EDUCATION
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2020
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A9
USDA extends
Local teachers will still be in
classrooms for distance learning funding for free
student meals
By ANTONIO SIERRA
STAFF WRITER
The classrooms may be virtual this
year, but local teachers will still be
expected to work from their physical
classrooms this fall.
Sept. 8 promises to be a fi rst day of
school like no other for the Hermiston
School District as the state will require
it, and most other school districts in the
region, to start the year with distance
learning. But Hermiston, and other
schools in the area, will still require
their teachers to educate their students
from an empty classroom.
With Hermiston still the local epi-
center of the coronavirus pandemic, the
district’s administration and teachers
union now fi nd themselves on opposite
sides of the issue.
Although many teachers taught
from home when the state shutdown
schools last spring to slow the spread
of COVID-19, Hermiston Superinten-
dent Tricia Mooney defended the dis-
trict’s work policy for the 2020-21
school year.
Mooney said the district wants
teachers in classrooms because that’s
where all of their educational technol-
ogy and equipment are, not to mention
the administrators and instructional
coaches who are on hand for support.
She added that there would still be
precautions put in place on campuses,
including limiting the amount of time
teachers spend working after hours on
nights and weekends so the custodial
staff can clean and sanitize.
If staff members have an underlying
condition that makes them vulnerable
to COVID-19, Mooney said the district
is working with employees to make
accommodations.
The Hermiston ZIP code has suf-
fered one of the worst coronavirus
outbreaks in the state, with more than
1,400 total cases since the onset of the
pandemic.
In an emailed statement, Lareul
By JADE MCDOWELL
NEWS EDITOR
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan, File
Desks sit empty ahead of the impending school year on Aug. 13, 2020, at Sunridge
Middle School in Pendleton.
Woodward, president of the Hermiston
Association of Teachers, was critical of
the district’s rules.
“Every Hermiston educator is com-
mitted to ensuring our students feel
loved and supported during this cri-
sis, and that they continue to receive
the best education possible regard-
less of the teaching format our schools
use,” she said. “The district’s decision
to require large numbers of educators
to work together out of a shared build-
ing while the COVID pandemic num-
bers are high in our community not
only puts the health and wellness of our
district employees and our community
at risk, it does nothing to improve the
quality of education our students will
be receiving.”
Hermiston isn’t the only district
with this rule.
Pendleton School District Superin-
tendent Chris Fritsch said Pendleton
has a similar policy with exceptions
made for staff members with underly-
ing health issues.
Fritsch added that parents are
expecting a higher quality education
after last year’s sudden transition to
distance learning, and teachers oper-
ating out of a familiar and resourced
environment like the classroom was
one of the ways Pendleton could meet
that expectation.
The Pendleton area has the coun-
ty’s second-highest total of COVID-
19 cases at 478, but Fritsch said teach-
ers should stay isolated enough in their
classrooms to avoid a situation where
the virus might spread.
For many districts the goal remains
to return to in-person learning.
Although the number of cases in Uma-
tilla County has ebbed in recent weeks,
local schools are still far from meeting
the state’s requirements for compre-
hensive in-person education.
But Mooney took heart in the coun-
ty’s downward trend and said it’s evi-
dence that practices like social distanc-
ing, hand washing, and the use of face
coverings were working.
“We need to stay the course for what
we’re doing,” she said.
Eastern Oregon stu-
dents could get more
free meals after the U.S.
Department of Agricul-
ture announced it was
extending its funding
options for districts in
light of COVID-19.
Umatilla and Mor-
row county school dis-
tricts leveraged USDA
funding to provide free
breakfast and lunch for
all students during the
spring when school was
fi rst shut down, and to
offer their usual free
summer meal programs.
In
the
Hermis-
ton School District,
the district had previ-
ously planned to resume
charging students for
breakfast and lunch when
the school year begins on
Sept. 8, but Superinten-
dent Tricia Mooney said
on Sept. 1 that the USDA
announcement
might
mean that students who
do not usually qualify
for free or reduced lunch
can continue receiving
free meals.
“We did see that, and
we are awaiting further
instruction from (Ore-
gon Department of Edu-
cation) on that, but we
do anticipate moving in
the direction of offering
more free meals,” she
said.
She said the district
would still likely hand
out meals at fewer bus
stops than they have
been, due to staffi ng
constraints, but parents
should be on the look-
out for announcements
about the district’s new
plans in the upcoming
days.
Hunger-Free
Ore-
gon, a nonprofi t, issued
a statement commending
the USDA’s decision,
which extends funding
fl exibilities to school
districts through the end
of 2020.
According to the
organization, the num-
ber of children in Ore-
gon experiencing “food
insecurity” has increased
since the pandemic
began from one in eight
children to one in three.
“As school buildings
closed and families lost
income in March, school
meals became more
important than ever — a
real lifeline that is essen-
tial to stay healthy and
engaged in learning, and
supports communities in
crisis,” Annie Kirschner
of Hunger-Free Oregon
said in a statement.
“If these waivers
hadn’t been extended,
daily
meals
would
have been unafford-
able for many families,”
Kirschner said. “Kids
would have been with-
out food, which is unac-
ceptable. We’re glad
that the federal gov-
ernment listened to the
concerns of parents and
educators.”
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