Jan. 6, 2022 (PORTLAND, ORE.) - Portland Public Schools (PPS) announced tonight that it will close Cleveland High School and McDaniel High School campuses beginning tomorrow, Fri., Jan. 7 while temporarily transitioning to distance learning starting next Mon., Jan. 10 through at least Fri., Jan. 14 due to a significant increase in the number of COVID-related absences for both students and staff.
 

“After closely monitoring the data over the past few days, the District is seeing a significant increase in the number of COVID-related absences for both students and staff,” said Margaret Calvert, Regional Superintendent of Secondary Schools. “The number of unfilled positions across the District has grown this week and the numbers for tomorrow are dramatically higher this evening than they have been the past few nights. Therefore, we have made the difficult decision to temporarily close Cleveland and McDaniel High School campuses, where staff absences are greatest.”
 

The two schools will begin a transition to temporary distance learning, beginning tomorrow, Fri. Jan. 7. This means that Cleveland and McDaniel will not have in-person class instruction so that educators can plan for the transition to distance learning for next week. At this time, the District anticipates that the temporary distance learning will last for one week, through Fri., Jan. 14. PPS will share more details tomorrow, Jan. 7, about what next week will look like in temporary distance learning for Cleveland and McDaniel High School students.

District leaders have been meeting regularly with local health officials to monitor the COVID-19 situation, and have been closely tracking data to determine COVID-19’s impact on staff coverage in schools. As of 6:45 p.m. tonight, the District had 431 total school staff who have called out that are eligible for substitutes; 175 of these jobs are unable to be filled by substitutes and this number is predicted to continue increasing. 

Additional Information for Cleveland High School:
 

• Extracurricular activities, including athletics will be postponed during this time. This includes competitions between schools in the PIL where one school is in temporary distance learning and one school is continuing with in-person learning. 
• Breakfast and lunch will be offered to Cleveland students for grab-and-go pickup at Franklin High School (5405 SE Woodward St, Portland, OR 97206) tomorrow from 1 to 3 p.m. 
• Tech support desk. Most students have been provided with a PPS Chromebook. The technical support desk will be available to families and students via email at support@pps.net or by phone at 503-916-3375.
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Additional Information for McDaniel High School:

• Extracurricular activities, including athletics will be postponed during this time. This includes competitions between schools in the PIL where one school is in temporary distance learning and one school is continuing with in-person learning. 
• Grab-and-go meals will be available at the campus tomorrow from 10-11:30 a.m. Breakfast and lunch will be offered to students for pickup next week while students are in temporary distance learning.
• Most students have been provided with a PPS Chromebook. If a student still needs one, they can come to the main office at 9:30 a.m. PPS technical support will remain available to families and students.  They can contact the support desk by either sending an email to support@pps.net or calling the support line at 503-916-3375.
• Child Care Center: The McDaniel child care center will be open on Fri., Jan. 7.  The school will work with community partner Albina Head Start to determine whether it will stay open next week, Jan. 10-14. The school will notify families with children in the child care center when they are able to confirm the dates it will be open.  All current children served by the center who do not have symptoms of illness, may continue until otherwise notified. 

“We are mindful of the significant impact that comes from this decision,” said Calvert. “Our goal is to keep our school buildings open and maintain in-person instruction whenever possible so we can surround our young people with the caring educators and support services they need – as long as we can do so safely. Nearly two years of research shows that school is the best place for them to be academically, socially, mentally, physically, and emotionally. However, where we cannot offer sufficient staffing to continue on-site instruction in a safe environment, we will have to implement temporary distance learning until we can reopen.”

The District is closely monitoring each school and is prepared to transition to temporary distance learning. PPS will make the decisions based on the following criteria:

• Number of staff testing positive for COVID-19
• Number of students testing positive
• Number of staff in quarantine
• Number of students in quarantine
• Number of staffing vacancies
• Number of staffing vacancies that are not covered by a substitute
• Number of additional certified staff available to cover vacancies
• Special program considerations
• Additional Information, such as regional public health metrics, rapidly changing guidance, etc.

PPS continues to update their COVID-19 tracking dashboard daily, which is populated by self-reports of staff and students isolated or quarantined due to COVID-19, along with where the exposure took place. PPS requires that all staff report a positive COVID-19 test result or if they are quarantined due to exposure. 

If families have questions, comments or concerns, they should reach out to PPS via Let’s Talk. Please select “Temporary Distance Learning,” and someone from the PPS team will be in contact. 

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About Portland Public Schools

Portland Public Schools, founded in 1851, is Oregon’s largest PK-12 school district, preparing students to “lead change, and improve the world.” With more than 47,000 students in 81 schools, PPS strives to ensure academic excellence and personal success for every student, especially our Black, Native American, students of color and/or with disabilities. Central to this goal is affirming and operationalizing our deeply held community value of racial equity, social justice and inclusion. Learn more at pps.net.