SALEM, Ore. — Oregon students could head back to the classroom for the 2020-2021 school year, under the new Oregon Department of Education guidance.
Each district must come up with its own plan to facilitate safe social distancing and equitable learning. That could look different everywhere.
For many areas, school could become a mix of distance learning and in-class instruction.
Teachers know, one size doesn't fit all.
"Trying to push out distance learning that fits everybody has been a challenge," Parkrose High School teacher Kerryn Henderson said.
Henderson is one of the thousands of teachers joining the conversation to help envision what school looks like this fall.
"I've heard of different ideas, bringing back half the school population for two days of the week, and the other half of the school population the other two days of the week," Henderson described. "Then doing distance learning on the opposite two days for each cohort."
This hybrid-style approach is just one of the options for districts to consider. Many parents and teachers say in-class instruction is most effective.
"I really wanna see kids back in the classroom," parent Rebecca Hebda said.
Hebda's son will be a senior at Tualatin High School this fall.
"He's taking primarily college prep and college level classes in high school, and this isn't stuff you can necessarily pick up without some level of instruction," Hebda said. "If he has another year without a solid education, that's really going to make it difficult for him to be effective in college... Work may be done at home, but they need to be having at least a significant amount of instruction time in the classroom."
Some other parents have seen different effects of distance learning.
Monica Sosa commented on KGW's Facebook page, "I felt like my son learned a lot better at home than at school. He needs the 1-on-1 approach..."
Districts face the challenge of maintaining social distancing to protect vulnerable staff, students, and students' relatives.
For different grade levels, some teachers are concerned about finding the right balance of distance and in-person learning.
"I'm worried about how families can move on, getting back to work when they're worried about their students," Sato Elementary 4th grade teacher Carol Biskupic Knight said.
Biskupic Knight teaches in the Beaverton School District. She said the last few months of virtual learning worked well for her students because of the in-person relationship they had already established. That won't be the case with new students in the fall.
"I wouldn't yet have a relationship built with those students," she said.
'I think that's one of the really key features of good education — creating that community and creating those relationships," agreed Henderson. "The number one goal is to continue being able to deliver really good educational experiences for students that not only teach them the content and skills that they need to be successful in life, but that also allows them to build the relationship and community that allow them to feel safe, included and motivated to continue to do the work — continue to strive to be the best versions of themselves."