BACK TO SCHOOL | SEPTEMBER 2020 |5
‘Schools are equally important for the education of children & for the economy’
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n August, Florence Area Chamber of Commerce moderated an hourlong discussion over Zoom concerning back-to-school updates and its impact on the workforce. The discussion, between Oregon Sen. Arnie Roblan, Siuslaw and Mapleton school superintendents Andy Grzeskowiak and Jodi O’Mara, along with Hyak internet service CEO Robbie Wright, covered current plans for reopening schools in the area, broadband and internet challenges, school funding, concern over a lack of childcare, the upcoming flu season and delays to school sports. As of now, both the Siuslaw and Mapleton school districts plant to start school on Monday, Sept. 14, using a comprehensive distance learning model. Grzeskowiak said one reason he does not want to rush back to inperson operations is that a majority of Siuslaw’s teachers and staff are considered at-risk due to age or other factors. Instead, the school district will use a phased opening based on county and local case numbers over time. However, the district is trying to prioritize in-person instruction for students who particularly struggle with distance learning. “After two weeks of remote operations, we have the opportunity for some limited in-person instruction,” Grzeskowiak said. “All students will get their primary instruction [remotely] before lunch. And then we’ll be able to start bringing in small groups of kids for up to two hours a day in the afternoon as needed or required for enrichment, special services or special needs.” If county cases continue to decline, both Siuslaw and Mapleton schools could start a hybrid learning model around November, when half the students would be in the classroom every other day, with the other half
attending in person on the opposite days. “By local metrics, if we had one new infection per week, we would be on the verge of closing, and with two or more new cases per week, we would be back to distance learning,” Grzeskowiak said. “So, with such a fine margin, we didn’t want to start out on campus and then by the end of week one have a presumed or confirmed case — and then be back out again. We’re trying to prevent some whiplash for staff, students and parents.” For Mapleton, O’Mara explained that the delayed start date allows for more in-depth staff training as well as time to connect with each family before the school year begins. “We are bringing students and families in to do some one-on-one orientation training,” O’Mara said. “We’ll go over the technology, log-in information and scheduling, and just make that personal connection at the beginning of the year.” One of the biggest hurdles that both districts are working through is internet access. “We’re in communication with some technology associations and the Lane Education Service District to help support some of our families who have no cell service and live in a dead zone for internet service,” O’Mara said. “While there’s only a handful of such families, a handful is enough that it makes it worthwhile for us to at least push that and see what we can do to help support them.” In the Siuslaw School District, Grzeskowiak said that about 40 families reported a lack of internet access during a survey conducted last spring. The school district has since brainstormed several ways to address this issue. One idea is to establish a location in town where parents and students
Siuslaw School District Internet Assistance Program
could go to access a hotspot during the day. However, this idea has its limits as not every parent has the time or resources to bring their child to the hotspot every day to complete their online work. If affordability is the issue, Siuslaw will be offering 30 WIFI hotspots to families who have internet capabilities but simply can’t afford it. Parents can also apply for an internet subsidy program to help keep their internet running. “If you live in town, you generally have several options. But as you leave town, you just start losing opportunity for anything,” said Wright. “Satellite can be good, as long as you have a reasonably clear line of sight, but it tends to get really expensive. And the second you start doing Zoom videos — anything video related — is when you start to consume a lot of your bandwidth.” Roblan, who is on the Oregon Broadband Advisory Council (OBAC), said there have been efforts for a long time to expand more broadband into rural areas, but the funding just wasn’t there. Recently though, the state has put $20 million into expanding broadband into rural Oregon. However, Wright pointed out that western Lane County did not benefit from this round of funding as much as eastern and southern Oregon. School districts across Oregon have had to grapple with this issue for a long time, but the coronavirus has put it at the forefront of legislators’ minds. “Broadband is as important now as electricity is, so we’ve got to figure out how to get it to that last house down that last road,” Roblan said. “If there’s something positive that comes out of this whole coronavirus experience, it may be that we start really understanding the importance of the internet not only for schools but for medical staff and everyone else.”
The Siuslaw School District Board of Directors has created an Internet Assistance Program to address the cost associated with home internet during times of Comprehensive Distance Learning or Hybrid Attendance, when students will spend some time at
In terms of technology, both Mapleton and Siuslaw have purchased enough Chromebooks to provide every single student with a device in the upcoming year. The schools plan to work closely with parents and students who are not as comfortable using the technology, either through one-on-one meetings, in-person orientations or via video chats. As for software, middle and high school students will primarily use Google Classroom and Google Meet, while younger students will use Seesaw and Zoom, according to O’Mara and Grzeskowiak. At that point, the topic changed to concerns over flu season arriving at the same time schools start up inperson learning again. “At that time of the year, we would most likely be in a hybrid model. Students would still be in masks and six feet apart, so hopefully that’ll control some of the spread,” Grzeskowiak said. “And again, we’ve got reporting protocols in place, as set by Lane County Public Health, for reporting presumed or confirmed cases within student groups or across the school.” He said the benefit of the hybrid model is that students can continue to learn uninterrupted if they do begin to show symptoms of illness and have to stay home for several days because all classes will be recorded live. Roblan urged that families not let the fear of coronavirus prevent them from going to the doctor or pharmacy to get a flu shot this season. “What we don’t want is people who can get the flu and on top of that, get the coronavirus,” the senator said. “I think that could be really disastrous and that’s the fear of a lot of health professionals.” Childcare was the next big topic on the agenda. With school beginning remotely soon and many childcare centers closed or not running at full capacity, parents are left wondering
home learning remotely. The program is needs based, and considers both household income and size. How to Apply for the Internet Assistance Program: Families of students in the Siuslaw School District can apply online using the electron-
ic link at www.siuslaw.k12.or.us/ internet-assistance-program to a Google Form or by downloading a paper copy of the form and then submitting the completed paperwork to any school office. For those receiving public assistance benefits, there are discount-
where they are going to send their children when they work. In Florence, many parents rely on the Boys and Girls Club for childcare. But now, the club can only accept a fraction of the number of students into its facilities due to health restrictions. Roblan said that this year, the state has put more money from the Student Success Act into Early Childhood care than ever before, but it’s still not enough. “We’re going to have to figure out ways in which groups can come together to help subsidize it,” he said. “Because trying to keep a business going where you can only have ‘x’ number of kids in a space and you need to have a much higher adult-to-child ratio than for schools — it gets fairly expensive and we don’t pay people very well.” O’Mara is working closely with the preschool in Mapleton to figure out how and when it can open up again. But for most parents, there is no other option currently than in-home care. “It’s been a struggle before the pandemic and it’s even more so now and I wish I had answers,” O’Mara said. “I know we’re working as hard as we can to find those families and support them, but it’s a difficult challenge.” Before the webinar wrapped up, the speakers touched on the importance of socialization and the prospect of beginning student sports again. “We’ve got to make sure that kids are healthy and ready to go and academics are taken care of first before we start launching back into athletics,” Grzeskowiak said. “We do know that kids need to be around other kids,” Roblan said. “The socialization part of school that we’re missing right now is really hard on families and children and we really do want everybody back at school as soon as we can get them.” — From Siuslaw News, Aug. 26, 2020 ed internet connection services available through the Oregon Lifeline Program of the Oregon Public Utility Commission. More information and application materials are available at www.siuslaw.k12.or.us/internetassistance-program.
