Frequently Asked Questions

OES’s COVID-19 Response Plan is rooted in our Mission and Identity, but our practices must be operationally different. During this global pandemic, we must all recognize the inherent challenges of ensuring the health and safety of our community, maintaining the quality of our educational experiences, and supporting our students and families. There will be both compromises and some considered risk along the way. We will need to remain flexible and shift as conditions dictate. To that end, our COVID-19 response is based on four core principles:

Health and Safety: At its core, our plan considers the social, emotional, and physical health and well-being of students, families, and employees. We have implemented a host of additional safety measures, all of which will be reviewed regularly and modified as conditions warrant and state and federal guidance dictates.

Optimized Learning: Our program is centered on rigorous and open inquiry, and we believe that learning occurs best in a social context. Therefore, we are committed, if circumstances permit, to safely reopening campus and to providing as many students as possible—at any given time—the opportunity to engage in classroom- and site-based instruction.

Community and Responsibility: We are a school that celebrates community and prioritizes relationships. Regardless of our campus’ operational level, we will design intentional opportunities for students and adults to interact in a variety of ways. We are also committed to remaining environmentally sustainable and socially responsible.

Inclusion and Access: Finally, we understand that the individual circumstances of our students, families, and employees are unique. We will do all that we can to provide each member of our community access to a dynamic program.

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The Oregon Department of Health (OHA) and Oregon Department of Education (ODE) define “in-person instruction” as when either all students are on campus or a sub-set of students is on campus in a “hybrid” model. The Community Covid-19 metrics that the Governor issued on July 28, 2020, for all Oregon schools to be permitted to provide in-person instruction are as follows:

Pre-K: Based on Oregon Early Learning Division (ELD) guidance, we are holding on-campus instruction for our Pre-K students as of September 9. (Note: Unlike grades K–12, which are governed by the Oregon Department of Education and are subject to the Governor’s metrics for reopening, Pre-K operates under the ELD’s Health and Safety Guidelines for Early Childcare and Health and Safety Guidelines for Child Care and Early Education Operating During COVID-19.)

Grades K-3: A school must meet all of the following requirements:

1. The positive test rate in counties from which a school draws >10% of its students and staff must be ≤ 5%. For OES, this is Washington, Multnomah, and Clackamas Counties.
2. The number of new cases in the counties from which the school draws >10% of its students and staff  must be < 30 per 100,000 people over a seven-day period, measured for three consecutive weeks. For OES, this is Washington, Multnomah, and Clackamas Counties.

Grades 4-12: A school must meet all of the following requirements:

1. The state positive test rate must be < 5%.
2. The positive test rate in counties from which a school draws >10% of its students and staff (Washington, Multnomah, and Clackamas) is < 5%.
3. The number of cases in the counties from which the school draws >10% of its students and staff (Washington, Multnomah, and Clackamas) must be < 10 per 100,000 people over a seven-day period, measured for three consecutive weeks.

Here are the most recent results for Oregon counties. Importantly, because OES draws >10% of its students and staff from Washington, Multnomah, and Clackamas Counties, all three counties must each meet the minimum metrics in order for us to return to in-person learning.

Yes. The Governor made clear during the question and answer period of her July 28, 2020, announcement that her mandates apply to both public and private schools. Moreover, OES has participated in a number of webinars and conference calls with the ODE and OHA in which they have made it clear that private schools must follow these requirements.

Learn more about how the Governor's orders affect our school in this video.

As stated in the COVID-19 Acknowledgement of Risks and OES Community Agreement, every community member (students, employees, and parents/guardians) needs to commit to act in a manner that not only protects their own health, but also that of the broader community. Those who do not uphold this commitment will be prohibited from campus for a specified period of time, as determined by the OES administration.

Click here for a video from Associate Head of School Peter Kraft an explanation about the COVID-19 Risk Acknowledgement & Community Agreement.

If and when we do reopen campus, we ask that families prioritize in-person learning for your child(-ren) if at all possible. We will of course accommodate students with underlying conditions and/or families whose specific circumstances make it unwise for their children to return to the OES campus. But, in the event that we can reopen campus, our academic program will be considerably more robust for those students who participate in classroom-based instruction. This is especially true in the Lower School, where continuous learning (i.e., entirely online learning) creates special challenges for our youngest learners and their teachers.

For the safety of our community, the OES campus remains closed, including buildings, athletic fields, and even for passing through to walk dogs, unless specifically approved. The only daily activities on campus at this time are Pre-K and Emergency Child Care for Essential Workers. Those activities follow OES, ODE, and CDC safety guidelines as noted elsewhere.

Unfortunately, no. Based on the Governor’s metrics and guidance from the Oregon Department of Education (ODE), the Residential Life program is closed until at least January 10, 2021. We will continue to monitor the situation and make a decision about the spring term as we get closer to the new year. In the meantime, we are providing a rich continuous learning experience through both our regular online courses (for students in the Pacific and Central Time Zones) and our Continuous Learning Academy, which we have created specifically for our boarders in other time zones.

