Parents and Community Members,
This week, Governor Kate Brown, Oregon Department of Education (ODE), and the Oregon Health Authority announced changes that will affect how and when school districts can safely reopen. Based on these new metrics, if school were starting today, Condon School District would not be able to reopen in our physical buildings as we planned. Instead, we would provide comprehensive distance learning for all students.
We understand that this shift would cause hardships for many families. While our district, teachers, and staff want nothing more than our students’ full return to school, we must follow the guidance from the state.
We are currently in the process of evaluating our options for an online learning platform called Acellus. This would give families the option of choosing to go online through Condon School District. They would have a local teacher monitoring their progress on the core subjects.
In addition, we are expecting additional guidance from ODE for rural schools. We are hoping this additional guidance will allow us the option to open.
Please be patient with us. Until this past week, we were planning to reopen. We know everyone is doing their best to plan an approach that will work best for your children and families. We care about all of you and want what’s best for our children’s safety and education. We expect to have details to provide you in the next week or two.
In the meantime, we need the community to come together to decrease the spread of COVID-19 in Gilliam County. We can all play a part in following the guidelines intended to halt the spread of the disease. The sooner the disease gets under control throughout the state, the sooner we’ll be able to resume normal school and activities for our kids.
If you have questions or concerns, please email or call me.
Michelle Geer
Superintendent