March 30, 2021

Good afternoon EPSD9 Parents:

Based on the Governor’s most recent direction, revised RSSL and new recommendations from the CDC, Eagle Point School District will be making important changes beginning Monday, April 12, with the start of the new quarter. The most critical changes will include changing class room capacity to comply with the 3’ distancing guidelines. At the elementary level this will allow us to bring many, if not all our classes back together in a single space. At the middle schools we will begin instruction for all students attending in-person every day. At the EPHS we will be holding class for all students attending four days each week (M, T, TH, F). Wednesdays will be required for those students with failing grades during the first three quarters. Information regarding the specifics impacting your child and school will be forthcoming in the coming days.

In order to prepare for the upcoming changes, April 8th will be a work day for all staff. There will be no school for students. As previously planned, April 9th will remain a Teacher Work day focused on completing grades. Parents, please note for your planning that students will not be attending school on Thursday (April 8) and Friday (April 9).

Eagle Point School District continues to have a good record of low numbers of positive cases of COVID-19. We have done particularly well avoiding spreading incidents within our schools. For statistics about the virus spread in Oregon schools, feel free to check out this website. Bringing our students back into classrooms in larger groups and longer periods means we need to reemphasize safe procedures including wearing masks (properly), cleaning surfaces and washing hands. Please help us in this by speaking to your student and re-emphasizing the importance of following these expectations.

Thank you for your patience and tremendous support during this pandemic year. It has been difficult for everyone, but especially for our parents. All of us working in the schools are thankful for the support we have received from our community. We believe these new steps will be an improvement in your students' education. 

Respectfully,

Andy Kovach

Superintendent

January 2021

Good Afternoon EPSD9 Parents:

On December 23rd, Governor Brown returned autonomy back to school districts in deciding how best to educate their students and staff safely. EPSD welcomes this responsibility and has looked closely at the research and procedures for returning students to school successfully and in a safe manner for all. Some of this information can be found here.

EPSD9 employees have spent the past month working extremely hard to prepare ourselves for what is called "Hybrid" instruction. We will begin on Monday. In Hybrid instruction we are giving our parents the choice of having their students remain in a virtual learning environment or begin attending school in person. How this is organized varies from school to school, but essentially we are bringing K-5 back 5 days a week and establishing an alternating schedule for grades 6-12. The Shady Cove School will operate K-8, 5 days per week. You can learn the details of how this affects your student(s) on their school's website.

We made the decision to move to hybrid instruction based on the science and data that indicates that schools can operate safely during the pandemic if precautions are taken. There are two critical practices that you can do to help. If your student has symptoms of COVID they must not come to school. It is also vital that students and employees wear masks. We WILL be diligent in enforcing our precautions.

As we look to the future, we are hopeful that a return to full in person instruction is on the horizon. Our students have been out of school for nearly a year. We are excited to see them again and looking forward to their return. In the coming days and weeks if you have questions or concerns please do not hesitate to inform us. We want to do this well and we want to do so safely.

Respectfully,

Andy Kovach

December 2020

On December 9th the Eagle Point School Board passed a resolution urging Governor Brown to prioritize the return of all students in grades K-5, with an ultimate goal of returning all students to school, by establishing metrics that follow the science and align with successful models used in other states and countries which have prioritized education first.

Please consider supporting this effort by signing the support form by December 21, 2020. We will be sending the full list of supporters to Governor Brown, state elected officials, and the Oregon Department of Education.

November 17, 2020

Governor's Order

• Governor Brown announced a statewide closure effective from Wednesday, November 18th through Wednesday, December 2nd, 2020.
• Data will be reviewed after two weeks and the order may be continued.

What does this mean for my student in EPSD9?

If your student is currently attending their school for Limited In-Person Instruction, they may continue to do so.
If your student is feeling sick, please keep them home.

What about Conferences?

• Student conferences will still take place as scheduled.
• Conferences will be virtual to the fullest extent possible.
• We do understand that there will be some circumstances where families will need to conference in-person. Please only attend if no one in your family is sick or has not been sick within the last 14 days.

September 11, 2020

Eagle Point School District 9 and Communities:

Today, the anniversary of 9/11 we find ourselves in a new crisis. This time, directly impacting our community. As I write this we have a large active, uncontained fire burning in the middle of the school district. Many EPSD families and staff are or have been evacuated. Others have lost their homes.  All of us are living in hazardous smoke conditions with packed bags at the ready. Eagle Point School District, itself, has been closed for the past three days.

It is our intent to return to work on Monday the 14th. At this time two of our schools are in Level 3 Evacuation Areas so some of our staff may need to report to an alternate work site. Critically, we know many of our staff will be unavailable due to their personal, heartbreaking circumstances and we as a district will need to determine how to fill in for those missing. We will also need to adjust our calendar. 

Our current plan includes the following dates:

     September 14th-16th - EPSD9 staff return to work and make family contacts

     September 17th-18th - EPSD9 staff provide Orientation Conferences with students and parents

     September 21st - Comprehensive Distance Learning begins for all students

     September 28th - Limited In-person Instruction begins

Our strategy is to bring our staff back into our buildings next week and determine our personnel status, complete the required COVID19 training and, most importantly, continue teacher preparation for comprehensive distance learning. We intend to contact all families to assess their needs due to the wildfires, connectivity, food delivery and make an appointment for all families to attend an in-person or virtual Orientation. If you don’t hear from us, contact your school office.