In terms of our program, OES’s 151st year will be as normal as an historic health emergency permits and as innovative as possible to focus on the education and support of our students as well as the safety of all who make that education possible.

All classes (except Pre-K) will be conducted online when operating under the Red Campus Operational Level. Under Red Campus Operational Level, we will use flexible, developmentally appropriate schedules for each division that optimize student growth and allow for increasing amounts of independence and self-direction for older students.

Four key tenets inform all that we do:

• A Focus on Relationships and Community: The student-teacher relationship is always critical, but it is even more essential when working in an online environment. Connecting with others and developing the Essential Competencies is central to all that we do.
• Commitment to Inquiry and Deep Learning: At OES, our approach to all learning, and particularly during continuous learning, is to reimagine learning in a way that encourages students to cultivate curiosity and creativity. As such, our focus is on learning, not “coverage.”
• Different Assessments and Feedback: Assessment and feedback to students necessarily looks different in continuous learning. Teachers will therefore employ new summative assessments through culminating projects, peer-to-peer feedback, and teacher feedback.
• A Dedication to Balance: In a continuous learning environment, the distinction between “homework” and “class time” is not rigid. Regardless, we are aware of the need to balance screen-time with physical and emotional well-being.

Continuous learning will look considerably different than in the spring 2020. Specifically, in the Middle and Upper School classes will be longer—60–65 minutes in the Middle School and 100 minutes in the Upper School (broken up over the course of the day)—to enable students to work in a variety of different manners. With longer blocks, students can have both teacher-directed instruction and more self-paced activities. Moreover, teachers will be even more versed in a suite of shared tools (developed by our new Innovation Team), ensuring that there is more commonality within and between courses.

In August, all OES teaching faculty completed a week-long, intensive course run by Global Online Academy (GOA), a world leader in digital pedagogy. We chose GOA because their philosophy of teaching and learning is consonant with OES—specifically, that learning stems from open and rigorous inquiry grounded in intentional connections.

Finally, the summer enabled us to be even more intentional about building connections. From Chapel to Advisory to Activities to dedicated teacher check-in times, the entire structure will be much more integrated. Though there will undoubtedly be some bumps in the road, we expect a much smoother ride.

Other key aspects include:

• Thoughtful and intentional systems and structures to support students both academically and social-emotionally.
• Return to Letter Grades in the Upper School, with the exception of Visual, Performing, and Musical Arts, and PE, which will be Pass / No Record.
• A brand-new assessment and feedback system in the Middle School and a new student progress reporting system in the Lower School.
• More consistent, dedicated time for community building in all three divisions.

Lower School

The Lower School schedule during Continuous Learning includes:

• Two sessions of Pre-K held on campus from 8:30–11:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m.
• Online learning for K–5 daily, guided by weekly lesson plans on each grade level’s website.
• Synchronous morning Zoom meetings that will be staggered to allow for sibling participation between 8:00–9 a.m., with most meetings taking place between 8:30–9:00 a.m.
• Three classroom learning blocks (45 min each) in which a mix of synchronous and asynchronous learning takes place. Synchronous learning includes whole group, small group and 1:1 instruction; to enable small group and 1:1 meetings, some students may be viewing explanatory videos and working on asynchronous assignments (at their own pace).
• One specialist learning block (45 min) four days per week in which students participate in art, PE, music, library, and Spanish.
• Shared 11–12 p.m. block for all LS students for lunch and outdoor play.
• Closing reflections or meetings daily 2:00–2:30 p.m. (except Wednesdays).
• 2:30–3:00 p.m. time for completing assignments, preparing materials for the next day, or independent work on Lexia (reading) or Dreambox (math).
• Chapel as a live-streamed event on Tuesday mornings and LS Gathering as a recorded event on Friday afternoons.

Middle School

The Middle School schedule during continuous learning includes:

• Classes meet Monday–Friday. On most days, students will have five 60–65 minute blocks from 8:15 a.m.–3:05 p.m.
• Morning classes are three Face to Face (synchronous) classes online, where students will work with the whole class, one-on-one with the teacher, or in small groups.
• Students have two classes most afternoons that are self-paced or independent work time for students.
• Advisory or MS Gathering meets four times a week, in addition to Chapel once a week.
• Daily office hours / student support time are available for students to meet with teachers as needed.
• Lunch is extended to provide community connection time for affinity groups, book clubs, and other shared interests.

