Dorena School Home

Dear Families, The South Lane School District staff and I want you to know you are on our minds and hearts. We continue working to prepare communications, ensure students receive meals and provide you with ways to assist your students with learning while at home. Additionally, we are committed to the values set by the state and will work to improve that ways we: Ensure safety and wellness Cultivate connection and relationships Center in equity and efficacy Innovate The following information provides some general ideas about how to continue learning at home. Teachers will continue to develop learning ideas more specific to grade levels and content areas by April 13. We remain committed to the well-being and the education of every student. Warm Regard, Dr. Yvonne Curtis

Dear Families, As we all get accustomed to spending more time at home, I hope you are finding out how special we can make this time with family. It provides an opportunity to reflect on what is really important, pay attention to our relationships and explore the outdoors, play, read, work on projects and talk with our children. Isolation with family can be a very precious time as it allows time for us to listen to our children and engage together in ways we often don’t have time to do. Please know that in the last two weeks, our staff has been planning for a reconnection with our students. Yesterday, our staff returned to work with a goal to reach every student and family by phone. It is important for us to know how our students are doing during this time of isolation. Staff will continue making calls today to find out if you have enough food, how the family is doing, if any of you need mental health supports and to learn about your child’s access to a device and wifi. Until last night, our intention was to remotely offer Supplemental Education and Learning Supports through April 28, however, last night, I received a message from our Director at the Oregon Department of Education, Colt Gill, with a new directive. Now we will be ensuring all students engage in Distance Learning quite possibly through the remainder of the school year. Here are his words: "Our state’s response to COVID-19 has responsibly and necessarily evolved with the use of data and knowledge of effective suppression measures. We now have a moral imperative to meet the changing nature of the pandemic and evolve our approach to serving our children." "As we continue the effective measures of Governor Brown’s “Stay Home, Save Lives” order, we also foresee the strong possibility that our students may not come back through our school house doors this academic year. This calls for a shift from providing supplementary education to a formidable effort to provide Distance Learning for All.” (Full message below.) Today we will study the many pages of guidance and then begin planning for Distance Learning for All. On April 13, your student(s) will receive learning in a new way. We are excited about the possibilities that will emerge as staff engage in professional development and learn how to design and deliver Distance Learning for every student. Please know that we are here for you and believe we will provide your students with high quality learning experiences. Please keep in touch with your student(s) teacher regarding your child’s or family needs. Watch for further information regarding your student(s) education. We are honored to serve you and are committed to each child. Have a wonderful day! Dr. Curtis Yvonne Curtis, D.Ed.

We hope that even in these are trying and stressful times, that you and your family are well. We wanted to take this opportunity to reach out and communicate how we will continue to serve your student(s). As many of you have heard, the school closure has been extended to April 28th. This action by the governor aligns with other measures across the state, which are all meant to slow the spread of the virus. This closure may be extended or shortened by the governor based on the numbers affected by the virus. We have been directed to provide several services:

Thank you for your patience and flexibility with this entire coronavirus/COVID-19 situation. As you probably know, late Thursday night, Governor Kate Brown directed all Oregon schools to close March 16th through March 31st, with students returning April 1st. Also late on Thursday, district administrators noticed that we had an abnormally large number of substitute requests for Friday the 13th, which would have made daily operations difficult for students and staff. With that information, district administration decided to close our schools. All events, performances, functions, competitions and meetings will continue to be canceled through April 8th.