Dear Students, Parents and Guardians,
Over Christmas break, Governor Kate Brown unexpectedly announced that Oregon schools will be allowed to reopen for in-person learning in 2021. Her letter sets a target date of getting students back on campus in Oregon by February 15. We are excited to have the opportunity to determine what is in the best interests of our community.
The Governor has directed the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) and Oregon Health Authority (OHA) to update the Ready Schools, Safe Learners guidelines for schools by January 19, 2021. This document will provide us with new guidance about what will be required in our community moving forward.
As we announced in November, Jesuit will remain in remote learning through the end of first semester (January 15), as we prepare to move into the HyFlex cohort schedule we developed last summer (i.e, this is hybrid learning with 50% of our students on campus and 50% off campus in order to meet physical-distancing requirements). We plan to bring students back to campus for hybrid learning beginning in small cohorts the first two weeks of February, moving to full hybrid by mid-February.
We will coordinate our planning with the Washington County Health Authority, which must approve our plans. We will proceed carefully and deliberately, ensuring that teachers have the resources and lesson-planning time needed to teach in hybrid mode.
While we have been preparing for hybrid instruction for months, we realize that this transition will be challenging for some students, faculty and staff. If a student chooses not to return to campus for classes as part of their designated cohort (announced in August, 2020), the student may continue to learn in a fully-remote environment until Jesuit is able to return to having all students on campus. Families should begin discerning this important question, as your answers will impact our planning. We will survey parents and students regarding your intentions next week.
We are excited at the prospect of safely bringing our students back to the classroom. One of the most important lessons we have learned in 2020-21 is that schools that strictly enforce Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines regarding travel, masks, hygiene, ventilation, and physical distancing have not been sites of significant transmission of COVID-19.
Jesuit has upgraded ventilation systems, installed temperature/health check stations, and made more improvements to campus to enable us to bring students, faculty and staff to campus safely. Through Campus Ministry events, clubs, athletics, the Food Drive, photo days, and Limited In-Person Instruction (LIPI), we have had hundreds of students and staff on campus during certain days in 2020-21, and have not had a case of transmission of COVID-19 on campus.
We stand in awe of the creativity and professionalism of our faculty and staff in delivering quality instruction during this pandemic, as well as the hard work and determination of our students. At Jesuit, teaching and learning have continued at a high level of excellence. Jesuit education, however, is based on in-person relationships, so we look forward to being back together again with our students.
We will continue to inform you of next steps and specific details over the next several weeks.
Students, we will have homeroom on Wednesday, January 6, so that we can inform you more fully of our plans for the transition to the HyFlex schedule in February. We will also hold a Zoom session for parents and guardians soon. Please stay tuned for more details.
We are deeply grateful for the resiliency all members of the Jesuit community have shown during these extremely challenging times. Your kindness, patience, and support have been truly inspirational. We will need those values in abundance as we work through the many challenges of learning, praying, playing and staying safe in a hybrid environment.
We pray that you and your families stay safe and healthy.
Peace. AMDG.