Astoria plans full return to school

Jun. 16—The Astoria School District is planning a return to normal this September.

Students will return to school buildings full time next school year — a significant change after they began the prior school year entirely online because of the coronavirus pandemic. Even when they did begin to return in February, younger students were only at school for several hours a day while high school students saw even less time back in physical classrooms.

Teachers, students and other school district staff will likely have to continue to wear masks when together inside buildings, though not outside.

The school district expects to get updated guidance from the state next month. But buses will go back to transporting students by geographical area with mixed grades aboard rather than by class and cohort, a precaution that last school year meant sparsely-filled buses were on the road almost constantly with little wiggle room to accommodate changes in the limited classroom hours.

In meetings Tuesday night to answer parents questions about next school year, Superintendent Craig Hoppes thanked parents for their patience and flexibility during a difficult year.

"We were learning as everybody was — on the go," he said.

Astoria was particularly cautious when it came to moving away from online classrooms, or distance learning. While some other school districts on the North Coast shifted operations regularly based on changing state and local coronavirus case metrics, Astoria opted to begin online and stay online for much of the fall and winter.

District leaders felt this approach made the most sense for public safety and ease of operations. They wanted to avoid a situation where they opened classroom doors only to have to abruptly close them again.

Now, Hoppes is hopeful that any changes to their plan will only be progressive, changes that allow the district to open up even more.

Still, many students have had a fractured school year. Online classes worked for some, but not for many. District leaders and teachers have expressed their concern about who was left behind and even the lack of engagement among students who hadn't struggled with school before.

Like other school districts, Astoria is providing an educational enrichment program for students across grade levels this summer. Previously, these kinds of offerings would be more academic, geared for students who needed additional tutoring or help catching up in certain subjects.

There will still be an educational component this summer, but the focus is on fun and engaging activities, said Eva Hague, the school districts's summer school coordinator.

The free camps, made possible by a grant through the Oregon Department of Education, run from July 4 through Aug. 12, with transportation and meals provided. The sessions include a range of options: theater, crafts, band and orchestra camps, afternoon sports activities, a close read of the "Star Wars" movies and more.

The school district is not looking to gather any information or data; there won't be any testing.

"Really it's a social-emotional focus, of making this a healthy, inviting place to be," Hague said.

In Seaside, Superintendent Susan Penrod said the school district is also looking ahead to a full-time schedule for students in the fall.

"We are planning to bring back kids five days a week," she said. "We completely reworked what teaching and learning have looked like. Together, we've been able to bring our students back on-site this spring, which was no easy feat. So we're excited to have them back full time this fall."

Masks will still be required for students and drivers on buses. The school district plans to develop protocols for entry and screening of students into buildings, as well as cleaning and disinfecting. All students are required to wear appropriate face coverings indoors.

Students, staff and other adults will not be required to wear face coverings outdoors for physical education, recess and other activities.

Fully vaccinated staff will be required to wear masks indoors only when students are in school.

The school district surveyed families after school resumed on-site instruction to see if they wanted to stay in a virtual program or a full-time in-person classroom.

"They want it to be in the building," Penrod said. "Very, very few parents shared that they would want to stay in the same online option, not enough for us to be able to offer something from our teachers."

After a school year of stops and starts, Penrod made it clear that protocols remain fluid.

"These are conversations that the leadership team is still having, and we haven't made any definite decisions," she told the school board. "We know that over the summer, things are going to change. But we want to let you know that this is the plan."

R.J. Marx contributed to this report.