A pair of high schools in Portland are closed Friday and will have remote classes for at least a week, “due to a significant increase in the number of COVID-related absences for both students and staff,” according to Portland Public Schools.
The district announced the decision Thursday night for Cleveland High School in Southeast Portland and McDaniel High School in Northeast Portland. Hundreds of students and staff within the district are either in quarantine or isolating due to COVID-19 exposure.
The rapid rise in COVID-19 cases driven by the Omicron variant has caused a dramatic rise in absences of students and staff at Cleveland and McDaniel HS. We have reached the point where we need to close these two campuses for in-person learning starting tomorrow, January 7.
— Portland Public Schools (@PPSConnect) January 7, 2022
“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, in the full announcement.
“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.”
As of Thursday evening, officials said 431 total school staff called out district-wide, with 175 of those jobs unable to be filled by substitutes. PPS said the number was predicted to increase.
Both schools will be closed Friday so staff and students can transition to distance learning starting Monday. PPS said it anticipates the remote classes for the two schools will last one week. Additionally, extracurricular activities at both schools, including athletics, will be postponed.
Ben, a Cleveland High School junior, said there have been empty seats in his classes all week, with students absent.
“I had expected this to happen because I’d heard — there are so many teacher shortages, there was a lot of exposure in some of my classes,” he said.
“It almost seemed inevitable that this would have to happen, which is unfortunate.”
PPS’ COVID-19 dashboard shows over 100 students and 14 teachers in isolation or quarantine at Cleveland this week, but those numbers may not tell the whole story. Students say classmates are staying home out of fear of contracting COVID-19, and some staff are home due to COVID-like symptoms, but have not been able to get tested yet. The dashboard only reflects confirmed COVID-19 cases.
Ben said Cleveland and PPS could have made improvements to help limit the potential spread of COVID-19, including a vaccine mandate for students, more consistency in ventilation and wearing N95 or KN95 masks, and opportunities to eat outside.
Now that the weeklong move to distance learning is happening, he said he’s talked to friends who are relieved because they feel safer at home. At the same time, finals are coming up, and he says the timing has been frustrating for some.
“In the weeks approaching finals...going back online is not the best for learning, and for students who have to rely on getting food at school, or having that as a safe space,” Ben said.
Cleveland junior Byronie shared her classmate’s worries, but said she’s concerned about what this might mean for the rest of the year.
“I definitely think it was a relief, it’s also obviously a little scary considering it’s finals, and I think a lot of my friends now are like, ‘Oh well, maybe this is the start of what it was like last year, where we’ll close for the rest of the year,’” she said.
Concerned about the spread of COVID-19 in her school, Byronie and a few classmates shared messages with her school administrators Thursday, asking them to transfer to online learning for two weeks.
The call to action was “mostly to the district,” Byronie said. It included a request for the district to have a plan for distance learning and the transition, and to share it with the broader community.
“How am I supposed to feel safe when I’m coming into school every day but I have no idea what your plan is If 100 extra students at my school get COVID?” Byronie said Thursday afternoon, before the district’s announcement later that evening to close Cleveland.
When she saw the announcement Thursday evening, Byronie said she was shocked.
“I’m... very happy, and I think a lot of people are, that the district took an active decision, and are making a new road for us rather than just seeing how it’s going to go, which I really appreciate,” she said.
But while the concerns around getting COVID-19 are temporarily relieved, Byronie said students have new worries about connecting with teachers and staying motivated.
Byronie said she’s also heard from students at other high schools who think they may be next to close.
PPS said it is monitoring each school, and will make decisions about transitioning to temporary distance learning based on several criteria. They include how many students and staff have tested positive for COVID-19 or are in quarantine, as well as number of staffing vacancies, including those not covered by a substitute.
The Portland high schools aren’t the only schools announcing closures.
Also on Thursday, Portland’s Parkrose School District reported that Prescott Elementary School would close Friday due to COVID-related absences. Again, the reasoning was there are not enough substitutes available to cover for the absent staff members.
Oregon’s top education official says more schools will likely face staffing-related closures as COVID-19 cases continue to spike.
“We have seen some schools move temporarily to short-term distance learning, and we will see that happen in more schools over the next few weeks,” said Oregon Department of Education director Colt Gill.
“The primary reason is that there are too many staff impacted by COVID-19 to be able to operate schools in person.”
The decision to close is still a local one, but ODE has offered school leaders tools and a guide to help districts make choices around moving to distance learning, or returning to school in-person.
In a press briefing Friday, Gill reiterated that it’s up to schools to maintain COVID-19 safety protocols.
“Even with high community spread, consistently implementing these practices keeps COVID-19 from spreading in structured school environments,” Gill said. “We’ve proven this, but we have to commit to it to ensure that this works with the incredibly contagious omicron variant.”
According to Gill, that includes broad community support for reducing the spread of COVID-19 by getting vaccinated, getting boosted, and wearing properly fitting masks.
“Let’s come together to keep people healthy, if only to keep our schools operating in person for our children,” Gill said.
On Saturday, a third Portland high school followed suit in returning to temporary distance learning due to COVID-related absences. It was announced that Roosevelt High School, located in North Portland, will be closed Monday as a transition day and will have remote classes through at least Friday, Jan. 14.
OPB’s Meagan Cuthill and Jeff Thompson contributed to this story.
This story may be updated.