Key Practides to reduce  spread of COVID-19 in schools.

For Release:   April 9, 2021

TO:         Crow-Applegate-Lorane students and families

RE:          Elimination of A/B alternating hybrid days

Since March of 2020, you have adjusted, along with your schools, to many operational shifts as directed by the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) and the Oregon Department of Education (ODE).

Applegate Elementary students safely returned to in-person classes in late January, and CMHS has now been open for one month in hybrid in-person classes. Our schools have been among Lane County’s earliest to come back in person.

Recently, ODE announced that student distancing could be reduced to three (3) feet provided that all other safety protocols remain in place. This week, under the new guidance, Ms. Bloom’s sixth grade class became the first to eliminate alternating A/B days so that students are now attending four days per week instead of just two.

Beginning Monday, April 19, 2021, all CMHS students (grades 7-12) will attend daily (Monday through Thursday) for the remainder of the school year with one exception. Thursday, April 22, is a non-student day for parent-teacher conferences.

For students in grades 6-12, CAL schools will employ six (6) feet of distancing as required by ODE guidance such as when masks are removed for eating. Distancing will not change for students in grades K-5.

School start/stop times will remain unchanged. AES students will continue attending from 8:00am-12:30pm, while CMHS classes will run from 8:20am-12:15pm. CAL SD staff will continue providing virtual instruction to our distance learners in the afternoons with additional support interventions on Fridays.

Very few schools in Lane County are able to take the step to eliminate alternating in-person days, and a confirmed case of COVID-19 could jeopardize this opportunity. With only 38 in-person days remaining, it is important that sick students stay home.

Primary COVID-19 symptoms include fever of 100.4 or higher, chills, cough, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, or a new loss of taste or lost of smell. Students should stay home if experiencing headache, rash, diarrhea or vomiting.

Thank you for keeping our schools healthy and open.

# # #