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About Baker City herald. (Baker City, Or.) 1990-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 10, 2020)
COMMUNITY THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2020 BAKER CITY HERALD — 3A School officials deal with first-day tech glitches By Chris Collins ccollins@bakercityherald.com The Baker School District’s technology department, which has been doubled in size for the fi rst month of school, still was kept on the run trouble- shooting and helping families and teachers get equip- ment set up and fi ne-tuning systems throughout the day Tuesday as online classes began. “Day 2 is way ahead of Day 1,” Baker Middle School Principal Skye Flanagan said Wednesday morning. And Flanagan rated Day 1 as “really good.” “There were some minor snafus such as Zoom glitches where the kids couldn’t access Zoom (the computer app used to communicate between students at home and teachers in their classrooms),” he said. “But it was fixable.” Flanagan said the attitudes of students and teachers were positive as they made their way through the first day of com- prehensive distance learning together. “Everything is super positive here,” Flanagan said. “The teachers are in good spirits, the technology was great — and teachers were prepared, so that was great.” The technological support provided throughout the day also helped make classes run more smoothly, Flanagan said. Enrollment at Baker Middle School is at about 320. Flanagan said about 24 middle school stu- dents are enrolled at Eagle Cap Innovative Junior/Senior High School where they can work online at their own pace. Five students are shared by Eagle “Everything is super positive here. The teachers are in good spirits, the technology was great.” — Skye Flanagan, principal, Baker Middle School Cap and BMS and another eight attend just one or two Eagle Cap classes and spend most of their time at BMS. “I’m excited, it’s going well,” Flanagan said. “When teachers are smiling at the end of the day, I’m happy.” Students at Baker High School officially started classes Wednesday. Tuesday was more of an orientation day, said Principal Greg Mitchell. Students met in the small gymnasium to obtain their photo identification cards, check out their Chromebook computers and make any needed adjustments to their schedules. The staff was spaced through- out the large gym to check out textbooks, and tables with information about clubs and organizations, such as the chess club, e-sports (electronic sports), FFA and FBLA, were set up to promote those activities. The orientation was sched- uled by grade level in 1fi-hour sessions throughout the day. One all-comers session was scheduled from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Students wore masks, but Mitchell said following the physical distancing requirement was more difficult as they gath- ered Tuesday with the friends they’ve been separated from over the break that began with an extended spring vacation and then continued through the summer because of the corona- virus pandemic. “We had good compliance with the masks, but the social distancing was not so great,” Mitchell said. “It was definitely a challenge to continually remind folks.” BHS enrollment Wednesday morning totaled 422 students, Mitchell said. That includes 132 freshmen, 124 sophomores, 87 juniors and 79 seniors. Another 35 to 40 BHS students are attending Eagle Cap Innovative Junior/Senior High School this year, Mitchell said. Total enrollment at Eagle Cap is running at 114 students, he added. As he visited through the various high school classrooms Wednesday morning, Mitchell said he witnessed a few grow- ing pains, but otherwise, things were going well. At Keating Elementary, principal/head teacher Amanda Wilde was feeling blessed Wednesday morning as her 24 students, ranging from preschoolers to sixth-graders, started their online classes. Tuesday was also an orienta- tion day for Keating students. The schedule worked much like parent-teacher confer- ences, Wilde said. Families were scheduled to visit the school one at a time to receive their Chromebooks and supplies. “Even with physical distanc- ing we were able to connect with the children and their families,” Wilde said. And Wednesday’s classes were running smoothly as the fi rst day of school offi cially FIRST DAY Continued from Page 1A Gissel, whose children also took online classes this spring, when the pandemic prompted the Baker School District to make a rapid switch to distance learning, said the new system the Dis- trict bought with $600,000 in federal COVID-19 aid is a clear improvement. “I think it’s way better than in the spring,” she said. Gissel said she feels fortunate to have a couple of weeks to help her kids ad- just to online classes before she goes to work during the potato harvest. Although she is optimistic that her children will thrive with their remote classes, Gissel said they are eager to return to their real class- rooms. “We live out in the coun- try and they don’t have any neighbors to play with so they’re really wanting to go back to school,” she said. “They feel really lonely.” Heather Matheny faced similar challenges Tues- day morning as her two daughters, Nikki Williams, an eighth-grader, and Aryana Leos, a kindergart- ner, logged in with their computers along with their brother, Isaac Williams, a seventh-grader. Nikki and Isaac are using Chromebooks provided by the Baker School