COVID-19 School Information

Dear Parents and Families, 

By now I assume that you have seen the district email regarding COVID-19 and our new changes in effect starting tomorrow, Friday, March 13th. I just wanted to take a minute to highlight the key items and speak to some things that will look different tomorrow morning when your students arrive to school. 

Please note that we will no longer be allowing parents or volunteers to enter the building. When your child arrives to school tomorrow, and all school days going forward, they will be greeted at the door by staff members and will be allowed to walk straight to their classroom to meet their teacher. We will ask that all parents and adults remain outside, with the exception of mid-day drop offs and pick-ups. 

End of the day pick up will remain as it currently is with students meeting families outside of the building in the car or walker lines.

In addition to these main changes, a few other points to highlight. With the exception of our Champions after school care, all before and after school events, clubs, classes and activities are canceled through April 8th. We are also postponing our staff appreciation activities and events until a later date. 

In regards to attendance, any medical or illness related absence is excused. Our district is still legally required to follow the attendance policy set in place by the Oregon Department of Education. This policy states that once a student misses more than ten consecutive school days (weekends or non-school days do not count) for any reason they must be dropped from our school enrollment and the family becomes legally responsible for ensuring the child’s education continues.

This happens often throughout the year for a variety of reasons, and please know that if for any reason your child misses more than ten school days in a row and becomes unenrolled, we still keep all of their enrollment paperwork in place and at any time when you feel it is appropriate for them to return, we can simply re-enroll them and place them back in their current class. We do ask that parents give us one school day to process that request, but other than that the process is very simple. 

I don’t know where things will take us in the next several weeks, but I do know that our entire district staff is working diligently to maintain a clean building and to support students with regular handwashing. We continue to follow the guidance of the Oregon Health Authority and I am hopeful that all will be well at Middleton. We will continue to provide a safe and supportive environment for our students to learn and grow each day. 

We will continue to keep parents and families updated in the weeks to come, and as always you are welcome to reach out if you have concerns in the future. 

Thanks for your support,

Jon