Franklin High School

Dear PPS Families,

We hope that you had a safe and enjoyable spring break. We have been working hard to put the finishing touches on the safe return of students to our schools for hybrid learning. We are excited to see students in grades 2-5 at schools, starting Monday!

For families whose students will participate in hybrid instruction, we have included below a number of pieces of information and reminders to help you navigate and prepare for the first days of in-person school this year. 

Reopen Guide

You can find a COVID-19 risk factor guide by clicking here. The guide allows you to track COVID-19 rates in our community and includes a CDC tool and helps you weigh risks and benefits of the learning options available to you. 

Reopen Visual Packet for Students and Families

We put together a series of instructional posters for students and families to review. These posters are light on text and focus heavily on images from actual PPS schools, to help familiarize you before the first day of hybrid. Subjects include:

• Riding the Bus
• Arriving at School
• What Your Classroom Will Look Like
• Walking Through Hallways
• Wearing a Mask at School
• Washing Your Hands
• Breakfast and Lunch
• I’m Not Feeling Well: What Should I Do?
• Leaving School

The last poster is a Daily Illness Self-Screening Checklist. Please note that all staff and parents/guardians of students are required to self-screen daily for symptoms of illness before entering school or getting on a PPS bus. The checklist breaks down exactly what to look for. 

COVID-19 Case Protocol and Testing Consent Form

In the instance of a confirmed or presumptive COVID-19 case, PPS will follow our Case Protocol, which you can find by clicking here. 

Additionally, PPS is requesting consent to test students for COVID-19 from families prior to the first hybrid instructional day. You can access a copy of the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) consent form by clicking here.

Once you complete and sign the form, please email it to your student’s school secretary. You can find that information on your school’s website. If you are unable to submit electronically, you can also print and submit a paper copy of the consent form to your student’s school secretary or send it with your child on the first day of hybrid instruction. 

This is only needed for students who are coming into school for hybrid instruction. 

Meals and Transportation

We shared with families last week important details about how students in both hybrid and distance learning will access meals this spring. We have served millions of meals since the pandemic began and look forward to continuing to provide this essential service to our students in the months ahead. Our Nutrition Services teams are ready!

You should have also received an email Sunday evening from Transportation Services, regarding instructions on how to find your student’s bus route and pickup times, instructions on how to ride the bus, requirements for families meeting our youngest students at stops, and more. You can find that message in your inbox or by clicking here. 

Videos

We hope that you take a moment to watch the reopen videos available to you. The videos show a typical hybrid setup at PPS schools, how to safely ride the bus, and more. You can find the videos and much more information at pps.net/reopen2021.

Finally, please remember that the health of our schools depends on every family. So let’s work together to keep our schools and community safe. If a child isn’t feeling well, they should stay home. And when we are in our buildings, everyone has to wear a mask -- even if you’ve been vaccinated. 

This month marks the first time in over a year that significant numbers of students and staff are together in our schools. And for many students, it will be their first time ever in a PPS classroom. Even in more normal times, the first days of school can be emotional and it often can take a day or two to smooth out a few rough edges. We hope you can join us in being flexible, focusing on health and safety, and appreciating the excitement of the start of school, the joy of learning, and the milestone of safely welcoming students and staff back to our classrooms. 

More to come this week, including from individual schools. Please keep an eye on your inboxes over the next few days.

Thank you.