Hood River — COVID-19 rates are going up in Hood River County, Hood River County School District Superintendent Rich Polkinghorn told the board at the April 28 public meeting. Moving from Low Risk to Moderate Risk — and again to High Risk — is a reminder that the pandemic is not over, he said.
“It’s critical that we follow the basic safety measures of hand washing, mask wearing, physical distancing, getting vaccinated when you have the opportunity and staying home if you’re sick,” he said. “With the county moving from Low Risk to High Risk, I thought it would be good to share what this means for our onsite learning plans — in short, nothing changes for the school district.”
This is because the metrics used to assess school safety are different than county metrics, he said. “That’s not to say COVID won’t show up in our schools,” he added. “As COVID continues to impact Hood River County, we’ll continue to see COVID in our schools, and today we’ve had five new cases of COVID involving students at our schools … Of the five cases that have attended school, there are zero cases of COVID transmissions linked to those five cases.”
District staff plans to keep schools open for instruction for the remainder of the school year.
“However, if we’ve learned anything about COVID this year, it’s that things can change in a hurry,” Polkinghorn said. “So COVID rates going up certainly has our attention. As the rates rise, we will continue to partner with our health department when making decisions regarding the health and safety of our students and staff.”
Board Member Chrissy Reitz said, “I’m really appreciative that you shared that as of now, we’ve had no student-to-student transmissions in our schools. I think that is something that sometimes gets lost is that the kids that have tested positive have gotten COVID outside of our walls and they have not transferred that to anybody. So that to me is a very important statistic to keep in mind.”
Board opts out of state testing
Director of Curriculum and Instruction Bill Newton asked the board to consider Resolution No. 20-21/09. Passing the resolution would mean HRCSD would opt out of this spring’s state assessment tests, Newton said.
“I want to share that Hood River County School District is committed to accountability and the importance of using data, and our continuous improvement planning,” Newton said. “… That said, we are also keenly aware that the pandemic has reduced the amount of instructional time for our students. Our own Oregon Department of Education questioned the value and wisdom of administering state assessments this school year and has wavered to the United States Department of Education.”
Newton said the district believes that any data received by the assessments would be diminished because it is thought a high number of students would opt out of taking the tests. He said not participating in state assessments would also preserve remaining in-person instructional time.
The board ultimately passed the resolution unanimously, joining several other Oregon school districts not administering the tests, including Portland Public Schools and the Salem-Keizer School District. HRCSD will come back into compliance with Division 22 standards by resuming the administering of state tests in the 2021-22 school year, Newton said.
Other agenda items
The board heard an update on the Student Investment Plan, which is part of the Student Success Act that was passed in Oregon several years ago. The investment categories and long-term objectives are mandated by the state, but the district is able to choose how to use the funds within that framework.
To support the strategy of increased support, staffing and resources for mental and physical health, social emotional learning, trauma informed care and suicide and drug and alcohol prevention, the two district middle schools will each receive an additional counselor. Other investments include hiring five full time instructional coaches, two intervention specialists and one school psychologist; four parent engagement specialists and five math intervention support specialists, both classified staff positions; and an assistant director of curriculum and instruction, an administrative position. The district also plans to add instructional days, waive fees for dual credit and/or AP exams and expand the AVID program to include more training, tutors and fieldtrips. The board expressed interest in expanding the AVID program to reach more students.
Board members also heard an update on the settlement of a contract with Hood River Education Association (see related story) and recognized the Hood River Valley High School Speech and Debate team on their state championship (story to appear in an upcoming edition). Pine Grove School was approved for both flooring and gutter work, as well as improvements to its playground.
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