District, while Aryana has a tablet. The middle schoolers are sharing a table, but Matheny, inspired by a friend from North Carolina, bought a pair of tri-fold di- viders, 3 feet wide by 4 feet high, to create an individual space for both Nikki and Isaac. The dividers also serve as bulletin boards where they can tape their class sched- ules and other items as they Photo courtesy of Heather Matheny Kindergartner Aryana Leos watches her lesson Tues- day morning on the fi rst day of online classes. watch and listen to their teachers. Matheny said Nikki and Isaac had a couple of techno- logical glitches early Tues- day, “which we expected,” she said. Matheny said she was on the phone with the middle school trying to fi x the problem while also helping Aryana with her kindergar- ten lessons. “The rest of the day was successful,” Matheny said. Aryana had no computer issues during her roughly three-hour session Tuesday morning. Matheny said Aryana has attention defi cit disorder so it can be challenging for her to sit still and concentrate for a long period. The periodic breaks built into the schedules are wel- come, she said. All three of her kids had breaks at the same time, Save Now On Home Security ® Monitored by ADT the #1 home security company in the U.S. ADT ® 24/7 Monitored Home Security 24/7 monitoring provides peace of mind Yard sign and window decals help deter crime Quickly connect to fi re and emergency response May qualify for a homeowners insurance discount and they went outside to play and get some fresh air before returning to their screens. Matheny said she opted to have Aryana take classes in the morning since her older siblings would also be start- ing their lessons early. Matheny said she was pleased to see that Aryana stayed attentive to her class despite the interruption caused by the glitch with Nikki’s and Isaac’s classes. “She followed along with what everyone else was doing,” Matheny said of her kindergartner. “I think she did fairly well.” Compared with the spring term, when Nikki and Isaac took online classes, Ma- theny said the Baker School District’s new system is a defi nite improvement. “I really think things are running a lot smoother than they were in the spring,” she said. “Things were so chaotic in the spring.” Matheny said Aryana will start taking 2 hours of in-person special education classes next week, but con- tinue with online learning the rest of the time. Matheny said she wel- comes the return of regular in-person classes “as soon as it’s safe for my kids to go back.” She said she’s especially excited for Aryana to meet new kids and make friends. Baker School District students aren’t the only ones who have had a non- traditional fi rst day of school this summer. Cindy Flynn’s grand- son, Daniel Irwin, started third grade at the Seventh- Irwin day Adventist Christian School in Baker City on Aug. 24. The private school is also conducting online classes for now due to the pandemic. Daniel previously at- tended Baker schools. “Life has totally changed for us,” Flynn wrote in an email to the Herald. “It was a bit of a stressful day for us. It was a new school, a new way of doing things (learning a new way of uploading fi nished assign- ments), and Daniel really struggles with why he has to do school all day from home.” Flynn said it’s fortunate that Daniel’s dad and stepmother, John and Kayla LaMiller, are available to help him. “If we did not have this option, I’m afraid that I may need to quit my job, work part time or eve- nings,” Flynn wrote. “I have changed my schedule to be able to spend more days in a row with him.” MONITORING CALL US TODAY FOR A FREE ESTIMATE WE’RE AVAILABLE 24/7—CALL TODAY! BASIC SYSTEM: $99 Parts and Install. 36-Month Monitoring Agreement required at $27.99 per month ($1,007.64). 24-Month Monitoring Agreement required at $27.99 per month ($671.76) for California. Offer applies to homeowners only. Basic system requires landline phone. Offer valid for new ADT Authorized Premier Provider customers only and not on purchases from ADT LLC. Cannot be combined with any other offer. 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He urged families who need help with that issue to call Lisa Young at the District Of- fi ce at 541-524-2260. Witty said tutorial help will be available in the evening between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. to help students in Grades 7-12 with math especially and to help those in Grades K-6 with all classes. If there proves to be a need for this service, it could continue even after students return to in-person classes as the budget allows, he said. The number to call for the tutoring services will be announced once the system is up and running. Later in the month, Witty said, some small in-person special education groups for students with high needs are expected to begin meeting. The fi rst goal, however, will be to work the bugs out of the comprehensive distance learning system across the District. “That’s where we’re focusing most of our time and atten- tion,” Witty said. COVID-19 might have been in contact with an infected person. Continued from Page 1A According to OHA reports, The new cases resulted Baker County had 13 spo- from weekly testing that radic cases, out of 16 total Meadowbrook is doing as cases, during the period July part of its response to the 26-Aug. 8, and 10 of 23 cases outbreak, according to the were sporadic from Aug. 2-15. Health Department. But from Aug. 9-26, a