COVID-19 Community Message 4/8/2020

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Home > COVID-19 Messages & Resources > COVID-19 Community Message

UPDATED: 4/8/2020, 1:34 p.m.

Dear MESD Community,

Today we learned our students will not return to school campuses this school year, according to an executive order from Gov. Kate Brown. The “Save Lives, Stay Home” order is working. To defeat this pandemic and keep our communities as safe as we can, we must remain vigilant and committed to stopping the spread of COVID-19. That means our school buildings have to stay closed through the end of the academic year. 

We acknowledge that distance learning creates hardships for many students, families, and educators - not to mention the stress and anxiety caused by COVID-19 that we are all balancing.  Although we will not physically reconvene again this school year, we want you to know that we are working hard to provide distance learning for each and every student despite the challenges we are all facing during this unprecedented public health crisis. Thank you for your grace and partnership with our educators. Everyday we are celebrating new wins, learning new skills, and getting better at connecting with your family.

This year is also changing for our seniors. Gov. Brown also announced a plan surrounding graduation requirements. We are still digging into her recommendations, but wanted to let you know that this will not impact seniors’ ability to graduate on time. 

The extended closure also means that proms, field trips, graduations, award ceremonies, and simple classroom activities will look different. We are working to reimagine these experiences and want all of our students to have the opportunity for connection, belonging and optimism. We plan to invite our student leaders to join in planning efforts and look forward to sharing details for these experiences in the near future.  We do know that in-person graduation ceremonies will change to virtual ceremonies and/or be delayed. A final decision related to graduation ceremonies will be shared by the end of April. 

Our programs are individually designed explicitly for the students they serve. We will continue to communicate expectations and resolve challenges at the program level. 

We know that we are dealing with a never-seen-before health crisis that challenges us all--as parents, educators, caregivers, social workers--to lead in the face of uncertainty and deliver education in new ways. I believe that if families, community partners and schools work together, we will emerge as a stronger public school system. We will continue to be Stronger Together. 

​Sam

Sam Breyer, Superintendent
Multnomah Education Service District

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