On Thursday, Feb. 18, Debbie Ortiz dropped her five-year-old son, James, off
at Welches Schools for his first day of in-person kindergarten. She described
the process that she and her husband went through to make the decision for
James to go as “a struggle,” following the months of virtual learning due to
the coronavirus pandemic.

“We sat down and talked it over. We went through all the information the
school sent us; it helped,” Debbie said. “The first day after I dropped him off,
I went back to my vehicle and I cried. I hope I did the right thing.

“Everything seems to be going really well so far,” she added.

That Thursday marked the return of kindergarteners and first graders to
Welches Schools, with Principal Kendra Payne noting approximately 70
percent of students opting in for the hybrid model, while the remainder will
continue with virtual distance learning. Each student is part of a “cohort,” a
small group that attends school in person on either Monday/Thursday or
Tuesday/Friday, while attending virtually on the other days.

Payne said the early returns of the hybrid schedule are going “really well.”
“I just feel like our kiddos have needed this and we’ve needed it as educators,
as well,” Payne said. “I really surprised myself at how emotional I got when
those first kids came in and realized how much I had relied on them and how
much their absence in the building has really just affected our own mission
and our passion. It’s been just really positive.”

The return to school is based on the county’s metrics for coronavirus case
rates, case counts and positive tests. Payne noted that subsequent grades are

expected to return in phases, depending on if the metrics allow: second and
third graders returned Thursday, Feb. 25, while fourth and fifth graders are
expected to return on Thursday, March 4 and sixth, seventh and eighth
graders on Thursday, March 11.

“At this point I feel like we’re going to be pretty well on track with that
timeline,” Payne said.

Numerous protocols are in place due to the pandemic, including required face
coverings for students, staff and visitors, six feet of physical distancing
between people (including proper spacing for desks and tables), visual
screenings for symptoms, sanitizing classrooms and frequent touchpoints and
more. Students will not eat breakfast or lunch at the school, but will receive a
meal pack as they exit for home (teachers may include snack breaks and will
share more information on this with families).

Payne noted that it was a challenge to address the required components for
reopening and addressing all the logistics that go into a typical school day,
from paths of travel in the hallways and the use of bathrooms, to how to use
exits/entrances and the way in which arrivals and dismissals will take place.
“We’ve just really had to kind of think about all of it a little bit differently and
just be willing to change our processes,” she said.

One updated change will be a drive-through loop for parents to pick up their
children after school. Vehicles will enter from Salmon River Road, travel to the
basketball court (between the elementary and middle school buildings), use a
number system associated with all the children in the family to pick them up
and then exit via Woodsey Way.

“That was actually inspired by the PGE support stations that were set up
during the fires,” Payne said, referencing the wildfires that impacted the area
in September 2020.

Even with all the protocols in place, the district is also preparing for a possible
positive test at the school, including following state and county guidelines
such as isolation, parent notification, cleaning/disinfecting and contact tracing.
Oregon Trail School District Communications Director Julia Monteith noted
that even if a test were to come back positive, that might not mean the school
would cease in-person instruction.

“It would be more probable that if there was an exposure within a cohort, that
cohort might need to quarantine for a couple weeks, but not necessarily both
cohorts,” Monteith said, adding that the metrics in Clackamas County are
“really good right now.”

Monteith also noted that the district’s schools could stay open even if the
county’s metrics rose, as long as the school’s metrics were under control,
while also offering COVID testing.

Meanwhile, James appreciates being back at school “because of my friends,”
although his mom reported one aspect about the return that he’d like to see
some improvement on.

“The only thing he said the first day is, ‘We can’t go play on the swings and
stuff,’” Debbie said.

For more information about OTSD’s hybrid learning and the return to school
visit www.oregontrailschools.com.