Two residents who tested period that coincides with the positive have died, both in onset of the Meadowbrook August, and they are listed outbreak, just four of the as the county’s two COVID- county’s 26 cases were spo- 19-related deaths by the radic, and for the period Aug. OHA. 16-29, only one of the county’s The other residents and 17 cases was sporadic. staff who tested positive The rate of sporadic cases earlier in the outbreak are is one of the criteria state of- “recovering well,” according fi cials consider in determin- to a press release from the ing whether a county is on Health Department. the state’s COVID-19 “watch Other than the eight new list.” cases at Meadowbrook, Gov. Kate Brown added Baker County’s rate of new Baker County to the watch infections has continued a list on July 15, and the decline that dates to late governor removed the county August. from that list on Sept. 3. There has been only one The county’s total of 86 other case in the county over cases includes 78 county the past week, reported on residents who have tested Saturday, said Holly Kerns, a positive for COVID-19, and public information offi cer for eight others who are “pre- the county. sumptive” cases, according to “The cases reported over OHA statistics. the weekend are connected Presumptive cases are and are not considered spo- people who have not tested radic cases, meaning they can positive for the virus but be traced back to a specifi c who were in close contact source,” said Nancy Staten, with somebody who did test administrator of the Health positive. Department, referring to the According to the OHA, as Meadowbrook cases. of Wednesday three Baker The outbreak, with 24 County residents who tested cases, accounts for almost positive are listed as “recov- one-third of Baker County’s ered.” 86 cases since the pandemic That number should rise started in March. steadily over the next few More than half of the weeks because the state county’s cases since Aug. 9 agency doesn’t count a — 24 of 41 — are part of the person as recovered until Meadowbrook outbreak. 60 days have passed since Meanwhile the number of symptoms dissipate. sporadic cases has dropped All but one of Baker substantially over the past County’s cases — the fi rst few weeks. was reported on May 6 — Health offi cials worry have been recorded since late about sporadic cases because June, so the 60-day threshold they can’t be traced to a is starting to arrive for many source, which makes it more county residents who tested diffi cult to alert people who positive. 1-855-536-8838 PER MONTH 1-855-384-7995 “Things actually went really well, considering it was new for everybody — staff, kids and families,” he said. By Wednesday afternoon, Anderson said the phone had nearly stopped ringing with questions and concerns about technology. Enrollment at Brooklyn is at 322 as classes begin. Some stu- dents in kindergarten through third grade have opted to enroll in the District’s all-online model for elementary students through the Baker Virtual Academy, Anderson said. South Baker Intermediate School Principal Geno Bates said he has enjoyed watching his staff and students work together with the new technol- ogy. And while it hasn’t all been smooth sailing, he credits the technology team with quickly solving most problems that arose Tuesday. Enrollment at South Baker Intermediate is at about 270 students in Grades 4-6. About another 30 have signed up for the Baker Virtual Academy, Bates said. In anticipation of the start- up issues that were likely to arise in the District’s transition to new technology equipment, Superintendent Mark Witty said the number of employ- ees working for the District through Chaves Consulting was doubled from three to six. Two District employees also work to solve technological problems. “It was a very, very busy day,” Witty said of the response required by the tech team on Tuesday. “We really stretched them to the max.” NO MORE GUTTER CLEANING, OR YOUR MONEY BACK GUARANTEED! GREAT LOW PRICE began at Keating. “Even our preschoolers are doing online lessons,” Wilde said. “It’s fun and it’s exciting that they are getting to learn in a new virtual world.” And while the learning is taking place online, Wilde un- derstands that the best part of the new year for the children, including her daughter, Katie, who’s a junior at BHS this year, is getting to see their friends, even over a computer screen. “At some point, they need to see their friends,” Wilde said. The experience was much the same at Haines, Brooklyn Primary and South Baker In- termediate, principals in those buildings said Wednesday. Principal Katy Collier said the 135 students in prekinder- garten to sixth-grade classes at Haines School, their families and their teachers worked well together to prepare for Tues- day’s fi rst day of school. Preschoolers, kindergart- ners and fi rst-graders picked up their iPads and those in Grades 2-6 picked up their Chromebooks last week. On Sept. 3 they met in staggered 30-minute sessions by grade level in a digital open house, Collier said. She praised parents and teachers with their efforts to get the students up and run- ning on their computers. “Overall the parents have been phenomenal,” Collier said. “And the teachers have knocked it out of the park with preparation.” Principal Phil Anderson has the same praise for his staff and families at Brooklyn Primary School. 15 % AND! 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