Upper School

The Upper School schedule during continuous learning includes:

• Consistent start time: On Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, school will begin at 8:30 a.m. (all times noted in Pacific Time) with a synchronous class for all students. On Wednesdays, students will report to synchronous Advisory at 8:30 a.m., followed by Chapel, Activities, Affinity Group, and Club meeting time, and Office Hours for one-on-one work with teachers.
• Balanced class time: On Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, the school day will begin with three 40-minute “Focus Classes,” with a short break between each. These sessions are synchronous for all students, except those in Continuous Learning Academy (our residential students in time zones other than Pacific), who watch the recordings of these sessions. The three morning classes will rotate each week.
• Extended learning: Each morning Focus Class has an accompanying afternoon 60-minute “Studio Class.” Teachers use Studio Classes for guided application and coaching, small-group discussions, student collaborative work, or asynchronous assignment support.
• Application and practice: In addition to class time (200 minutes), teachers can assign up to 90 minutes of out-of-class work per week.
• Community and wellness: Each day, students have a significant lunch block in order to get a break, meet with Affinity Groups or Clubs, and socialize remotely. This time can also be used for important community events like Gathering or performances.
• Interest-based exploration: All students will participate in Activities every Wednesday. Seniors will have the option to use this time to work on their college applications and get support from the College Counseling Office.

Students are expected to “check-in” to all of their synchronous classes and attendance will be taken. For asynchronous classes, especially in the Middle and Upper Schools, “attendance” is determined by a student’s submitting on time the work that is required during that block of time.

Middle School

Middle School students will receive feedback from teachers under the new assessment and feedback model that focuses on progress in skill building rather than traditional grades. This is a tool the Middle School has been planning to roll out in the 2020–21 school year for the past several years, unrelated to the campus closure.

Upper School

Progress for students in the Upper School will be reported through a letter grading system as outlined in the Grading Practices section of the Upper School Curriculum Guide. All students in grades 10-12 will receive summative letter grades all four quarters. All 9th graders will be graded on a P/NR (pass/no record, which indicates that no record will appear on the external transcript) basis for all subjects in the fall semester. Beginning in the spring semester, 9th graders will receive letter grades in all their classes.

In the event that the conditions of the pandemic worsen significantly during the fall, it is possible that an alternative grading policy (P/NR for all classes) could be mandated for all subjects, as was the case in the spring of 2020.

Students whose school-owned devices remained with them at home after the 2019–20 school year have been automatically updated and will be ready to go on the first day of school. New and returning Lower School and Middle School students picked up their devices on their assigned Day— September 2–4 for both divisions and September 8 for any MS families who cannot attend September 2–4. Divisional Technology Coordinators will also provide tech support throughout Continuous Learning for families to problem solve and troubleshoot any difficulties with devices or tech tools.

We have established times for students to meet with teachers and advisors in all three Divisions September 2–4 (Lower and Middle Schools) and September 8–10 (Middle and Upper Schools). Please see communications from your student’s Division Head for more details.

We see a lot of potential in students working in small groups together in the community, but they will have to be within the governor’s guidelines (number of people allowed to gather together, masking, social distancing, etc.) Additionally, one of our COVID-19 Response Plan Guiding Principles is Inclusion and Access, and we ask that issues of equity, inclusion/exclusion, learning differences, and other student needs be taken into account as community members consider developing pods.

Click here for more information about learning pods via video from Associate Head of School Peter Kraft.

Unless students are on campus for Pre-K or Emergency Child Care, school uniforms are not required during continuous learning. If as a parent/guardian you believe it will help your student "be in school," feel free to do so, but it is not required from a school perspective.

In both the Red and Yellow Campus Operational Levels, Upper School students have been assigned one large Reduced Density Group (cohort) for the entire year. These RDGs are designated Green and Blue. Once we reach the Yellow Campus Operational Level, each student who returns to campus will also be a member of several additional, smaller RDGs, one for each class taken. These RDGs will remain stable and will not mix during other times, such as lunch or Activity. Some classes include students from multiple grades, but they are still considered a single RDG. To limit the total number of people in each student’s RDGs, these groups will remain stable. Students will therefore not be permitted to change RDGs except in cases where it is absolutely necessary (e.g., a class change).

Yes. While service in COVID-19 necessitates a little more creativity, it is more crucial than ever and it can be accomplished. Please contact Maria McIvor, Director of Community Engagement for information specific to your student.

We will reschedule (depending on student interest and space availability) all Upper School PE courses that require the use of the OES fitness center. If a student would like to document their participation in a sport outside of OES, such work would be graded on a Pass / Fail scale and would be subject to prior approval by the Chair of the PE Department and her designated staff members. We will waive all Be Active requirements for 2020–21 for Upper Schoolers. Students training in their respective sport for the fall (and perhaps beyond) would receive credit for being a member of an athletic team.

