PORTLAND, Ore. — Roosevelt High School will close Monday, Jan. 10, and temporarily return to remote learning next week because of a "rapid rise in absences among students and staff driven by COVID-19," Portland Public Schools (PPS) said in a Saturday news release.
Students will attend classes from home Tuesday, Jan 11, through at least Friday, Jan. 14.
Roosevelt is the third Portland high school to revert back to remote learning as the omicron variant surges statewide.
Earlier this week, PPS announced Cleveland and McDaniel high schools would be closed Friday, Jan. 7 and return to remote learning the following week due to COVID-related absences and a lack of substitute teachers.
The three high schools are postponing all in-person extracurricular activities, including athletics and performing arts, during this time.
District leaders have been meeting regularly with local health officials to monitor the COVID-19 situation and have been closely tracking data to determine the virus's impact on staff coverage in schools.
“Our goal is to keep our school buildings open and maintain in-person instruction whenever possible so we can surround our young people with the caring educators and support services they need – as long as we can do so safely," PPS regional superintendent Margaret Calvert said in a news release Thursday.
On Thursday night, PPS said 431 employees districtwide had called out of work for Friday, and the district was 175 substitutes short of covering those absences. At the time, PPS said the number of absences was expected to grow.
Editor's note: Video above aired on Jan. 7, 2021.