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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (March 18, 2020)
6A | WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2020 | SIUSLAW NEWS ROUTE from page 1A Just moments after the last lunch was handed out, Or- egon Gov. Kate Brown an- nounced new social distanc- ing policies as a response to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19. The policies included shutting down dine-in ser- vices at restaurants and lim- iting crowds to 25 people or less. The governor’s mandates forced multiple local busi- nesses to put staff on fur- lough, or even close down entirely, leaving many in the region food insecure. School food delivery pro- grams could become vital to keeping the region’s econo- my afloat as the true effects of the COVID-19 become known. “While it is not a direct goal to feed adults, if the people doing distribution come across someone in need and we have the supply, they won’t be turned away,” Grzeskowiak said. “That meal won’t be reimbursable, but we will be helping some- one that is taking care of one of the students that is caught up in the closure.” Flexibility is the key word for the district, as things have changed drastically since Brown announced the closure of all schools in Ore- gon last Thursday. “Patience and flexibili- ty are greatly appreciated,” Harklerode said, pointing out that staff emails sent out to organize the venture were sometimes contradicted in minutes by new information. “This has been developing so quickly over this weekend, in terms of who’s coming in, whose not, this is going to be complicated,” Harklerode said. One of the main goals of the district is triaging needs in the community. This will be done through person- al phone calls by teachers volunteering their time, or through surveys sent out with the meals. “We’re looking for what [internet] connectivity is at home,” Harklerode told staff. “Are they going to need PHOTOS BY JARED ANDERSON/SIUSLAW NEWS School staff prepare to start serving brown-bag lunches and breakfasts on Monday. The food program will also deliver lesson plans. a Chromebook? Another question is, ‘Are there oth- er resources that you need?’ That’s not a well worded question, but we wanted to leave it open. That’s a con- versation between teachers and families. ‘Hey, I need childcare, I need laundry.’ You know the families that have those connections, so work those connections to find out how we can support them.” Harklerode stressed that it is not a promise of support. With district resources in limited supply, it will be un- able to organize or provide all the services in the com- munity. One example would be childcare. While the district is able to provide services for district staff and first responders, social distanc- ing policies and staff short- ages due to illness prevent the district from having too many students in the build- ings. Therefore, the onus will be on other organizations or create daycare possibilities for the majority of children in the region. But to make such con- nections, the community must first assess the needs of parents and children in the community, which is a goal of the district. Homework is a secondary objective for the district over the next two weeks. “Make no mistake, in- structional integrity is not a primary concern for me,” Harklerode told staff on Monday. “Keeping kids en- gaged in learning, giving parents a break and keeping them connected with what we’re doing is of paramount importance.” This week, the district will focus on getting out assign- ments that are broad in na- ture. “What I really want is a common kindergarten pack- et, a common first-, second-, third-grade packet. Not something specifically for your students,” Harklerode said. “Just something for a two-week period that kids can work on to stay engaged. After that, we can do every- thing else online.” What occurs after the two week closure is still a linger- ing question. Initially, the first week of April was the target date for reopening the districts. The reason for clos- ing was not containment of COVID-19, but a response to teachers and students not coming to school. But with the state now focusing on social distancing measures to help mute the spread of the virus, the calculation may change. “[Oregon] is going to do some reevaluation at the end of the month,” Grzeskowiak said. “If this really progresses the way that it could, there’s potential that this could go longer. Washington is closed through April 24. New York is closed through the first week of May. We’re ahead of the curve here with trying to get stuff for kids to get that together, but we’re going to see if the state catches up. I don’t think anybody has contemplated this scenario before.” The issue is further com- plicated by Center for Dis- ease Control (CDC) rec- ommendations regarding closure. Updated on March 12, CDC ties its recommen- dations of school closures to the rate of infection of any given community. Low and moderate spread of COVID-19 in the communi- ty would constitute schools remaining open, with a Give a Hand to Food Share March 10-March 31st. strong focus on social dis- tancing and constant disin- fection. “We’re going to try and keep a six-foot bubble,” Grz- eskowiak said when asked what measures they would take if the school were to reopen in April. “We’ll be using a lot more common space. We’re trying to keep 10 to 15 kids in a class set- ting. We don’t know what our attendance numbers will be, but we’ll know that they’ll be lower.” If the spread of COVID-19 is high in a community, the CDC recommends schools closing for periods of eight weeks or more. However, the level of com- munity spread in places like the Siuslaw region are un- known. On March 17, Lane Coun- ty released its first con- firmed case of COVID-19, a 69-year-old man in the Eugene/Springfield area who is medically stable. The county states that “this case is thought to be an example of community transmission.” The county is currently iden- tifying the patient’s contacts. Exactly how the individ- ual contracted the virus, and how many people came in contact with the patient since March 1 when they be- gan exhibiting symptoms, is also unknown. It’s these types of un- knowns that leave a host of near-future uncertainties re- garding school closures. “You talk about a spider web of possibilities. We don’t know what thread we’re run- ning on right now,” Grzesko- wiak said. “Here’s what I do know — we have a highly pro- fessional, highly dedicated workforce in this district,” Harklerode told staff on Monday. “I know that if we put our mental muscle to work, we will find creative ways to fill the needs kids have. I have full faith in the professionalism and the commitment of the people of this district.” UPDATE: At press time Tuesday, Gov. Kate Brown extended school closures through April 28. 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