Good afternoon VES students and families,

This morning district staff have spoken Lane County Public Health and worked with them to review the circumstances of the positive COVID-19 test, examine our cohort logs, and to identify and inform any individuals who may have been exposed.  All students and families that MAY have been exposed have been notified.  Below is the most current information regarding what we have done, what we will be doing, and what changes, if any, will occur at Veneta in the coming days.

1. The positive case has not been in the building since Friday morning.
2. The person began having minor symptoms over the weekend, and tested positive on Monday evening.
3. Despite the fact that the individual hasn’t been in the space for nearly 100 hours, we are currently sanitizing and disinfecting the spaces they were in (which were very few).
4. Our cohort groups and logs worked well, resulting in the need for only one teacher, one instructional aide, and one classroom of students to isolate.  Those families have been notified.
5. School will resume for all other students K-5 at Veneta Elementary beginning tomorrow.  Virtual for 4th-5th, and “B” day for our K-3 students.  In consultation with the local public health authority, we are immediately closing one cohort (again they have been notified) who will remain at home for 14 days under Comprehensive Distance Learning, with a tentative plan to return to Limited In-Person Instruction on Tuesday, November 3rd.
6. For the one classroom of students, stay tuned for direct communication from the school staff/teacher around next steps.  We will be coming up with a 2 week plan to provide learning opportunities over the next two weeks.  This will include CDL (virtual instruction) with your teacher on a chromebook.  The plan to get these out to you will start immediately.

Thank you for  your patience during this process.  It will not be the last time we go through this at one of our schools.

Dear Staff and Families of Veneta Elementary

Just a short time ago (this evening) we were notified that a member of the Veneta Elementary Community has tested positive for COVID-19.  As members of the school community, we understand that this might raise concerns alongside a caring response.  We are working closely with Lane County Public Health to respond to this news and protect the health of our community.

Each situation calls for different protocols.  In this case we are taking the following steps:

1. Due to finding out so late this evening, school is closed for all students K-5 and staff at VES on Tuesday, October 20th.
2. The school will be sanitized fully on Tuesday by our custodial staff.  This is out of an abundance of caution, as the last contact at the school for the individual that tested positive, was Friday morning the 16th.
3. First thing Tuesday morning we will be communicating with Lane County Public Health (LCPH) and supporting their contact tracing protocols and providing our contact tracing logs.
4. Our District Nurse is also working closely with LCPH and will be available to support the District, our staff, students and parents.
5. Lane County Public Health will be directing us tomorrow in regards to if any specific families/students need to be notified, or isolate.  Those families will be informed as early in the day on Tuesday as possible.
6. We expect classes to resume on Wednesday, October 21st.  If LCPH directs us to isolate any specific “cohorts”, those students will be notified immediately.  In that case, the students would move to Comprehensive Distance Learning.
7. A phone dialer will go out to VES families this evening, to share this information.
8. This only effects Veneta Elementary School.
9. We will provide updates both here, on the VES website and Superintendent Carpenter Facebook page.

The best way to prevent the spread of COVID-19 is through staying home when ill, wearing face coverings, physical distancing, and practicing good health hygiene habits.  Be sure to wash your hands frequently with soap and water, cover your coughs and sneezes, and avoid contact with people who have signs of illness.

We will keep you updated with any new information as it comes out, while meeting the requirements to honor everyone’s right to privacy.  More information can be found on the Oregon Department of Education’s Ready Schools, Safe Learners page and the Oregon Health Authority’s COVID-19 page.

If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact the District office, or your school administrator.

Professionally,

Gary E. Carpenter, Jr.

Superintendent, FRSD 28J

We have spent some time going over the survey comments and questions from the last week, and as a result wanted to respond to some of the larger topics addressed.  First off, thank you to EVERYONE that participated.  All of the positive comments around the supports and work of the district to this point have been passed along and were greatly appreciated.  Equally as important, were the comments sharing all of the areas where students (and parents) are struggling.  Below are couple of the most common concerns that were brought up, as well as the work we are doing to address them:

1.  Workload is too high:  Conversations are occurring at all levels around re-examining the workload for our students.  While we are committed to maintaining academic rigor, keeping students connected, and showing them care is our #1 priority.  If the amount of material that is traditionally covered through a course is not covered in this environment, that is OK.
2. When are school staff available for questions or extra help?:  I am asking building administrators to post something on their school website regarding this so everyone has the information.  Some buildings may also choose to send out an email with this information or do a phone dialer.  Stay tuned.  However, as always, do not hesitate to call the school or email the principal with any questions, such as this one, anytime!
3. Is Pass/No Pass an option:  Traditionally this is only an option through the first two weeks of a term. However, these are not traditional times.  We will be working right up until Monday morning to identify any limitations of our system, overcome those and by Monday morning we will have a plan in place that I will share here.  At a minimum, the plan will allow for extensive flexibility in regards to not having any deadlines to make this request for a course or multiple courses.  GPA should not be a stressor for students and families in this time. This will be consistent in grades 6-12 in both CDL at EHS and FRMS, as well as 6th-12th graders in the OPTIONS program.  Stay tuned for the exact details.  Needless to say, Pass/No Pass will be an option for all 6th-12th grade students right up until the end of the term.
4. How can parents get teacher contact information? On the left hand side of our webpage is a staff directory.  We made sure that it is up to date.  All FRSD staff should be listed there as well as the building phone number and their email address.

