Gary Carpenter
THERE WILL BE A CHANGE IN MEAL SERVICE BEGINNING WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1ST.
Beginning April 1st, below describes what the breakfast and lunch meal service will look like throughout our District.
- The site at VES will continue to operate, drive through only, 11:00-12:30. Students do NOT need to be present, you receive a sack lunch and breakfast for each students/child ages 0-18.
- The other 3 drop sites that have been operating will cease.
- 13 Different bus routes will continue around our community. The times for each stop location are our best guesses at this point, so be flexible. As we get a sense of the usage of each route, we will refine our times and continue to update them. The 13 routes can be found by clicking here. The first stops begin at 11:00 AM.
We encourage everyone to use this resource. The buses will have a driver, and a District staff member on each bus. Please assist them when receiving your meals in regards to maintaining social distancing practices. Thank you!
Families, please share the information below regarding information that will be coming out over the next few days on a wide range of topics related to our closure. Thanks for your patience as we navigate these challenges.
- MEAL SERVICE: Meal service continues tomorrow and Monday at our 4 locations that we have previously shared. We are looking into possibly increasing this late next week and could implement bringing lunches around on school bus routes, stopping at respective bus stops. We will keep you posted if we get this place, and share the information immediately. The only change in regards to serving meals that we have recently received from ODE and our Federal Partners is that we no longer have to physically see the children. Parents can pick up meals for their children without them being physically present.
- SUPPLEMENTAL LEARNING: This weekend, I will be publishing a new page on our website that will share a wide range of topics related to school closure issues. One of them will be supplemental learning resources for all grades K-12 in most subject areas.
- PHONE CALL: Expect a phone call from your child’s homeroom teacher (or some other staff member) on Monday. In this call, we will be touching base, answering any questions that we can, and most importantly, asking if you can access the online resources we have posted. If not, would you like resources mailed home once a week. Please understand these are simply resources to keep your student(s) engaged and make things easier for parents. They are not required, they will not be graded, and they will not be turned in (although students can certainly share with their teachers some of the things they did during this closure when they return).
- 12TH GRADERS: State leaders are prioritizing creating a pathway to graduation for High School seniors. As soon as that information is released from ODE, we will share it and begin to have one on one phone calls with our senior students and families to discuss their path.
Finally, in speaking with several teachers today, they are eager to find new ways to support and engage with their students in the days and weeks to come. We will be publishing an updated list of contact information for all our staff. All teachers will begin maintaining virtual/remote “office hours” from 10 AM – 2 PM daily where they will be available to communicate via email or phone with students and parents.
Gary Carpenter, Superintendent, FRSD 28J
Families, I wanted to share a quick post to folks regarding a few topics. Please don’t take the lack of recent updates to mean not much is happening in the district. Key staff are working long hours to prepare to roll out information to our seniors (within the next 24-48 hours) and supplemental learning (over the weekend).
On Monday, every student/family should get a phone call from a staff member. In addition, there will be new info regarding possibly expanding meal service.
All of the district partners, and there are many, have been problem solving and working on plans that we will be able to share in the coming days. Thank you for your patience, we will meet these challenges together!
New for next week, the district will have FOUR sites where meals can be picked up. To be able to do this, we had to work to get ODE approval, and jump through a few hoops. A big thanks to our Chartwells staff for their assistance, as well as First Student who will be helping with bus drivers. All sites will continue to operate from 11:00-12:30 M-F.
The four sites are.
- Veneta Elementary: Site will continue to operate as it has been.
- The Noti store parking lot: A school bus will be at this location with meals from 11:00-12:30
- The church parking lot at 25391 Jeans Road: A school bus will be at this location with meals from 11:00-12:30
- The Farm Store Parking lot at 87774 Territorial Hwy. A School bus will be at this location with meals from 11:00-12:30
As many of you are aware, the Governor gave an executive order on March 16th, closing schools through April 28th. One of the elements of that order charges schools to deliver “supplemental education and learning supports to students to the extent practical through independent study and other appropriate options.”
Over the next week I will be problem solving what that looks like for Fern Ridge, along with other district leaders. Many of our staff will be coming back to work on Monday, March 30th to finalize what these plans look like and have them ready to execute by April 1st. I expect they will look very different from K-8 vs. High School. Districts are currently waiting on ODE guidance, we expect early next week, around high school students– especially 12th graders.
In the mean time, for those of you that are interested, in the coming days a page on our website will go live that addresses other “on-line resources” for families for whom this is an option. When it is ready, we will announce that through the website, social media and phone dialer. We understand that this isn’t an option for every family/home based on internet connectivity and/or actual devices. Our plan that will come out prior to April 1st will address various options.
Earlier we had a site posted here for parents to try. Upon further inspection it wanted to charge families after a 30 day trial period.
