Editor's Note: We will update this page with school closure news as necessary.
UPDATED 3-17-20: All Oregon Conference Schools will be closed until at least April 28, to comply with Governor Kate Brown's executive order issued today.
Oregon Conference Department of Education has announced that all conference schools will be closed from March 16-31. This decision aligns the Adventist Education system with Governor Kate Brown’s order to close all Oregon K-12 schools. The decision applies to all Oregon Conference schools in both Oregon and Washington. (UPDATE 3/13/20 2:00 PM: All Washington-based schools will be closed until at least April 24, in accordance with Governor Jay Inslee's proclamation.)
Gale Crosby, VP for Education, wrote, “Our principals and teachers are working hard to provide meaningful and relevant learning opportunities for our students during this time to minimize the impact of the time our schools are closed.”
We will look forward to seeing all students back on campus April 1, although the restart date may adjust for Washington schools. (Check with your principal for updates)
The full text of the letter from Gale Crosby, VP for Education, to school families and staff is copied below.
Greetings Oregon Conference School Families and Staff,
In light of the latest announcement by Oregon Gov. Kate Brown ordering all K-12 schools in the state to close from Monday, March 16 through Tuesday, March 31 because of the coronavirus outbreak, we are following this directive to close all of our Oregon Conference schools during this time. We anticipate seeing our students back on campus on Wednesday, April 1. Our four schools located in Washington State may have an earlier restart date so please check with your local principal for those four schools.
Our principals and teachers are working hard to provide meaningful and relevant learning opportunities for our students during this time to minimize the impact of the time our schools are closed. Please know that during these e-Learning days our office will be open to support our schools. Our schools have the option of using Monday, March 16 as a preparation day. We plan for e-Learning to start on either Monday, March 16 or Tuesday, March 17.
We have included an attachment that provides you some optional resources for supporting your child’s emotional health during this time.
Our plan is always to keep our children, families, and communities as safe as possible. These are trying times and our prayers are with you and your families as you adjust to these changes. We continue to be hopeful that no further interruptions to learning are necessary, and we are already looking forward to seeing you back at school on April 1.
Please know that we are continually praying for our precious students.
Gale Crosby
Vice-President for Education
Oregon Conference of SDA
