We do have some time to see those numbers decrease, but meet- ing the three-week standard may not be realistic,” Zimbrick said. “We all believe it is important to see students to the greatest extent pos- sible: To provide academic support, social and emotional support, and to be perfectly honest, we miss our kids. … Once we meet the criteria our short-term distance model will shift back to the hybrid model and students may return to campus.” The district’s hybrid model has students attending in-person either in the morning or afternoon, with Monday used for preparations for distance learning. The district also will try to group families together in scheduling. The second option is for students to continue full-time online learning, where they will work completely from home while receiving support services from the district. Grand Ronde plans On the Grand Ronde campus, the Early Childhood Education pro- gram, which serves preschool-aged students, is developing a re-opening plan. It restricts class sizes, keeps children and staff separate in groups, and includes extensive dis- infecting and daily health screening for children and staff. All staff will be required to wear masks and face shields. Students will not be required to wear masks, which is in alignment with guid- ance from the Early Learning Division, Oregon Department of Education and Oregon Health Au- thority, Early Childhood Education Program Manager Angie Blackwell said. The plan was reviewed by Gen- eral Manager David Fullerton, Pediatrician Dr. Allison Empey and Executive Director of Health Services Kelly Rowe, and the pro- gram’s Policy Council. “Our first day of school was set for (Thursday) Sept. 10, but will be dependent on the trend in (COVID-19) cases and is subject to postponement,” Blackwell said. “If we are not able to open physically, we will continue to offer distance learning opportunities via Google Classroom, Zoom and Facebook, just as we are doing throughout the summer. Likewise, if we open and then have to close again, we will revert back to distance learning.” Chinuk Language Program Man- ager Ali Holsclaw has been work- ing with Blackwell to develop a re-opening plan for its early child- hood program. The opening date, distance learning plans and mask requirements are the same. The Chinuk kindergarten through fourth-grade program is currently working on options with guidance from the Oregon Department of Education. “We are currently waiting on Wil- lamina’s finalized re-opening plan in order to really know what we can offer and how,” Holsclaw said. “Our students are enrolled at Wil- lamina as well and usually spend the second half of their school day there. So, once we have their plan we can get to work on ours, but in the meantime we are brainstorm- ing options and looking outside the box to make sure we offer as much as we can to our families.” Salem-Keizer, other plans In the Salem-Keizer School Dis- trict, officials identified students in kindergarten through second grade as needing priority for in-person classes to help them build learning skills. Students in third through 12th grade were set to begin a hybrid model of in-person and dis- tance learning. However, after the new guidance was released July 28, Superinten- dent Christy Perry announced that all students will begin the first nine weeks of the school year in compre- hensive distance learning. “We know this is heartbreaking for those students and families who were counting on in-person learn- ing in September,” Perry said. “This direction from the state prioritizes the safety of our educators, children and families, and community.” In October, district leaders will review metrics to establish a time- line to move into blended learning in mid-November. This means students in kinder- garten through 10th grade will not attend in person until the week of Nov. 16 at the earliest. Juniors and seniors will not attend in person until the second semester at the earliest, which begins on Feb. 2. Students will attend school on Tuesday and Thursday or Wednes- day and Friday, with Monday being used as an additional support day as needed. The district also will continue to offer students a new, comprehensive, fully online learn- ing program called Enhanced Dig- ital and Guided Education. “The cohort schedule allows for comprehensive isolation and trac- See SCHOOL continued on page 11