Grant County students coming back to school buildings this fall will experience an unorthodox year due to COVID-19, but school administrators and staff are committed to providing a safe space for education while adhering to state guidelines.

The Oregon Department of Education announced on Aug. 11 new metric guidelines for schools in smaller populated areas, which will tentatively allow schools in Grant County to open their doors.

Grant School District 3 Superintendent Bret Uptmor said they are opening onsite at Humbolt Elementary, Seneca Elementary and Grant Union Junior-Senior High School. Some of the biggest changes students will notice immediately on campus are the requirements for masks, the distance required between students, the emphasis on proper hygiene and the need for cohorts, or assigned groups.

Uptmor said students are required to wear masks, which will be available at each school building for students who do not have their own.

“From the standpoint of the district, we will have masks available for those that aren’t able to come with a mask. We will have those on site at each school,” Uptmor said.

When kids enter school buildings, they will need to use hand sanitizer provided by the school or wash their hands.

“I think that’s a scary thing for some parents, which is using too much hand sanitizer,” Uptmor said. “We don’t have to use hand sanitizer. We can use soap and water.”

Students arriving and departing from school will also be done in cohorts of up to 50.

“At the high school, they’re planning on arriving with certain groups of students arriving at one door spread out and being able to monitor the students arriving and giving them direction to the right place so we maintain our cohorts,” Uptmor said. “At Humbolt they were looking at doing something similar, different entrances for different groups.”

While the cohort plan is currently being reworked, the goal is to have students enter and exit buildings in a staggered way, which will help create and maintain the 6 feet distance between students.

“You can’t just release 200 kids and expect them to be 6 feet apart,” Uptmor said. “We’ve got a lot of practicing to do with our students to meet those kinds of criteria.”

Uptmor said parents also have that option of comprehensive distance learning.

“Your only option isn’t on-site. You can come talk to us about our two online options,” Uptmor said.

The online options are through Edgenuity, a stand alone program at home, or Baker Web Academy, a virtual school program in partnership with Baker School District. Online Programs will start on Aug. 31, while on-site teaching will start on Sept. 8 to accommodate for the updates in the recent guidelines from the state.

At Prairie City High School, Superintendent Casey Hallgarth said school will be in session on-site and online on Aug. 31. He said the Prairie City School District will be purchasing all the school supplies for students for the upcoming school year.

“These are tough times, and we don’t want our parents to worry because school supplies can cost quite a bit,” Hallgarth said. “Our biggest concern is the students coming back, and they don’t need to worry about having a notebook, pencil, paper. We want parents to have a sense of relief.”

Prairie City will have two cohorts in the grade school, which will be kindergarten through second grade and third grade through sixth grade. The next cohort will be seventh and eighth grade, and the last will be ninth through 12th grade.

He said another big difference will be social distancing and making sure kids have masks on.

“There’s going to be some differences, but the good thing is the kids get to come back to school and see their friends … and get a proper education,” Hallgarth said.

Prairie City is pairing with Pearson Online and Blended Learning Program to provide their online courses.

Dayville Superintendent Kathryn Hedrick said, because of Dayville’s small enrollment of less than 75 students in kindergarten through 12th grade, they are allowed to open for on-site instruction Sept. 8.

Hedrick said the school district is mindful that some families are reluctant to send their students because of the face covering mandate or possible exposure, but those families can work with the district for an alternative education program that works for them and fulfills ODE guidelines.

“Part of the willingness for us to run two platforms, in-school and distance learning, (is) if we did experience an outbreak we would have to pivot to distance learning on a moment’s notice,” Hedrick said.

Hedrick said Dayville will have all the appropriate prevention measures needed, such as face coverings, hand washing stations, cohorts, protocols for screening and appropriate protocols for response.

Long Creek plans to provide an online option for students and will announce final plans Aug. 19. School begins Aug. 24.

Monument Superintendent Laura Thomas said they will have on-site and online options for school, which starts Aug. 24.

“While this school year will look like one we have never seen, it will be great,” Thomas said. “Students and staff are able to be on-site for instruction, and that is something to be excited about.”

If an outbreak does occur during the school year, educators in Grant County are training with the online programs their school district uses to make the transition smoother than when distance learning first occurred in March.

“This has been a very trying time for our community, and the things we are starting our schools out with are going to be successful,” Uptmor said about his district. “Things that we’re going to be missing that are traditionally there are going to be disappointing … but we hope that at some time we can find a way to reconnect families to our school in a more personal manner.”

Hallgarth said he hopes parents can be understanding because it will take time to get used to these adjustments. He said the school district is doing its best to be in compliance with state rules.

“There’s going to be some differences, but the good thing is the kids get to come back to school and see their friends … and get a proper education.”

—Casey Hallgarth, Prairie City School superintendent