As Oregon schools open their doors, students are heading back to school in droves for hybrid instruction 鈥� with some time spent at school, in-person, and the rest of the time continuing to learn at home.
But thousands of Oregon students are staying home and continuing to learn online, in comprehensive distance learning.
How many exactly, is hard to say.
The Oregon Department of Education does not keep track of how many students are in distance learning. As of , more than 400,000 students were in-person at least some of the time, leaving at least 160,000 students in distance learning, assuming the rest of the state鈥檚 schoolchildren are still enrolled in Oregon public schools receiving instruction from home.
When Gov. Kate Brown that schools open classrooms to hybrid learning, state officials also required that schools continue to support distance learning for families that wanted or needed that approach.
As school districts are offering multiple learning models, families made their choices. Students heading back to physical classrooms have . And even for the students finishing the year at home, some things have changed.
For Portland Association of Teachers president Elizabeth Thiel, adding hybrid instruction to the distance learning model has been a 鈥渉uge lift鈥� for educators. She said the concern around students in distance learning, and whether they are being reached, remains.
鈥淭he kids who are not coming in live are frequently the same kids who needed attention in the first place,鈥� Thiel said.
She said she worries about whether students in remote learning will continue to receive the attention they need when educators also have students in-person.
鈥淗ow do you give kids coming in live the things they鈥檝e been missing without leaving out the kids at home?鈥�
For a small number of Portland students, the end of the school year has meant big changes, such as moving to an entirely new school. That鈥檚 because once schools started offering hybrid instruction, certain grade levels at some schools had so many students choose hybrid, there weren鈥檛 enough students in distance learning to justify dedicating a teacher just for them. So the district made the distance-learning students change schools.
In Portland Public Schools interest in hybrid and distance learning varies widely by school. In survey data from last month, interest in hybrid at Northwest Portland鈥檚 Forest Park Elementary was quite high 鈥� 80%. Across the Willamette River, at Peninsula Elementary in North Portland, it was far lower, just 36%.
Managing that wide range of preferences has been difficult in Oregon鈥檚 largest district, in part because PPS is teaching those students separately, rather than using 鈥渟imultaneous鈥� or 鈥渟imulcast鈥� instruction with a video hookup into classrooms, as some places are using.
The district said it has tried to keep students with their teachers, but for some students that wasn鈥檛 possible, especially at schools with a majority of students choosing hybrid.
However district-wide, even if students are now receiving instruction from a different teacher, there is a virtual weekly opportunity for all students to connect with the classmates they started the school year with.
At Rosa Parks Elementary in North Portland, about half of families indicated an interest in hybrid. That even split means less change for students. All students learn together in the morning. Then in the afternoon, small groups formed at the school during distance learning now meet either in-person or virtually.
Jaime Cale is a PPS parent who works in the front office at Rosa Parks. She鈥檚 also running as a write-in candidate for the school board.
Cale鈥檚 son, a fifth-grader at Rosa Parks, decided not to go back to school, staying in distance learning.
鈥淗e just really didn鈥檛 want to go back,鈥� Cale said. 鈥淗e said he likes his routine.鈥�
She worried her son would miss out by not going back yet, but as she spent time in the school at the start of hybrid, she noticed how different the school experience was.
鈥淭he fun, frenetic energy you have by working in a school, it wasn鈥檛 there 鈥� it was quiet,鈥� Cale said.
鈥淪o at the same time, I鈥檓 like, 鈥榤aybe he鈥檚 not really missing anything.鈥欌��
Cale said she鈥檚 heard many reasons why students aren鈥檛 back in person. Children may live with grandparents or other high-risk family members, or it鈥檚 difficult to find childcare or get students to school for just two hours, four days a week.
Across the district, some families are changing their minds about hybrid and returning to distance learning.
鈥淣o matter what side of this debate you fall on ... nobody loves this schedule,鈥� Cale said. 鈥淲hether you wanted schools to stay CDL, or you wanted to open five days full time, this schedule isn鈥檛 preferred by anybody ... it鈥檚 definitely a compromise for both sides.鈥�
Her older student, a middle schooler, is back at school. The family made the choice so he could get both academic support and social opportunities.
