Roseburg Elementary Schools Will Remain Open As State Announces New Standards

The State of Oregon has adopted much more flexible standards for elementary schools in particular. Locally, it means that Roseburg elementary schools will not have to revert to remote learning next week after all. Here is a release from Roseburg Public Schools sent out Friday afternoon. "The Oregon Department of Education and the Oregon Health Authority today announced revisions to the COVID-19 metrics that determine school district strategies for reopening as safely as possible to in-person learning. For Roseburg Public Schools, these new metrics mean that K-3 students will be able to remain in classrooms full time and will not have to transition back to remote learning as long as local case rates do not rise significantly. The changes also mean that the district will most likely be able to return fourth- and fifth-graders to full-time in-person learning. “We are eagerly anticipating the latest Douglas County COVID-19 case rate numbers that will be released on Monday,” said Superintendent Jared Cordon.” As long as these numbers remain within the updated metric requirements, we will have 14 days to open to our fourth- and fifth-graders. Our goal will be to bring these students back to classrooms on November 16. We will send an update to staff and families confirming this plan once the Monday case numbers are released.” Highlights of the new metrics include: · Schools can offer in-person/hybrid instruction for all grades (K-12) if their county has fewer than 50 cases per 100,000 people and a test positivity rate below 5%. Cases will be measured over the previous two weeks. Douglas County rates are currently higher than this threshold so RPS 6-12 students will remain in remote learning at this time. · The new metrics allow in-person instruction for all elementary grades in counties with 50-100 cases per 100,000 and a test positivity rate between 5% and 8%. Schools in these counties will be able to phase in grades 6-12 if, in collaboration with local health officials, they are able to demonstrate the ability to limit transmission in the school environment. RPS currently falls into this category. At this time, the district is not eligible to reopen to grades 6-12; however once elementary school students return and the district shows that community spread is not occurring in schools, we will be able to begin transitioning these grades to a hybrid learning model. Surveys for fourth- and fifth-grade families have been distributed to gauge interest in returning students to school versus continuing with remote learning. The district will also be reaching out to families of students in grades 6-12 to determine how many students may choose to remain with remote learning in the event the district is able to transition to hybrid learning. The district’s website, www.roseburg.k12.or.us, will be updated today with the latest metrics from ODE and OHA and remains the best place to find the latest information on the status for reopening."