On Monday, December 7, 2020, we received information that Lincoln County had a covid confirmed case count for the last 14 days of 269.4/100,000. This puts the school district into the “red zone” (according to the Oregon Department of Education and the Governor) meaning that we have to move back to Comprehensive Distance Learning K-12. In collaboration with Lincoln County Public Health, due to the fact that schools are not where the disease is being spread, we have been told that we can freeze with what we currently have (meaning nothing changes) until Winter Break December 19, 2020. We will need to monitor the number of positive confirmed covid cases daily. If the numbers continue to rise precipitously this can change. Fingers crossed we get to freeze for the next 2 weeks. This includes athletics.
Lincoln County SD will return to Comprehensive Distance Learning on January 4, 2021, for all students grades K-12 until further notice. The county-wide covid numbers must decrease vastly for the school district to be able to bring students back to school. Being that the holidays are coming, we sincerely doubt it will happen much before the middle of January, if then. Exceptions to this will be students who are wildfire survivors and a VERY limited number of students with no internet connection (no internet students will be in the Limited In-Person model doing CDL work).
More Verizon hotspots are coming and will be given to students who have no connectivity and we have 4 vans with the internet that will be placed into the community: 2 in Lincoln City, 1 in Newport, and 1 in Toledo/Waldport. We will get out the word as to where they will be placed soon. The district is still aiming for February 1, 2021, to begin Hybrid Education. This decision is made by the State of Oregon and the Oregon Department of Education and NOT LCSD. If a school district is in the red zone then you must go all Comprehensive Distance Learning and we are now in the red zone. Let’s get those numbers down Lincoln County. Let’s all work hard to get our kids back in school safely.
Dr. Karen Gray
Superintendent, Lincoln County School District
