K-3 Update

Tonight at 5:30 we held a virtual meeting for our K-3 Parents to inform them of our work today, and our plans going forward.  Thank you to the families that were able to participate in this informational opportunity.  We can feel the frustration that families students and staff are experiencing.  Our goal is to move towards a model that allows our youngest students to have in-person instruction as much as possible given the new county metrics and ODE guidelines.

You may be aware that the exception we were hoping to open under is no longer an option due to the 30.6 per 100,000 case rate in Lane County.  However, we ARE able to reopen for Limited in Person Instruction (LIPI) if we can meet very specific guidelines.  This includes no more than 10 students per cohort and students can be in no more than 2 cohorts including transportation.  The transportation piece is one of the most complex issues of our plan moving forward.  For any family that can transport their student, or carpool with another,  please know THIS IS A TREMENDOUS HELP!

While the parameters are restrictive, we feel that it is critical to offer in person instruction for our youngest learners.  Our teachers, instructional assistants and administrators are committed to this.  We are working with parents, teachers and transportation to ensure that this is possible.  Below is our plan:

• Beginning Thursday, September 24th, and continuing through Friday, October 9th:
  • Students will start on their A / B Day.
    • A Days = Tues/Thur & B Days = Wed/Fri
  • Students will be on site from 8:00-10:00 AM
    • 2 hours for LIPI
      • The 2 hours will focus primarily on Math and Reading
        • On days that students are in school:
          • Teachers will spend some time introducing instructing on other subjects (Social Studies, Science, Art, PE, etc.) that students will work on when they go home in the afternoon.
          • On days that students are NOT in school:
            • Students will bring home Applied Learning Packets for their off-days (will not exceed 2 hours, and be appropriate to each grade level-will focus on Math and Reading)
        • Teachers will have a system for daily communication
• TRANSPORTATION:  New pickup and drop off times will be communicated with families by tomorrow afternoon.

Over the next 2 1/2 weeks we will be looking into 3 different options of expansion, they are:

1. Continuing with how we are going.
2. Adding CDL in the afternoons and checking out chromebooks to our K-3 students for PM instruction with their teachers
3. Going to an AM/PM model that would have A day kids attending EVERY day from 8-10, and B Day kids attending every day from 12:30-2:30

Where we fall will depend on the following factors:

1. How well our model is working
2. County health/metric data
3. Information and availability of another 200-300 chromebooks
4. Family feedback and input!

All the staff are excited to see our K-3 students beginning this Thursday.

Meals are still available, and students will have an opportunity to eat breakfast when they arrive, and be sent home with a lunch if they would like one!

We will have another K-3 check-in virtual meeting, next Thursday at 5:30.

Thank you so much for your continued flexibility as we all navigate these challenges!  It is appreciated very much.