Portland Public Schools

Dear PPS Students and Families,

We are excited to welcome you to a full, five-days a week in-person school year on September 1.

As we approach the first day of school, we continue to monitor the local spread of COVID-19, including the Delta variant, and will implement layers of health protections against COVID-19 across every school building. Since the beginning of this pandemic, we’ve remained firm on being guided by public health expertise. In keeping to this commitment, linked below is an overview of our 2021-2022 School Year Health and Safety Measures Against COVID-19, which will help us have a full-time, in-person learning experience for PPS students this school year. 

2021-2022 School Year
PPS Health and Safety Measures Against COVID-19

Highlights:

• Consistent with state requirements, all PPS staff (and partner staff) and PreK-12 students will be required to wear masks when indoors and on school buses, regardless of vaccination status.
  • PPS has over 7 million age-appropriate masks in stock throughout our schools for those who need them.
• Three (3) feet physical distance for students and staff will be maintained, to the extent possible.
• HEPA filters are in every classroom and on school buses.
• We are upgrading central air filters to MERV 13 standards in every school building.
• We continue to provide testing for symptomatic students and staff.
• Each classroom will be regularly stocked with disinfectant and hand sanitizer.
• Visitors and volunteers will be allowed in school buildings and will be required to wear masks while indoors and around people. Ultimate discretion on visitors and volunteers at schools will be handled through the principal’s office.

We, of course, will remain flexible to the changing health guidance and firm in seeking direction from public health experts. This includes promoting and creating access to the safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine.

Throughout the summer, we have worked closely with community organizations and health partners to offer vaccine opportunities at some of our school buildings and we will continue to work with our community and health partners to offer opportunities for our community to access vaccines at our school sites.

We eagerly await authorization of a vaccine for children under 12 and plan to partner with local healthcare organizations to make the vaccine readily available to PPS students. Learn more about our efforts at PPS.net/COVID-19Vaccination.

We can’t wait to see our students and educators in just a few weeks!

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