Since March, 2020, school leaders in Oregon have navigated an ongoing pandemic, wildfires and ice storms. Each of these events disrupted school for students, families and staff, and required significant response from schools and districts. As we head into the 2021-22 school year, our priority is to implement the protocols needed to reliably and safely hold school in-person, every school day, for all students, all year long.
At the same time, it is important to be as prepared as possible for future disruptions to in-person learning, whether from disease, wildfires, ice storms or other circumstances which may affect a school building, a district or an entire region. One of the hardest lessons learned from the last 18 months is how unprepared our systems were for the unexpected. Now we know more, and we can be more prepared.
Decisions about when or how to operate school are in the hands of district leaders and school boards. These decisions are significant and complex and have impact on students, families, staff and community members now, and in the long term. The importance and weight of these decisions cannot be underemphasized; ODE stands with school partners to support the decision making process and implementation of these decisions.
The resources below will be helpful to schools and districts as they plan for and support continuity of services for students and families should the need arise.
Telemental Health (under development)