Ecstatic, elated, ebullient. That smattering of descriptors captures the rare giddiness that enveloped relieved environmental advocates when President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law earlier this week.
On Wednesday, Sweet Home School District Superintendent Tom Yahraes hit send on an email to parents outlining the plan to bring students back to classrooms and warning that school will not be the same.Â
Since April, most students have been barred from in-person instruction by state metrics surrounding the spread of COVID-19. In December, Gov. Kate Brown announced those metrics would be altered on Jan. 19 and would become advisory rather than mandatory, placing the decision about reopening squarely in local districts.Â
And while the decision is local, the circumstances surrounding it are still shaped by state mandates. Students must wear face coverings, practice social distancing and classes must be smaller.Â
CAITLYN M. MAY
On Monday, Greater Albany Public Schools released a draft plan that would see all K-12 students back in classrooms by Feb. 25. But it came with a caveat that has been repeated by the district for the last nine months: school will not look the same, and how long students can stay in the classroom is up to the community.
The plan, which has not yet been finalized, follows new guidance from the state that prioritizes elementary students for in-person learning. GAPS students in grades K-5 would not attend school at all, including comprehensive distance learning, the first week in February. The break would allow for teachers to prepare to welcome K-2 kids back into hybrid learning beginning Feb. 8.