September 24, 2020 9:20 a.m.

Officials with Roseburg Public Schools have announced a rolling, soft start for in-person instruction for kindergartners, beginning Monday.

A release said that is being done in preparation for returning grades K-3 to fulltime in-person learning as planned.

Superintendent Jared Cordon said that will give kindergartners, their families and district staff the opportunity to familiarize themselves with new environments and new safety protocols. Cordon said students and families will not be faulted if they are unable to participate in the soft start.

Details of the plan include:

*Busing will be available for kindergartners

*Half of kindergarten students will attend in-person Monday with the other half coming to school on Wednesday

*Remote learning remains as planned for next week for all grades with the exception of kindergarten. Kindergarten will provide synchronous remote learning instruction on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday

Cordon said he believes this soft start is in the best interest of all of their students and will help ensure their plans for bringing back all K-3 students to classrooms on October 5th are carried out successfully.

The release said at this time, the district does not anticipate changes to plans for grades 4-12.

Teachers will be reaching out to students and families with details on the new schedule. The district’s website: www.roseburg.k12.or.us will continue to provide the latest information on the district’s reopening plans.