November 11, 2020 3:25 a.m.

Roseburg Public Schools has revised its reopening plans in response to the recent significant increase in COVID-19 cases and test positivity rates in Douglas County.

Superintendent Jared Cordon said when the new metric standards were released by the Governor’s Office last month, it appeared that the district would soon be able to welcome fourth and fifth-grade students back into the classroom. Cordon said the latest weekly school metrics released Monday by the Oregon Department of Education and the Oregon Health Authority, highlight a “…troubling trend” of increased COVID cases and test positivity rates.

Cordon said Douglas County has shifted to what the state calls the “transition phase”. That means the district cannot add any grade levels to in-person learning and must consider a transition to remote learning for all grade levels at this time. Cordon said the district believes the most responsible decision is to delay the plans for grades four and five. Cordon said test numbers rose from just over 62 cases per 100,000 people to nearly 109 cases for 100,000 people in the most recent two-week period. Test positivity rates rose from 4.5 percent to 9.1 percent. OHA metrics can be accessed by going to: https://bit.ly/3eKTau9.

Cordon said the revised plan includes:

*Cautiously maintaining K-3 in-person learning at all schools, while continuing to offer a remote option for families who choose that learning model.

*Delay the anticipated November 16th return of fourth and fifth graders until there is a decrease in cases. The new target date is December 7th. This will be dependent on the county again maintaining the threshold for returning to in-person learning of 50 to 100 cases per 100,000 people. The school metric data will be monitored for trends in an effort to provide a two to three-week window for any adjustments that need to be made prior to the December 7th target date for return.

*Continue remote learning for both middle schools and the high school through the end of the first semester, January 22nd. Cordon said this date provides the consistency and predictability that the community needs. If the metrics are met, hybrid instruction would begin on January 25th. Limited in-person instruction will begin during the closure, per updated guidance from ODE and OHA.

Go to www.roseburg.k12.os.us for the latest information on Roseburg Public Schools.