Elementary school will continue in-person
By Charlie Kanzig Tuesday, December 22, 2020 12:40 PM Sisters Elementary School will be allowed to remain open for “hybrid” learning under the state’s “Safe Harbor” clause, which was extended following an announcement late December 16 from the Oregon Department of Education and the Oregon Health Authority.
The “Safe Harbor” status had been set to expire January 4, 2021. ODE expects to publish updated information in the “Safe Schools, Ready Learners” program, including regarding “Safe Harbor” in the next two weeks.
However, superintendent Curt Scholl emphasized that students at Sisters Elementary will take a week of Comprehensive Distance Learning (CDL) the week of January 4, with a plan to return to the “in-person hybrid” model beginning January 11 provided that nothing else significantly changes in the interim regarding coronavirus infection rates.
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Not counting charter or remote one-classroom schools, there are 48 public schools in Deschutes County. And only one was open for in-person learning for much of the fall: Sisters Elementary School.
Four days a week since late September, about 270 students from preschool to fourth grade have attended class inside Sisters Elementary. Many teachers, school staff and parents say their ability to learn in person has been a major benefit, academically and emotionally, for those children.
âItâs so much easier to form a relationship with kids when you can see their needs, theyâre sitting in the chair in front of you,â said Clay Warburton, a Sisters fourth grade teacher. âAnd you can meet their needs in a more direct, compassionate way than you can over Zoom.â