On Thursday and Friday, we want to bring all of our students and parents to our buildings in-person or virtually to orient them on how to be successful with the new learning model and to give them the tools they will need to do this. Again, we anticipate working with families whose personal circumstances have changed dramatically.

As we have all learned repeatedly in the past months our plans will need to be flexible. Like COVID19, the Obenchain Fire has the final say on much of what we plan to do. Communicating with each other is essential. We will also need to be gracious and proactive as we work together to  problem-solve the needs of families, staff and most importantly our students.

Respectfully,

Andy Kovach

EPSD9 Superintendent

September 9, 2020

Dear Eagle Point Families,

I hope you are staying safe during these difficult times. Over the next couple of days we will be evaluating the status of our students and staff. As we learn where we stand we will make adjustments to our plans for the school year. We will keep you informed as we go. 

First things first, let's take care of ourselves and community. 

Respectfully,

~Andy Kovach

August 4, 2020

Please click here to view the presentation from our latest Community Presentation Town Hall Meeting 8/4/2020

August 3, 2020

Eagle Point School District 9 Families,

I would like to update you on our reopening status. We have been preparing plans for September under three possibilities. These are:

• A return to in-person instruction
• A hybrid model that combines in-person and “virtual” instruction 
• Comprehensive Distance Learning (but better than what we did in the spring)

Last Wednesday, Governor Brown, the Oregon Health Authority and the ODE COVID--19 Support Team announced health “metrics” under which schools can reopen. These metrics are broken out by state level measures and county level measures. The critical measurements are the state and county case rates for COVID-19 and the county testing positivity rate. The full document can be located HERE.
At this time, Eagle Point School District does not meet the requirements that would allow for in-person (A) AND hybrid instruction (B). If we were to start school tomorrow it would have to be using the Comprehensive Distance Learning model (C).In the event we need to start the school year with most students learning at home, we would implement a Comprehensive Distance Learning (CDL) model. This model would include in-person, on-site instruction for K-3 students and distance learning for 4-12 students. You can learn more about the rigorous state requirements for CDL by clicking HERE.

However, I am delaying the final decision under which model to open until Friday, August 7. My reasons for this are:

• It is not yet clear what the trend of the key metrics will be in September and switching our schools from one model to another will be challenging. While I know parents need clarity in order to plan for the Fall, our survey information indicates that the majority of our families would prefer some level of in-person instruction. I am unwilling to set this option aside too quickly.
• The interpretation of the new guidelines is not yet entirely known.
• I would like to hear additional input from parents and staff.

I would invite you to join us for another Town Hall Meeting with me, Superintendent Kovach, via Facebook Live TOMORROW, August 4, 5:30-6:30 PM. Also check out our District website and social media for updates.
Right now we need your help with two things.

• First, if you have not already, log into ParentVUE and register all of your children for school.
• Secondly, click on this linkclick on this link and let us know which option you think you will be using for your child(ren) next year.

Thank you for your continued patience as we navigate the pandemic.The health, safety, and wellness of our students and staff will continue to be the district’s top priority. I also thank you for your patience and understanding as we adjust to the circumstances.

Respectfully,

Andy Kovach

Superintendent

July 30, 2020

Please click here to view the presentation from our latest Community Meeting for 2020-21 School Reopening

July 15, 2020

Read the Questions and Answers from the July 9th Town Hall Meeting

Please follow our district social mediafor the latest updates. And, most importantly, feel free to email reopen@eaglepnt.k12.or.us this summer with your ideas and suggestions.

July 10, 2020

In the Town Hall Meeting on July 9th, Superintendent Kovach announced that Eagle Point School District will be offering a full-time online learning program for students kindergarten through twelfth grade. If you are interested in this opportunity for your student, visit our webpage: 
https://urceo.eaglepnt.k12.or.us/our_school/online_learning_opportunities

To see the current plans for reopening schools in September read:
English Version: Operational Blueprint for Reentry for School Year 2020-21
Versión en español: Plan operativo para reingreso para el año escolar 2020-21

July 9, 2020

Superintendent Kovach presented the current plans to reopen schools in September in a Town Hall meeting for the community. If you were not able to attend the virtual meeting, the recording is available:  
https://www.eaglepnt.k12.or.us/news/what_s_new/town_hall_meeting_july_9th

Access handouts from the Town Hall in English and in Spanish.

July 1, 2020

The Superintendent shared the following message directly with families:

On June 10, ODE released Ready Schools, Safe Learners Guidance designed for school leaders that puts forward the requirements and recommendations we are using to plan for the fall. Over the following two weeks teachers, principals, and support staff began working on “blueprints” or plans for the 2020-2021 school year. Classrooms and common areas were measured to help us understand how many students and staff can safely learn in each space throughout our district.

Our tentative plan is to bring Pre-K through fifth graders to our schools five days a week. With our space limitations, this means that every nook and cranny in our buildings will be used. For Grades 6-12 our strategy is to have a schedule we are calling, “Brick and Click Learning”. That means, half the students of each school will come alternating days to the “Brick” while the other half attends school virtually; the “Click.”

These plans remain tentative. We will be providing opportunities to get feedback from staff and parents. We anticipate changes to guidelines we’re working under and, of course, we do not know where we will be with respect to the pandemic in September. However, we are confident that we have a good model and in working with you, we can meet the challenges and opportunities of this moment