Roseburg Schools: Air Quality and Closure Procedures for Wildfire Season

Greetings wonderful Roseburg families, I hope this message finds you and your loved ones safe as our community once again experiences the effects of wildfires and smoky conditions. Prayers and gratitude go out to the firefighters and first responders working to protect those affected by the Tyee Complex fires. These wildfire events have unfortunately become a nearly annual occurrence; however our community continues to find ways to pull together and rally around those in need. Roseburg School District remains committed to working with our community and local partners to ensure the safest school environment possible for our students and staff. At this time, we expect to operate school on Monday as planned; however we will continue to monitor air quality conditions into the morning hours. Please note the following details of our plans: AIR QUALITY MONITORING AND LEVELS Our district will use AirNow.gov to make decisions for all schools in our district. Different apps and websites may provide varying air quality reads; however, we must set a standard to apply district-wide. Hazardous: 301 and higher Very Unhealthy: 201-300 Unhealthy: 151-200 Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups: 101-150 Moderate: 51-100 Good: 0-50 CLOSURE DECISIONS Due to Occupational Safety and Health Administration requirements, we cannot operate our schools once air quality index levels have reached 501. Considerations to cancel school will begin once AQI levels reach the hazardous level of 301-plus. In the mornings, if the AQI has already reached a hazardous level of 301 or higher, we will cancel school due to the likelihood of levels continuing to rise later in the day. That decision will be made by 5:30 a.m. Families will receive notifications through our One Call and Remind systems and can refer to our website and Facebook page for notifications as well. If school has started and the AQI reaches 301 or higher and appears to be on the rise, we may make a decision to cancel school for the remainder of the day. This is because a school closure requires several hours to effectively communicate and implement. A cancellation due to smoke will be handled in the same way as heat-related or weather-related cancellations. Remote learning will not be required. Makeup days will be determined at a later date. WHEN SCHOOLS ARE OPEN We encourage families to send masks to school with their children, if they choose. Schools will offer available child-sized 3-ply face masks to students who request them. Parents may want to consider providing masks for students riding buses, as bus windows are typically rolled down during warm weather. The majority of our school facilities lack HVAC and air filtration systems; however each classroom does have access to a residential-style air purifier. Teachers will be asked to run these purifiers and keep doors and windows shut to prevent smoke entering classrooms. Outdoor recess and activities will be canceled if air quality index levels reach over 150. Morning bus routes may be adjusted for students affected by the Tyee Complex evacuations. Transportation provider First Student will communicate directly with families. We will continue to provide updates throughout the week. I know this is not the start to the school year we had all hoped for, but we are committed to ensuring our students experience a joyful first week back. Thank you for your understanding as we work to provide a healthy and safe educational experience for our kids. Sincerely, Jared Cordon Superintendent Roseburg School District