She said he鈥檚 been happy to see people his own age and be a part of a group again.
But so far, she said he isn鈥檛 getting a lot of academic support.
鈥淪ocially I think kids are benefitting, emotionally it鈥檚 even helping,鈥� Cale said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e not necessarily learning new curriculum.鈥�
Another PPS parent with a middle school student said the schedule change has been difficult, leaving their student with less school time and spending most of the day alone.
The parent said their child in distance learning is now getting less attention and direction. OPB is not sharing the parent鈥檚 name because of privacy concerns.
鈥淭hrough no fault of my daughter鈥檚, she is now getting less education, less engagement with peers, and she is much more stressed,鈥� the parent said.
Other districts in the Portland metro area are figuring this out too.
Beaverton School District officials report that because elementary interest in hybrid compared to distance learning was about 鈥�50/50鈥� they were able to largely maintain teacher assignments.
In the Tigard Tualatin School District, like in Portland, the breakdown of students choosing hybrid compared to distance learning varies from school to school. At Tigard High, just 43% of students preferred shifting to a hybrid schedule, while at Twality Middle School, and at the district鈥檚 elementary schools, interest in hybrid reached 69%.
How that translated to managing schools and student-teacher connections varied in the district, too. At the elementary school level, Tigard-Tualatin officials said it ranged from every student keeping the same teacher to one school where 143 students shifted to different teachers.
Jarvis Gomes is principal of Deer Creek Elementary in the Tigard-Tualatin School District and the president of the Association of Tigard Tualatin Administrators, a group of administrators across the district.
Gomes said operating two different learning models 鈥� one hybrid, the other online 鈥� hasn鈥檛 been too difficult to maneuver because the district has been in online learning mode all year. But maintaining connections is on his mind too.
鈥淭he part that I鈥檓 conscious about is making sure our CDL students and staff are still connected to the school,鈥� Gomes said. 鈥淵ou can put a little more energy into hybrid because they鈥檙e here, your staff is here and you can actually see them, it鈥檚 a little bit easier to walk down the halls and for me to say 鈥榟i.鈥欌��
Gomes said he is able to show up in virtual classrooms too.
Out of about 550 students, around 90 students at Deer Creek had to change teachers, Gomes said. He said teachers use the same curriculum, and they鈥檝e been welcoming to these 鈥渘ew鈥� students.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 overall been a positive experience for the students,鈥� Gomes said.
Like Portland, Tigard-Tualatin schools continue to offer access to counselors and parent check-ins, as well as virtual assemblies and other events to ensure participation across all learning models.
It鈥檚 not just instruction and engagement that鈥檚 gotten more complicated. Across the Portland metro area, the way students get meals has changed too. As schools have needed to use buses to transport students, it鈥檚 not as simple as having buses deliver lunches anymore. Meal delivery has been greatly reduced or it鈥檚 only available for pick up at schools, including for students continuing who are avoiding school, in distance learning.
Portland Public Schools, Beaverton, Parkrose and Reynolds are among the districts that ended meal delivery service via bus routes with the start of hybrid.
As both school districts and families make plans for the fall, schools have already pledged to reopen for five days a week, full-time. But what is unclear in some of these districts is whether distance learning will continue to be an option for families.
Some districts, like Salem-Keizer, have standalone online programs that will continue on. Salem-Keizer鈥檚 EDGE Program will offer two different track options 鈥� one for students to work independently and one with more teacher support.
In Tigard-Tualatin, Gomes said there are conversations about offering distance learning in the fall, and that there is a 鈥減otential need鈥� for it.
In Portland, the district doesn鈥檛 have official plans to continue distance learning at this point, but will continue to offer Virtual Scholars, an online program for high school students.
The Portland parent with a middle school student said if children aren鈥檛 vaccinated by the fall, their family will be seeking a distance learning option again.
鈥淲e are waiting to hear what our district will do.鈥�
How is distance learning going for your student? Do you plan to remain in distance learning in the fall? Please email emiller@opb.org or call/text 503-482-8295 to share your experience.
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