Leadership Updates, August 8, 2020
Dear Parents,
Thank you so much for your participation in our Q & A Thursday evening. It was great to see everyone, hear your questions, and find a bit of humor during this time in our lives. If you were not able to attend or would like to listen to the entire session, please find the recording on PWSConnect under News/Featured Content. We hope to see you again next Thursday, August 13, from 6:30 to 7:30pm on the Zoom call!
Q & A Session Review (from August 6)
Dionne opened the evening with a reminder that, as an independent school in Oregon, we are under the jurisdiction of:
Oregon Department of Education (ODE)
Oregon Health Authority (OHA)
As such, PWS is following the Ready Schools, Safe Learners Plan, found here.
Our Early Childhood and Aftercare programs are under additional jurisdiction from:
Oregon Department of Education, Early Learning Division (ODE/ELD) as a licensed Certified Child Care Center. We are currently licensed as Emergency Child Care.
Provisional revisions to these guidelines and requirements are available here. Final decisions regarding guidelines and requirements from ODE/OHA will be available after August 11. Final regulations for Emergency Child Care from ODE/ELD will be available after August 14.
Dionne described the metrics that PWS must follow, and the guidelines and requirements to reopen. Based on today's case rates, we would not be able to reopen under either set of metrics from ODE/OHA. However, because we have an Emergency Child Care license, we will be able to open as Emergency Child Care for EC-Grade 3.
Dionne also reviewed the types of face covering options. Everyone 5 years of age or older is required to wear face coverings both indoors and outdoors. There may be exceptions or break times such as when eating. Details have yet to be determined.
Remote Option for Families in Grades 1-8
We have a new remote option for those families in Grades 1-8 who have decided to remain home for the entire school year or a portion of it. Please see below for a description and fee schedule. Registration will be available early in the week. Please let the Leadership Team know if you have any questions.
Enrollment and Budget Implications
As of August 6, we have 25 children enrolled in Early Childhood, 97 in the Grades, and 57 in the High School, totaling 179. Our pre-COVID-19 enrollment was 325, so the effect on our community is great.
As with other organizations and businesses in our community, our faculty and staff have been impacted by COVID-19. To avoid further furloughs or layoffs, all faculty and staff may be asked to take a reduction in salary or hourly wage. While this is difficult for everyone, we are optimistic that this would be short-term, if needed at all. Any changes in salaries and hourly wage will be effective September 1.
Even though many of our students will start the year with distance learning, we are still paying for our buildings and grounds as well as the infrastructure of the school. We are exploring all available relief options to organizations provided by the state of Oregon. To prepare the building for a safe and healthy re-entry, we are also increasing cleaning regimens, installing new windows on the first floor, and keeping the windows open 24 hours on the second floor. Walnut Hill will have outdoor coverings, equipment, and supplies to accommodate the Early Childhood program. Outdoor classrooms with desks, chairs, and chalkboards will be created for Grades 1-3. If there are ways that you can contribute to the sustainability of our buildings and grounds, we will gratefully accept your donation of time, money, or other resources you may have to offer. Please contact the Leadership Team at leadershipteam@portlandwaldorf.org.
For those who have decided to not re-enroll, we will happily welcome you back when you are ready to join us. Most important, we wish to keep you in our community in the ways appropriate to your family and life circumstances.
Outdoor Classrooms for Early Childhood–Grade 3
We are very excited about our plans for the Grades 1-3 outdoor classrooms. The classrooms initially will be housed under tents similar to the ones used for graduations. They will be furnished with chairs and individual desks for each child, a chalkboard, and table and chair for the teacher. The children will be expected to bring their own backpacks or the most appropriate carriers for their school supplies, lunches, and outerwear. They will keep everything they bring from home with them in their “classroom.” All furniture and equipment will be cleaned and put away in the school building at the end of the school day. We will have designated storage spaces for each cohort.
Walnut Hill will serve as the outdoor Early Childhood classroom with expansion to the courtyard and onto the pool yard as enrollment increases. Our Early Childhood teachers are working tirelessly to plan and prepare for this new outdoor adventure. They have already contacted parents in the community for assistance and a work day or two in preparation for the opening of the school year. If you are interested in offering your time or other resources, please contact Lisa Kimball and she can best let you know what is needed.
In case you have not seen the school calendar on our website, classes begin on Tuesday, September 1. Grades 4-12 will begin remotely. We are planning for grades 1-3 to begin on-site under our Emergency Child Care license.
Please send all questions our way: Leadershipteam@portlandwaldorf.org.
With appreciation for your patience and good will,
Jamie Quirk, Connie Stokes, Elizabeth Webber
Leadership Team