Thousands of Canby students will have to wait a little longer before they can step foot inside a classroom again.
The Canby School District is no longer planning to reopen facilities to start the 2020-21 academic year, due to strict new Covid-19 metrics the state unveiled this week, which Clackamas County is nowhere close to meeting.
“Based on these metrics, Canby School District will not be permitted to return to our schools on Sept. 8 in the setting we have proposed,” Superintendent Trip Goodall informed families by email Wednesday. “We hope the transition into an in-person learning model will be possible later this fall.”
Instead, the district will be offering two alternative learning models when school resumes (from afar) in September:
Click to access 2020-21-LEARNING-OPTIONS-Bilingual.pdf
Connected At-Home Learning: Always intended to be part of the district’s hybrid approach to learning, officials describe this as a “temporary, at-home learning model for students who plan to return to our schools when in-person learning is permitted.”
Students will be part of their school community, learning through virtual, teacher-led instruction that is supplemented by online resources that meet students at their learning levels. Live and recorded teacher-led instruction will be a part of this model.
Canby Online Learning Academy: This 100% online platform is also a model district officials had previously been working on, to offer to families and students who weren’t comfortable with a return to in-person instruction.
This option provides self-directed curriculum through Edgenuity (6-12) or OdysseyWare (K-5). These accredited online programs are used across the country in online charter schools. Students will commit to this model for a term (trimester or semester, or as designated by your school).
They will receive support from Canby teachers as they work through the curriculum at their own pace. Students will also have on-demand access to live tutors and will also remain members of their school community.
The district said it has made significant investments in technology to ensure all students will have devices and access to online learning platforms and resources, adding that staff will work with each household to ensure lack of internet access is not a barrier.
Support for students in the Dual Language Immersion program will also be available. The district said it will also provide full services to students on IEPs, those with 504 plans, TAG students, Migrant students and English Learners, with “individualized supports” that will be integrated into the Connected At-Home Learning model.
Any student who wants to enroll in Canby Online Learning Academy must complete this form by Wednesday, Aug. 5.
“This is not the news we were hoping to share,” Superintendent Goodall admitted. “We recognize the important role schools play in the lives of our students, families, and for our community. Our staff had been looking forward to solving the unique challenges we’re facing to work directly with students in our classrooms. We are hopeful that opportunity will still happen this fall.”
