The Oregon Department of Education has reported that certain districts may be safe and able to return to school by February at the earliest. Although, ODE cannot determine a plan for individual districts because each district will have different requirements due to population and COVID-19 statistics. There will be countless precautions and rules to follow once it gets to that date. 

In a press briefing with Governor Kate Brown on Oct. 30, she made it clear that “[w]e are making adjustments to the metrics based on our best judgment of science.” 

The Governor’s office and Department of Education are both working to begin the reopening process, incorporating daily COVID-19 statistics statewide and the updated knowledge on contagiousness within a school environment. 

Through this process of getting students and staff back to school as soon as possible, it is important to acknowledge that there are no zero-risk situations. There is no way to control someone’s outings and who they come into contact with. The district is planning on requiring each person on the school campus to wear a mask covering, practice social distancing, wash hands frequently and be screened for COVID-19. 

The “second wave” speculation of COVID-19 that was addressed earlier this summer is now reality. This fall, coronavirus cases have been climbing higher than ever. Cases this month have been reported in the upper 800s daily statewide.

Considering the high cases and cold weather ahead of us, we must reflect on precautions we have been following and find ways to minimize risk.

Other school districts have been discussing the possibility of getting back to school sooner than later, although there is no finalized answer yet. The metricts put in place will act as guidance for those districts who won’t be able to get back to school as soon as others. No matter the direction of district officials, they must follow the orders of Governor Kate Brown and those of the Governor’s office.

“In order for schools to reopen statewide, test positivity must be at 5 percent or lower and 10 cases per 100,000 residents or lower,” Eder Campuzano said in The Oregonian. The census from 2018 reports 27,602 residents living in Tualatin and 54,758 in Tigard. That roughly sums up the residents in our district to 82,360 residents. Theoretically, our school district would need to report 10 cases or lower daily for us to proceed in getting things back to normal.

“Quality learning experiences require deep, interpersonal relationships and learning environments where people feel safe, seen and valued. That’s harder to accomplish online,” Director of the Oregon Department of Education Colt Gill said.

Distance Learning has been a tricky adjustment for all families. Fitting a school year’s worth of content into an agenda only five months long can leave students and educators overwhelmed and weary. On the other hand, the quicker we follow social distancing guidelines and the mask-wearing mandate, the quicker we will go back to school safely. 

The students who chose to be taught online only might not get the same opportunity to get back to campus as those who chose hybrid (A/B rotation) learning in our district. The teachers educating students who chose online only as of now won’t be able to get back to their in-classroom jobs this year if the district gives us the ‘green-light.’

Distance learning leaves us missing a lot about school that we took for granted. Our governor is advising us to prioritize the importance of our students and educators, and specifically how the development of students’ minds has changed because of distance learning. 

Not every school district across the state will all be able to meet the metrics as soon as they’re sent out. The hope is that Oregonians follow the mandate at this time to speed up the process of getting kids back to school.