Thanks for your continued patience.  As we get these things resolved, we will be moving on to other areas of concerns shared in the survey.

Gary E. Carpenter, Jr., Superintendent, FRSD 28J

If you have a Chromebook that looks like this for your student enrolled in Kindergarten through 8th grade …….

AND your power adapter (charging cord) has markings that match this picture (look for the “Chicony” label)

Please come to the FRSD District Office at your earliest convenience and exchange it (JUST THE CHARGING CORD) for the proper adapter for that model chromebook.  If you have any questions, please call 541-952-7030.  If you cannot come to the District Office, let us know and we can schedule a home visit to make this swap.  It will help us out tremendously to get these back, and get the correct ones to you.  These chargers were only given students in Kindergarten through 8th grade, they were not issued to high school students. 

FRSD District Office
88834 Territorial Rd
Elmira, OR 97437

The learning curve of the various technology and platforms has been steep for everyone.  To assist with that, we have started to create a list of training videos to support students and families with this new learning environment.  The links to these videos can be found under the red “2020 School Year” tab on the right side of the main district webpage.  The direct link is here: https://www.fernridge.k12.or.us/2020-school-year/

We currently have videos on Zoom, Google Classroom, Accelerate and Edgenuity.  We are reviewing recent survey data and will be adding more training videos in the weeks to come based on feedback we receive.

FRSD Parents and Students,

The district is looking for ways to provide additional support to our families.  To this end, we have begun a new section on the top of the “2020 school year” tab from the District’s main page.  The direct link is here:  https://www.fernridge.k12.or.us/2020-school-year/

You will notice the first item at the top of that page is titled “Training for parents and students on different topics.”  The first training we have included, is a Zoom training from the parent/student perspective (Thank you Mr. Lee).  We will add more trainings, a Q and A, and other supportive materials as time allows, and as we hear from families around the specific areas they need support.  To help in that regard, please take the very short 4 question survey to help of focus our trainings on what is needed most.  The survey can be taken at:  (click here)

Last night we held an informational zoom meeting attended by almost 50 K-3 FRSD parents.  The meeting discussed the plan we are developing with our K-3 students who are currently coming in to school for two days a week/two hours each day.  The meeting recording can be viewed at the following link:  K-3 Q & A Session (10-1-2020)

In addition, each elementary school webpage now has a post that summarizes the information shared at last night’s meeting.  Those posts can be viewed at:

VES webpage post: (click here)

EES webpage post: (click here)

This Thursday at 5:30, the District will hold a zoom meeting for our K-3 parents to share where we plan to go from here and how we plan to expand.  In addition, it will an opportunity for parents to ask questions and provide feedback.

To attend the meeting, please use the information below:

Gary Carpenter is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: K-3 Instruction
Time: Oct 1, 2020 05:30 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting
https://fernridge-k12-or-us.zoom.us/j/86919668977?pwd=SGxwQ2habS9oc3FvdnBKTHFOSndBUT09

Meeting ID: 869 1966 8977
Passcode: 520552
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When we get questions during our weekly Q and A that I do not have the answer to, I get the answer, and post it here.  In yesterday’s Q and A, a question was posed that was something to the effect of “How does the County calculate the case rate/100,000 metric that is used to guide schools, currently at 30.6”.  I asked that question to Lane County Public Health, and below is their response.  I hope it is helpful.

"You're correct - it's the number of new cases per day for the week, divided by the population 
(~378k I believe), and then multiplied by 100k.  It's important to note that the numbers are 
based on the date of symptom onset, not when LCPH receives the test result, which is why the 
numbers can sometimes shift throughout the week. The metric is based on all new cases/positive
tests, so the "infectious" or contagious number you might hear about is calculated differently
and doesn't impact OHA/LCPH's school metrics."

Bus routes and times are currently being updated and will be linked on THIS post, at the bottom, as soon as they are ready!  In addition, classroom teachers will be calling “bus-riders” to confirm their pick-up time later today.  If you have any questions, once the routes are posted, please call the school.

Speaking of buses being on the road.  Tomorrow is the first school day in quite awhile that our youngest students will be moving around the community, early in the morning, coming to school. All of our buses will be out as well.