COVID-19 Community Message

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Home > COVID-19 Community Message

UPDATED: 4/1/2020, 10:30 a.m.

Dear MESD Community,

We continue to be in a fluid education environment. Staff returned from spring break this week, ready to hit the ground running and prepare for three weeks of supplemental education based on the Governor’s original closure order.
 
On Monday evening, the Oregon Department of Education issued new guidance that pivoted from advising Oregon public schools to provide only short-term supplemental education and learning supports, to directing more substantive, graded, potentially credit-bearing distance education for all students. This is in preparation for the possibility of an extended closure.  (Please note: no such extension has been issued yet.)
 
The details of what this means for our agency remain to be determined. We are digging into the new guidance and assessing options for our districts and our programs and schools.  We realize there are still more questions than answers, but I wanted you to know we are diligently working on it. 

Each MESD program is designed specifically for the students they serve. We will be reviewing and implementing the guidance at the program level to ensure we are doing our best to reach each and every student.  This is the true strength of the MESD approach to direct service and critical to ensure we serve our community with equity in mind.  

As a result, communication about what distance learning means for each program will come from your administrator.  We will also be creating a team to support MESD districts in implementation. The guidance requires the launch of distance learning by April 13, 2020. We will be ready.
 
In a time of tremendous upheaval, we are fortunate to have all of you. We will all pull together and support each other in navigating this unprecedented change in a short amount of time.  We have an important task of providing some measure of stability for our families and community in a challenging time. Thank you for your strength, your commitment to serving districts and students, and for all that you do.
 
Sam

Sam Breyer
Superintendent
Multnomah Education Service District

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