Gary E. Carpenter, Jr. Superintendent, FRSD 28J
Good afternoon FRSD Families. Here is the most up to date information I can share. Thanks to everyone for their patience.
- Please keep in mind, as we continue to move forward, that for our district staff this would be much easier to navigate if we were a sole entity/organization, including financial support, supervisor jurisdiction, rules, regulations, etc… As it is, we have to take guidance from local, state and federal leaders. While those folks are working around the clock, that guidance doesn’t come quickly, and when it does, it changes by the hour, sometimes from minute to minute. Your patience is appreciated.
- The District will continue to provide food service through this Friday, March 20th. Next week we WILL also be providing service Monday through Friday. I am hopeful we will add to the current Veneta Elemetnary service, a couple locations throughout our District where students could come pick up meals at a school bus that will be parked. Stay tuned for those possible pick-up sites that will be in ADDITION to the VES site that will continue. Today we served 247 breakfasts and lunches for a total of 494 meals. We are growing every day. For anyone that utilizes this resource, PLEASE do not hesitate to continue to do so, and spread the word!
- Distance Learning. The governors most recent order charges schools (among other things) to “deliver supplemental education and learning supports to students to the extent practical through independent study and other appropriate options. ” What that looks like in Fern Ridge we will problem solve over the next week. We will NOT have this up and running prior to Spring Break. My hope is that we will have a plan in place and ready to roll out by Wednesday, April 1st. Stay tuned.
- On Friday morning I am holding a meeting with representatives form all district leadership positions. Facilities, Maintenance, Tech, Food Service, Transportation, Classified and Certified union leadership, board chair and administrators. The next big piece of information will come out following that meeting. I would look for it early next week, Monday the 23rd.
Thank you for your continued patience and support as we navigate through these extremely unique and unprecedented set of circumstances.
Gary Carpenter, Superintendent FRSD
- Today we served 176 lunches and 176 breakfasts at our drive through meal site at Veneta Elementary. It is looking more and more likely that we will be able to continue this through Spring Break. Stay tuned. We are also exploring the option of having a bus deliver to more remote sites such as Noti/Walton and others. If that happens we will announce that here, as well as Superintendent Carpenter facebook.
- Expect an announcement from the Governor in the next 24 hours that will address many questions folks may have around continued school closures, and other issues.
- The first positive case of coronavirus has surfaced in Lane County. The more you can self-isolate/practice social distancing and engage in healthy behaviors, the better for all.
Gary Carpenter, FRSD Superintendent
- We served 100 breakfast/lunches today! Thanks so much to our partners at CHARTWELLS, their director Alan, and all his helpers. Great job. We hope this # continues to grow in the coming days. At this point, it continues through Friday the 20th, we are working on continuing to be able to provide this in the days following. Remember, it is 100% FREE if you attend FRSD schools (or Triangle Lake–with whom we have an agreement).
- The District Office has moved to a skeleton crew with only key folks coming in that have critical duties. I will be here every day, although often out in meetings or on conference call meetings. The best way to contact the district will be via email, or by leaving a message on our phone system 541-935-2253. No one will be checking phone messages left at individual buildings. The district office message machine will get checked once a day.
- Continue to practice social distancing and good hand washing at home, so that when we do return, everyone is healthy!
Thanks to everyone that is being patient as we navigate these unprecedented events. I will try to provide once a day updates…if warranted.
Gary Carpenter, FRSD Superintendent
FRSD Families: Some general information and updates:
- Meal service begins tomorrow at VES– Drive through and pick up only. Kids must be in car. Ages 1-18 are served! 11:00-12:30. THESE MEALS ARE FREE!
- Virtual or remote learning: At this time, the district is not pursuing this option. That may change if the mandated school closure extends. One important perspective I would share with parents around the topic of continuing academics during the closure is this. It is OK if parents want to engage in this, and try to support their students academically. It is ALSO just fine to allow your kids to be kids during this closure. The way adults respond and act around this pandemic can cause significant stress and anxiety. There is absolutely no reason to add to that stress and create conflict between parents and students by forcing academic time. Every child is different, so some may welcome this, however for most, simply having a 30 to 60 minute reading time (especially at the elementary and middle school level) of some fun book that they would enjoy is plenty. Your child is going to get far more during these two weeks off during this stressful time, by just being allowed to be a kid. Bottom line, keep the academic stress low.
- The district office will remain open through the closure, schools will not. Staff will return to the buildings on Monday, March 30th. If something changes around the mandated closure, we will notify folks immediately.
- Assuming students return on Wednesday, April 1st, expect that Friday “non-school” day to be changed to a school day. More information to come as decisions are made.
- Continue to practice social distancing and appropriate hand washing and other measures during this break.
- Feel free to contact the district office if you have specific questions at 541-935-2253, or email me at gcarpenter@fernridge.k12.or.us
Gary Carpenter, Superintendent-FRSD 28J