The Hermiston School District will begin limited in-person instruction on Monday, Oct. 19 at six of its eight schools. This exception is allowable under state guidelines during Comprehensive Distance Learning.
Schools can offer the opportunity for limited in-person instruction based on educational, relational, curricular, instructional, and/or assessment needs. Consideration to take advantage of this exception focused around specific district-wide instructional programs and students in need of personalized instruction that is difficult to teach remotely, such as students needing language instruction and students with specific disabilities who may benefit from targeted engagement.
The identified HSD programs include students from grades K-12 and will take place at Highland Hills Elementary School, Rocky Heights Elementary School, West Park Elementary School, both middle schools and the high school.
There are strict criteria for bringing students into a school building for limited in-person instruction. Schools may return a limited number of students and for no more than two consecutive hours each day. Participation by parents is optional. Cohorts of no more than 10 students have been created and classroom/school building spaces are set up per physical distancing requirements.
Hermiston is coordinating with parents and families to arrange transportation, discuss instruction, and explain each site’s Safe School Return Plan. Training has and will continue to occur and it is planned for all HSD staff in these locations to ensure the state guidelines are followed. HSD Safe School Return Information can be found on the district website.
Limited in-person instruction will be provided from 9 to 11 a.m., Monday through Friday, for elementary programs and from 1 to 3 p.m., for middle and high school students, beginning Monday.
