Kelly Kenoyer
Of The New Era
Sweet Home students in grades 4 through 12 will be required to learn from home instead of attending school in person in fall, according to new information from the Oregon Department of Education.
The newest guidelines from the state mandate distance learning for school districts in regions that fail to meet certain COVID-19 metrics for three weeks straight. Those metrics are 10 or fewer cases per 100,000 people in a seven-day period, a test positivity rate of 5 percent or less in that same period, and a state metric of the same test positivity rate.
Students in grades K through 3 have more lax rules for in-person learning to be allowed, and the county is currently meeting those metrics. They include 30 or fewer cases per 100,000 and a test positivity rate below 7.5 percent.
For Sweet Home, that means students in grade 4 and above will need to start the school year learning remotely, but younger students will have the option of coming into the classroom.
Gov. Kate Brown said in a news conference held Tuesday, July 28, that younger students get the exception because they’re less likely to contract COVID-19, less likely to get very sick if they do contract it, and less likely to pass it on if they’re carriers.
The exceptions are also designed to give time in classrooms to the students with the greatest needs, because in-person schooling is “necessary for social development,” in young children, Brown said.
Students that age also struggle more than older students to learn without the assistance of an adult, so access to teachers in-person is critical, Brown noted.
“I am absolutely unwilling to lose an entire school year for any of our students,” she said, but noted the state’s “cautious and careful approach” for protecting public health.
On July 29, Sweet Home School District Superintendent Tom Yahraes sent a letter about the new mandates to staff and teachers and posted it on the district website.
“Currently, Linn County and State of Oregon case rates exceed the limits set forth by the governor for in-person instruction,” he wrote. “For now, the data says grades K-3 students will be able to choose distance or site learning. Grades 4-12 the COVID-19 data permits only a distance option.”
The Oregon Health Authority listed Linn County as having 31 new COVID cases over the week ending Monday, bringing the county’s total since March to 254. The county had an estimated 129,749 residents – 24 cases per 100,000.
Students in higher grades will use the district’s new Canvas learning platform to communicate with teachers and access assignments, and they’ll be issued Chromebook devices so they can access those materials even if they don’t already have a computer at home.
According to Yahraes’s letter, the Canvas platform will include:
— Predictable schedules and routines for daily learning activities;
— High-quality direct instruction and ongoing support for students by teacher(s);
— Daily synchronous learning for students through Zoom meetings, Google Hangouts, or phone calls with staff;
— Increased teacher instructional time and meaningful student assignments;
— Progress monitoring and assessment;
— Clear and consistent grading practices;
— Clarity around attendance and participation;
— Counseling and mental health services; and
— Family engagement and partnerships.
The school district will also provide weekly status updates on the COVID-19 data to determine if and when schools can re-open to all ages.
Yahraes said there are additional metrics required for a school to stay open after it reopens, the main one being “no community spread within the school.”
Opening on-site for the youngest students will provide an opportunity to train those kids and their parents on how to use Canvas, Yahraes said.
If schools have to close again, the youngest students will already be more comfortable and familiar with their new devices and the Canvas site.
“It’s a tried and true learning platform, so we’re very serious about building a good platform,” he said.
For older kids, Yahraes said Canvas and Zoom will give students and teachers some opportunities to socialize and connect to discuss projects. He wants to “keep kids connected to each other socially and emotionally. That’s some of the things these kids have been missing.” Opening for grades 4-12 will be more of a challenge because of the more intensive metrics, but Yahraes is focused on what’s in his own control.
“The metrics are in the state-level control, but what we can do to help get our kids back is do the best we can to follow the safety protocols as outlined by the state and county so we can be as safe as possible to get our kids back in school,” he said.
During the governor’s press conference, State Health Officer Dean Sidelinger said it’s up to individual actions to slow the spread of COVID-19 to help schools re-open.
“The actions you are taking right now help our students return to school,” he said. “We can suppress COVID-19 and return to levels where we can reopen schools.”
Sidelinger emphasized the need to wear masks, wash one’s hands, and socially distance.
Sweet Home has had 14 positive cases since March, with one new case since July 22 and another new case the week before that.
Still, Yahraes said, he is focused on the opportunities this challenging time pose for the district. He said this year’s distance learning will go much more smoothly than in the spring, when all school districts had only 24 hours notice before going remote.
“What we have this time is time to prepare our distance learning platforms. They’re going to be much better, more rigorous, the pacing is going to be more uniform, the assessments will be more timely and interactive,” he said.