All seven Central Oregon school superintendents signed a letter to Gov. Kate Brown urging the state to ease COVID-19 social-distancing guidelines and allow all students in the region to return to full-time, in-person learning.
The letter, sent Tuesday, was signed by superintendents at Bend-La Pine Schools, Crook County, Jefferson County, Culver, Redmond and Sisters school districts and the High Desert Education Service District.
Brown has not responded to the letter, but her office is expected to address possible changes next week.
Lora Nordquist, superintendent of Bend-La Pine Schools, said Friday that each school district supports safety restrictions but wants to see slight changes that would give classrooms more capacity to accommodate students.
Specifically, the superintendents are asking the governor for three changes: Reduce social distancing from 6 feet to 3 feet, eliminate the 35-square-foot per person requirement for classroom capacity and use a 3 feet rule instead and expand the 100-person limit for student contact to 200.
“We feel we can make those changes and still keep our students safe,” Nordquist said.
In Bend-La Pine Schools, third grade students and younger are back to full-time, in-person learning, but fourth through 12th grade students are in a hybrid of remote and in-person learning.
Under the current guidelines, the older students are stuck in the hybrid model because most schools do not have the space to keep students 6 feet apart, Nordquist said.
Reducing the requirement to 3 feet would make in-person learning possible, she said.
Nordquist points to a study in Massachusetts that shows no difference in COVID-19 transmission between 3 or 6 feet of distance. In addition, the World Health Organization updated its recommendation to allow for a 3-foot distance, Nordquist said.
“I think it’s important that we look at the science beyond our own country’s conclusions,” Nordquist said.
Dr. Dean Sidelinger, the state’s top infectious-disease expert, said Friday that officials were looking at studies from around the country about school reopenings. Some indicate Oregon’s mandate for students to be spaced 6 feet apart when they return to the classroom could be cut to 3 feet. No policy change is currently in the pipeline, despite the requests to Brown from school districts.
The mix of classroom and remote learning has been difficult for teachers, students and families, Nordquist said.
Data from the region’s school districts show remote learning last year led to a negative impact on student grades and their mental and emotional health.
“We have a significant number of students who were struggling,” Nordquist said.
Sara Johnson, Crook County School District superintendent, said all her district’s schools are back to in-person learning, but she still wanted to sign the letter to the governor and show support to the other districts.
“School districts need to work together in order to get all kids back in schools,” Johnson said. “There are places in Central Oregon where it’s just nearly impossible to bring students back with the current guidelines.”
Since students have returned to school in Crook County, they have reported feeling much better. They also expressed how much they were struggling with remote learning.
“That is what motivates me to collaborate with others to get all kids back,” Johnson said.
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