We have landed on an MOU with BEA that we hope will be vetted by members in the coming weeks. Here is a condensed version of the MOU between the district and BEA. Please read this summary document carefully as some of these agreements change what has been our plan/practice – specifically around SIW days and our Wednesday schedule.
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This year, more than most, it is VERY important that all semester 1 (and quarter 2) grades are posted by the morning of Monday, Feb. 8. On this date all students who are moving from brick and mortar school into either BLPSO or district CDL will be dropped from your enrollment and Canvas Grade Pass Back will no longer be functional.
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Our core team met with Dave Williams and made some key decisions related to athletics and activities for semester 2. We will revisit these at our March, 16 meeting. Be sure to share and discuss this information with Athletic and Activities Directors and Coaches.
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As you know, each of your schools has a School Safety Checklist on our district website. What you may not be fully aware of is that these are being read frequently and thoroughly. It is really important that these checklists are not only up-to-date but also contain complete information (everything that you have in place at school should also be communicated in your plan).
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There are some updates that you need to know about (some are changes from previous communication) as they relate to COVID/RSSL/BLS practices. Here is a document from Paul that provides the latest guidance, based on what we know today. Please read this and share with staff as needed. [Note: Some of this information is also addressed by me later in this blog.]
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Here are two documents that you may want to share with your staff. One has to do with proper storage of disposable masks. The other are directions of how to put on and take off a disposable respirator mask (KN95).
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As I mentioned during our admin team last week, we are trying to get a sense of time staff may need to be out of the buildings over the next several months. Please send out this survey (re: upcoming appointments) next week. Please be prepared to share your raw numbers by our meeting Thursday so I can see where our overall HS needs might be.
Don’t forget to make a copy of the survey first before sending it out!
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Here is a copy of the letter (English and Spanish) we asked you to send to families today. This letter outlines the communication steps that will occur every time there is a positive COVID case at a school. Please share this with your staff and highlight this info with those who will be answering the phone when parents call with questions. Related to this, remember, and begin communicating now, that we are not able to share (due to HIPPA) who has been diagnosed as having a positive case in the school… and giving hints to help the questioner figure it out is not recommended either!
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Information:
If you get in a jam with not having enough front office coverage (e.g. staff are out due to quarantine) please know that Andrea Wilson has mentioned that she is willing to come help for an immediate need.
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At some point, it is likely that your school will have some exposure to a positive case. Our district has prepared a number of family letters related to a variety of exposure examples. You can find these letters on the Portal at this location. Additionally, here is the site on the Portal that includes many of our documents that are COVID-related.
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Please share this information with your staff and families:
Please consider these CDC quarantine recommendations if your family has plans for either domestic or international travel in the months to come.
Bottom line for both – Individuals who have traveled out of state (domestic or international) are recommended to:
- Get tested 3-5 days after travel AND stay home for 7 days after travel.
- Even if you test negative, stay home for the full 7 days.
- If your test is positive, isolate yourself to protect others from getting infected.
- If you don’t get tested, it’s safest to stay home for 10 days after travel.
- Avoid being around people who are at increased risk for severe illness for 14 days, whether you get tested or not.
Also take these actions for 14 days after you return from travel to protect others from getting COVID-19:
- Stay at least 6 feet/2 meters (about 2 arm lengths) from anyone who did not travel with you, particularly in crowded areas. It’s important to do this everywhere — both indoors and outdoors.
- Wear a mask to keep your nose and mouth covered when you are in shared spaces outside of your home, including when using public transportation.
- If there are people in the household who did not travel with you, wear a mask and ask everyone in the household to wear masks in shared spaces inside your home.
- Wash your hands often or use hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol.
- Avoid being around people who are at increased risk for severe illness.
- Watch your health: Look for symptoms of COVID-19, and take your temperature if you feel sick.
- https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/travel-during-covid19.html
- https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/after-travel-precautions.html
- https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/map-and-travel-notices.html
Practicing masking at home has continually been reinforced… Let’s see what the CDC says about masking at home with your family.
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If we have significant snow, both late start or cancellations are possible. Language around what teaching/instruction will look like on a “cancellation” day is still being worked through with BEA, so don’t communicate any plans yet. Lastly, we are asking that you (and all of your building staff) continue to check-in and check-out every day at your site. This means you will either need to limit the number of doors to enter/exit, or provide check-in/out opportunities at each location.
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Here is an FYI regarding what attendance looks like in Hybrid and when calls home will be made:
- Teachers record attendance in Synergy for the students in person
- Continue to call parents informing them of their student(s) with an NPV code. The call will go out the next school day following the virtual class. The calls go out at 11:00 am.
- Students with an Unexcused or Unverified absence on a scheduled in-person day will get a call home on the same day as the scheduled in-person class
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Paul has been working with our music teachers to clarify what can happen in regards to choir and band indoors and outdoors. Students can play their instruments and sing outside as long they are able to maintain at least 6 feet of distance.
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You likely also heard this news coming out of ODE around assessments for this year. Here is that news: The board approved a temporary rule at OAR 581-022-0104 that waives Essential Skills graduation requirements for students who graduate in 2021.
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I plan on resuming regular school visits in February. Principals, please email me a date/time when you’d like for me to come to visit with you – and have space where we can talk and remain socially distanced.
Calendar:
SLGGs should be completed by the end of next week.
HS Administrator WebEx: Thursday, February 4, 1:00
HS Principal WebEx with Dr. Steve Cook: Friday, February 12 @ 1:00