July 30, 2020

Dear Portland Community:

This site outlines the reopening plan for the Portland Public Schools. Before introducing the plan, I would like to acknowledge the significant fear and anxiety that exists in our community. The ongoing pandemic has placed tremendous stress on our families and families across the state and nation. Unfortunately, this strain is likely to continue until the day when a vaccine or effective treatment for COVID-19 is developed. Until that day, the Portland Public Schools will do everything possible to support students, families, faculty, and staff. The road ahead this year will be challenging, but with flexibility, patience, and collective resolve we will overcome the challenges posed by the ongoing pandemic and end up a stronger, more closely-knit community.

The Portland Reopening Plan is guided by data, expert advice, and input from a wide variety of stakeholders. The plan outlines a series of practical models that are designed to respond to community transmission rates of COVID-19. If community transmission of COVID-19 remains low, the schools will fully reopen for in-person teaching and learning for all families that choose to return to school. Portland will also offer distance learning for families that choose not to return to school. If community transmission of COVID-19 is moderate, the schools will implement a hybrid model that reduces student capacity by fifty percent. If community transmission of COVID-19 is high, the schools will close, and we will return to a program of distance learning. Each of these models is fully described in the Portland Reopening Plan.

The information outlined on this site provides our most up-to-date guidelines involving back-to-school planning. The development of this plan has been evolving over the past three months and will continue to evolve until the first day of school and during the initial weeks of school. The development of this plan has been complicated by the amount of information we are receiving from officials at all levels of government, the occasionally inconsistent nature of the information, and the fact that critical guidelines have not been received, yet. The process of reviewing the amount and constantly changing nature of the information has been like drinking water from a fire hose.

In addition to the amount of information, the process of developing this plan has also been complicated by the fact that the various guidelines will look very different depending on the age and grade level of students; what is developmentally appropriate for a student in kindergarten is very different from a high school student. We’ve attempted to organize the information by various grade levels in the Portland Public Schools. The folders are organized with district information and school information. The district information provides the broad outlines of the reopening plan. The school information conveys the information at the grade level. The actual implementation of the plan will occur at the classroom level. Classroom level expectation will be communicated to parents and students by Portland’s teachers during the first few weeks of school.

The Portland Reopening Plan does not offer the answer to every question or hypothetical scenario. As you review the plan, if you find portions that do not address pressing questions or concerns, please communicate with Portland faculty and staff. A faculty and staff directory is available on the district homepage. We will do our best to respond and update this plan with the requested information. This plan, like all plans, is likely to change as we learn more about COVID-19 and reflect on how well things are working. We will do our best to update this information and communicate changes to parents as early and often as possible while not overloading the community with information.

I wish you all a safe and healthy school year.

Sincerely,

Charles D. Britton, Ed.D

Superintendent, Portland Public Schools