Portland-area schools aren’t in for a wide-scale reopening despite looser state coronavirus restrictions
Updated Dec 30, 2020;
Posted Dec 30, 2020
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown on Dec. 23 announced school districts will take the driver s seat in making decisions over when students will return to classrooms. In the Portland area, most aren t rushing to open their doors.Photo by Dave Killen/Staff
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Oregon’s school closure mandates, once among the strictest in the nation, are officially no more. But that doesn’t mean Portland-area families will see a mass return to classrooms, at least not immediately.
That’s because many metro-area districts are still negotiating working conditions with their teachers unions and awaiting further guidance from the state, officials at various districts told The Oregonian/OregonLive this week.
Portland teachers remain cautious despite vaccines
Union leader: Until vaccines proven, district should beef up student support to combat inequities.
With vaccines shipping to battle COVID-19, the pressure on schools in Oregon to resume classroom instruction is growing. The Portland Tribune spoke with Portland Association of Teachers President Elizabeth Thiel regarding how her more than 3,000 members feel about that prospect.
The answer? Hopeful, but needing a lot more information about how the vaccines will work. The interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
Portland Tribune: What are your members experiencing right now?
Thiel: I have heard so many people tell me they ve never worked more hours in their life. There was a huge learning curve with technology. Teachers were given basically a few days to learn to teach in an entirely new way this fall.
The teacher was carjacked while delivering supplies to students. Author: Mike Benner Updated: 10:55 PM PST December 15, 2020
PORTLAND, Ore Awful is how authorities are describing what happened near Northeast 60th Avenue and Northeast Wygant Street Monday afternoon. KGW has learned a teacher from nearby Rigler Elementary School was carjacked at gunpoint while delivering supplies to students. This is a person minding their own business, trying to serve the community the way teachers do and they re met with armed people stealing their means of transportation but really interfering with their livelihood and life, placing them at great risk, said Lt. Greg Pashley of the Portland Police Bureau.