Portland area students are gearing up to go back to school this week and next, with varying safety measures in place.
Portland Public Schools students head back to campuses on Wednesday, Sept. 1, with kindergartners starting Wednesday, Sept. 8.
David Douglas School District students go back on Tuesday, Sept. 7, and Parkrose School District starts the following day in what the district is calling a "soft start" to the school year.
While most schools in Oregon will bring students back in-person full time, in accordance with guidance from the Oregon Department of Education, Parkrose plans to group students into small cohorts and attend school on campus during assigned days until Sept. 20, when the district plans to bring them back in person every day.
"We recognize that this is a change from our original plan, but after careful consideration, we believe this is an important approach, particularly as we face a beginning of a school year with higher anxiety and deeper concern about the ongoing spread of the COVID-19 delta variant," the district stated in an Aug. 3 message to families.
The 2021-22 school year is kicking off during the peak of Oregon's COVID-19 infections. On Friday, Aug. 27, the state reported a record-breaking 3,207 cases.
All K-12 teachers in Oregon will be required to get vaccinated by Oct. 18 and Portland Public Schools held vaccine clinics at all of its school registration events. The district is also planning to keep students three feet apart from each other, as much as possible. Additionally, masks will be required for students and staff at all schools for the duration of each school day. Taking extra precaution, PPS leadership also announced that masks will be required both indoors and outdoors, and school lunches will be eaten outside as much as possible.
"Recently, we were advised that, given what we know about the delta variant, it is imperative to prioritize outdoor meals as part of a plan that best ensures the health and safety of students and staff," the district noted in a back-to-school update. "Therefore, we adjusted meals to be eaten outside for at least the first six weeks...."
The district said school administrators are creating plans for when eating outside isn't possible and will buy blankets, cushions or other items for sitting outside.
