La Grande School’s getting ready to open
By Paul Hall on Monday, August 23rd, 2021 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
LA GRANDE – A letter regarding back to school from La Grande School District Superintendent, George Mendoza.
(Information provided by the La Grande School District) I want to take this opportunity to thank the La Grande School District, students, and parents for their continued patience and support. I am excited about the opening of the schools in-person, five days a week, beginning on August 30th. As we prepare for the opening of school, we must recognize the COVID-19 virus is still a concern to the safety and welfare of our students and staff. Last school year, upon our returning all students to our schools from January to June, we demonstrated that using all of the risk mitigation strategies provided to us from the Oregon Department of Education (including face coverings) minimized transmission of the virus in schools. We followed key practices that reduce the spread of COVID and did not have one instance of cluster spread in our school district.
As Superintendent, my paramount goal has been to ensure we have our children back in school and stay with in-person operations the entire school year! School is where kids need to be! We can provide great support, relationships, education, athletics and activities more often if we are operating in-person. With this in mind, my goal is to inform you that we are ready to have a great school year and that, with your support and partnership, will make it a great experience for our students and staff. However, as a reminder, following safety precautions and key risk mitigations strategies is critical to remaining in operation.
Information and Reminders:
● The Delta variant adds a layer of unknowns and is more transmissible than the original virus. Both vaccinated and unvaccinated people can spread the Delta variant, but those who become severely ill and hospitalized are predominantly unvaccinated.
● On August 13, Governor Brown issued a universal statewide mask mandate for all indoor public settings. This effort was made to protect hospital capacity statewide and ensure businesses remain operational.
● Locally, our county numbers are surpassing the all-time highs from the past year. Our current two-week look back has been over 150 cases every two weeks over the last month.
● GRH hospitalization with use of beds and hospital capacity is at its limits. GRH has critical concerns for the waning options they have for transfers. GRH is asking for support and partnership from our school district to put the health, safety and wellness of our community first.
● On August 12th schools were required to enforce mask requirements for all students. This requirement will be in place during regular school hours when students are present and for educational activities outside of the regular day.
● New Mask Rule: in the event students come in contact with another student or adult that is case positive, they will not be required to quarantine if both parties are wearing a face covering.
● The FAQ on the Face Covering Mandate is attached and includes links to the updated Ready Schools, Safe Learners Resiliency Framework and state statute 333-019-1015.
● LGSD will implement many of the key practices we did last school year to limit the spread of COVID. We will wear masks when required by the state or based on high risk COVID conditions for CHD, GRH, and our school district. We will physically distance at 3 feet, wash hands regularly, sanitize and disinfect common and high touch areas, monitor airflow/ventilation, contact trace, isolate and quarantine, and communicate.
● These guidelines are subject to change based on any possible outbreaks or changes made by CDC, Governors executive orders, ODE, or Oregon Health Authority (OHA).
As I stated earlier; we want all students back in school, everyday, and to stay in operation all year long. To make this happen we will need your support with implementing the key practices listed above. The Oregon Health Authority will be reviewing the mask mandate requirements on a monthly basis. They will also be working on state/county risk metrics to help with decision making at the local level. I do ask for your patience, positivity, cooperation, and above all Hope! We will get through these times together and in support of our children. I will leave you with something positive and optimistic: 1) Our children are back in school, full time, with caring adults and high quality teachers! 2) Our children can participate in clubs, sports, and activities. 3)
Our children will have all student services available to them in-person.
Please find the following resources on our lagrandesd.org website:
LGSD Operations Plan 2021-22 Community Town Hall Power Point Presentation
COVID-19 Symptom Cheat Sheet 2021-22
Face Covering Supplemental Guidance from ODE
Understanding the State Mask Mandate
