Lincoln administrators answer questions about return to school

Skylar DeBose

Lincoln administrators held a listening session Thursday to give students more info on the upcoming hybrid learning system starting next month. Read a recap of the information below.

PPS will release a survey this Friday asking students whether or not they intend to participate in hybrid learning.

No one should feel pressured to return to school, said Lincoln administrators, and no one will have a “worse” experience if they decide not to participate.

No decisions will be permanent; students will be able to try out hybrid learning and later opt. out and vise versa

Comprehensive distance learning (CDL) will continue synchronously and asynchronously. Gov. Kate Brown has said that the hybrid plan must be available to all students, but there must be a viable option for students who do not want to participate.

PPS and Lincoln’s plan is to keep options open and stay flexible, but things may change

What will the hybrid model potentially look like?

A plan has NOT been agreed upon or finalized, but the following is the Lincoln administration’s most ideal plan
CDL would continue in the morning exactly the same as it is now
Students would attend school in the afternoon during what is currently designated as asynchronous time
Wednesdays would remain online with the school undergoing a deep cleaning

What will cohorts look like?

There will be two cohorts of students
If 80% of all students opt-in to hybrid learning, 40% will be at Lincoln in-person at a time
There will generally be 10-13 students per class in person
Students will only be allowed to interact with 100 other students per week in all of their classes combined.

Are there any plans for senior celebrations or freshman connections?

There is no official answer to this question.
There may be a chance for seniors to possibly have a social distance lunch or gathering in the future, such as a kickball game.
The hope is to give seniors a chance to say goodbye and to receive closure.
Now that teachers are vaccinated, there is the possibility to have a larger graduation than in 2020.

How will contact tracing work to minimize the possibility of cases?

PPS has a created a whole new system in Synergy for contact tracing (more updates to come)
Every school will have medical support
There will be a symptom room

How will hybrid classes be run?

It will be up to teachers to adapt and adjust their classes (it is currently being discussed with PPS on what support they can provide).
Teachers have the option to keep their Google Meets going while teaching students in-person to accommodate students at home.
An important goal for most teachers is to keep continuity from the current system, according to the administration.

When will we know more?

The Lincoln administration is hoping to get more specific information by Mar. 17, but will definitely know more by Mar 19.

Miscellaneous Information
Masks will be required for all students
Teachers will keep the same students for online synchronous classes