In accordance with Oregon Health Authority’s (OHA) and Oregon Department of Education’s (ODE) updated “Statewide Reopening Guidance—K-12 School Sports, “Limited Return to Play” for interscholastic athletics, during Continuous Learning, OES students grades 9-12 may (but are not required) to begin training or conditioning in athletics on or around September 21, 2020. Students and coaches must wear masks during indoor and most outdoor training sessions, with limited exceptions. Students must train in small, stable cohorts of no more than ten (10) students. All OES health and safety guidelines must be followed by student-athletes and coaches.

Learn more about the OSAA's announcement and how it affects our school in this video.

For the safety of the community, we will not be able to open the fields to general community use until we reach the Green Campus Operational Level. If permitted by State guidance, we may allow limited, carefully controlled use by outside organizations if their policies and protocols meet jurisdictional and OES requirements.

As with all of our academic activities, instrumental and vocal music will be held online during continuous learning. If we are able to reopen campus in the Yellow Campus Operational Level, we will explore what in-person options, if any, are available. Both band and choir carry particular risks and thus require additional distancing between students.

Whether fully on campus, or in the hybrid state, we have discussed testing, individually and pooled, with our medical advisors and testing providers. Testing will be recommended for students and employees who have come into direct (physical) or close (closer than six feet for 15 minutes or more) someone diagnosed to have COVID-19. The school will arrange for testing in this situation for boarding students. Someone with this exposure will be able to return to campus either with a negative test result or 10 days after exposure if they have had no symptoms in the last 72 hours. The Oregon Health Authority does not recommend asymptomatic surveillance testing for schools at this time because of its limited utility; isolation and quarantine have been found to be more effective strategies in congregate settings.

Click here for an informational video about testing practices from Associate Head of School Peter Kraft.

When we are informed of a positive COVID-19 test result, we will do the following:

The State has issued excellent guidance for many COVID-19 illness scenarios, and we will closely follow this guidance. If a student or staff member receives a positive test result, we will immediately send this person home if they are on campus. We will immediately notify the Washington County Department of Health and Human Services and share with them the contact tracing records documenting who this person has been in contact with in the previous several days. We will quickly notify staff and families of students who may have been exposed. Working with the County, we will work to identify if there have been Direct or Close Contacts and make a decision whether or not to quarantine groups of students and adults based on the results of that investigation.

Yes, daily health screening will be a requirement for anyone coming to campus in the Yellow Campus Operational Level. We are purchasing a new software application that parents, employees, and visitors will use for health reporting while in the Yellow Campus Operational Level and possibly beyond.

Scroll to page 10 of the OES COVID-19 Response Plan for more information about testing and screening.

In the Yellow Campus Operational Level, the State requirement is that the maximum size of a student's overlapping RDGs (what the State calls cohorts) is 100. We will be able to keep the groups well under this maximum. In the Lower School, the RDGs will normally be 13 or 14 students. In the Middle School, each class will be an RDG of 18 students, and each student will have a number of RDGs, although there will be a lot of duplication of students from group to group, so the anticipated total of academic RDGs is 50 or fewer. The Upper School will be similar to the Middle School, but the individual RDGs will be about 10 students. Students may be a part of other RDGs, for example a bus route or Extension RDG.

We intend to run buses if at all possible while in the Yellow Operational Level. We will send out a survey when and as we approach the Yellow Campus Operational Level that will include questions about interest in bus service. Riders will need to sign up for annual service so we can create stable groups; we won't be able to accommodate occasional riders. Students will be assigned seats and we will have one occupant per seat. Buses will be cleaned after each run. We will pick up students from multiple divisions on all routes, so we will have a plan to care for students who will need to arrive a little early because of staggered divisional start times.

In the Yellow Campus Operational Level, and into the future, food service will be modified to fit safety standards. We are working with Bon Appetit and our Facilities team to update sanitization protocols and the areas in which our students eat. Bon Appetit will change dining services, as well, to fit new staggered scheduling and dining areas.

When we return to in-person learning, students will eat lunches in small Reduced Density Groups (cohorts). There, they will be physically distanced (at least 6' apart with 35 sq. feet of space per person) and may remove their masks to eat.

Frequent gentle reminders will be the basic approach during the yellow operational level and into the future. We have had good success in our summer program in having children comply with the mask requirement. And if teachers can find a way to make it fun, even better!

OES will not offer regular Extension while the campus is closed. We have received authorization to provide limited on-campus Emergency Child Care for Essential Workers (ECCEW) in grades K–5. That program began on September 9.

We are planning to offer private lessons online and hope to offer other remote Extension opportunities as staffing allows. Stay tuned for more information.

Classroom-Based Learning: Campus is open or partially open and learning is done in the classroom, even if some work is also done at home.

Continuous Learning: All learning is done entirely due to campus closure.

Reduced Density Group (RDG): The dividing students in each division into smaller groups (aka cohorts).

Multi-Layered Approach to safety and wellness: Describes the many ways (see graphic below) that we are working to ensure students' and adults' health.