Thank you so much for responding to our parent survey and expressing your concerns for school starting in the fall. I could tell that many of us are still lamenting that we cannot go back to the way things were while this pandemic still exists. However, we are trying our best to create a plan that allows the students to safely return with as much time as possible to connect with their teachers. Therefore, after reviewing the parent surveys and working through the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) guidelines for Ready Schools, Safe Learners, we will be submitting the following main components from our plan for approval by ODE.
HCCS will use a hybrid schedule of alternating at school and at home learning days (Rational: Many options were considered. We do not have the space or staff capabilities to accommodate all students to be at school each day and stay within the safety guidelines; however, we want students to see their teachers as much as possible. With every other day, teachers can give assignments for the child to work on at home the next day. This is not Distance Learning, but it does require home supervision for the at home learning days. This also allows our students to experience more of a normal school day schedule with Chinese immersion and English time.)
Students would be assigned either a “Red Day” or a “Yellow Day” schedule. Red days would be on M/W, Yellow days on T/Th, then alternating Fridays. Families would be scheduled on the same color days.
Your input is needed to know if you have schedule restrictions. Please respond to the Hybrid Schedule Questionnaire HERE before August 1.
On school learning days, students would receive instruction with ½ their class (13 students) with part of the day in Chinese and part in English, just as before.
On home learning days, K-5th grade students would work independently on assignments that were given and have a 20-30 minute online session with a Chinese teacher or assistant for small group supportive instruction. Groups would be (from 2-5 students depending on age and ability).
Students who qualify for English language support (ESL) or Intervention (RTI) in Chinese or English would also connect with the specialist teacher online during the home learning day.
Middle School teachers will provide an “Office Hour” time for students to connect for help on their home learning days.
We will also consider how we can record or livestream lessons for students who may need to be at home for an extended period.
School Hours - Staggered drop off and pick up times (Rational: Keep students separated during transitions as much as possible.)
Students will be assigned one of 4 entrances to enter and exit the school building at the beginning and end of the day. They will be checked at the door for health signs and go directly to their classroom. They will exit the same door at the end of the day.
Preschool and kindergarten - arrival 8:10-8:20, dismissal 3:20-3:30- South entrance from side parking lot
1st-2nd grade - arrival 8:20-8:30, dismissal 3:30-3:40 - Front main entrance
3rd, 4th, 5B - arrival 8:20-8:30, dismissal 3:30-3:40 - North entrance from Elks parking lot side
5A, Middle School - arrival 8:30-8:40, dismissal 3:40-3:50 - West entrance that leads directly downstairs
We will still use the Driveline App. to call students to their door at pick up time. Preschool and kindergarten parents should park and walk up to the south door sidewalk.
Before Care and After School Care (Rational: We recognize some families need extended care to coincide with their work schedule.)
Sign up for the month.
No drop in care because we have to limit class sizes and keep consistent cohorts
Pick up time from aftercare will be 5:30 PM because we cannot consolidate classes.
We still plan to have early dismissal on Fridays so our teachers have meeting time.
After School Enrichment classes & clubs (Rational: Volunteers are not allowed in the building, and we need to limit the number of cohorts any student is a part of.)
Enrichment courses and after school clubs will not be offered. This would include chess, spelling club, marathon kids, homework club, and math club.
It may be possible for some of these clubs to connect online.
Cohort classes (Rational: To limit exposure and for tracking purposes, students are to remain with a designated cohort throughout the day.)
Students will remain with their class throughout the day and not interact with other classes. In grades where there is one English teacher for class A & B, the English teacher will come into the other classroom.
Students will still receive immersion instruction in Chinese, math, science, and technology (2nd-MS) and art. They will also receive instruction in English, social studies, health, and PE.
We are still determining whether Middle School students will be able to move to different classes or have electives.
We will be keeping a contact-tracing log for each cohort.
Lunch (Rational: Allowing students to eat in the cafeteria means we can still serve hot lunch and clean up between classes in an efficient manner with enough space for safety.)
K-MS students will be able to go to the cafeteria to sit spaced out at their assigned table.
Preschool will continue to eat in their classrooms.
Lunch times are staggered so transitions can be spaced out and managed.
Staff Support (Rational: We want to provide as much support as possible for Chinese language learning on at home learning days)
We will not have teaching assistants in the classroom because of the lower number of students.
Chinese teacher assistants or Chinese teachers will be connecting with students online on their at home learning day in small groups to provide assistance with the Chinese homework and extra practice.
Every class K-5 will have a TA or teacher that they will be able to check-in with.
Technology Support (Rational: We wanted to provide more devices to be available to students so they can have consistency between at school and at home learning days.)
4th grade - Middle School students will each have their own Chromebook that they would be responsible for and can take between home and school each day.
Additional Ipads will be available in grades K-3 for student use at school.
Teachers will continue to use SeeSaw (K-3) or Google Classroom (4th-MS) as a means to communicate with students and parents about classroom activities.
Safety (Rational: Safety for students and staff during this time especially, is the top priority. We will need everyone’s cooperation to make this work.)
We are still finalizing details around disinfecting, and cleaning throughout the school day. There will also be cleaning of extra surfaces every evening.
All persons entering the building and classrooms will have their temperature checked and looking for signs of illness and use hand sanitizer.
Safety training will take place for adults and students. Hand washing will be necessary before every snack or lunch time.
Adults will be required to wear face coverings, face coverings are recommended for students 12 and older and will be optional for elementary school students. Teachers will either wear a mask or face shield. Face shields will be utilized when students need to see the teacher’s mouth for language learning or when working in close proximity.
Per the ODE guidelines, non-essential visitors will not be permitted in the building.
Students will be asked to bring a water bottle each day and their own lunch container. Drinking fountains will not be used, but water filling stations will be available.
We are removing furniture and getting acrylic dividers for tables to follow guidelines for 35 square feet per person and spacing desks approximately 6 feet apart.
I greatly appreciate all the feedback that was provided on the survey. Your concerns and questions were essential to developing our plan for returning to school. As ODE continues to update the guidelines, I am sure there will be additional changes as much as you will have more questions. I will update you again in early August.
