Camas School District responds to Governor Inslee’s order to keep schools closed for the remainder of the 2019-20 school year. Here is the statement from Dr. Jeff Snell, Superintendent of Camas School District:

Dear Camas Community:

I’m writing to share some important news. Governor Inslee made the decision to close schools for the remainder of the 2019-20 school year this evening in a press conference. The extended closure is an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19 and keep our community safe and healthy. During this closure extension, all school facilities will remain closed, however, student learning will continue, albeit in the new remote learning world.

I hoped that we would be able to welcome students back to school this year. Our staff members love seeing and serving your children at school! Instead, we will be focusing all of our effort on making remote learning the best it can be. 

We understand that the continued closure of schools presents many challenges for students and families. It also raises many questions. The information outlined below is what we know now. We will continue to share further guidance as decisions are made and as information becomes available. 

• Remote Learning: Remote learning will continue through the remainder of the school year. We have created a remote Learning Website as a resource to support distance learning: (https://bit.ly/2Vb8EhX).  This week, teachers will connect with students regarding learning plans and recorded lessons. If you have concerns about access please let us know. School administrators are tracking all concerns, and we’re doing our best to address them quickly. Email your teacher or principal if you need additional support.  We are currently exploring ways to do live video conferencing lessons. As we previously shared, this is still a work in progress.  We will continue to update you on all of the questions that naturally come up with this new announcement including grading, graduation, etc…
• Technology: Devices have been deployed for all students grades 3-12. If your child needs internet access, wifi is available near our school buildings and near strategically placed buses from 9 AM to 4 PM on weekdays. Visit this map for exact locations (https://bit.ly/2wg2g0a). If you have technical difficulty, please contact our technology department at [email protected] or call the Chromebook helpline and leave a voicemail at (360) 833-5432.
• Nutrition Services: We will continue to provide meals to students that need them during weekdays for select routes (https://bit.ly/2XdG3er) and for onsite pick-up from 9 – 11 AM at Liberty and Skyridge middle schools, and Woodburn, Lacamas Lake, Dorothy Fox, Prune Hill, and Grass Valley elementary schools. 
• Child Care: We will continue to provide child care for children of first responders and health care workers. To arrange for childcare, please contact Mary Weishaar at [email protected].

• Medications: If your student has medication at school, please watch for additional information related to pick-up arrangements. For immediate questions or concerns, please contact Carol Bruce, Health Services and Nursing Supervisor at 360-335-3000, ext 75746 or [email protected].  
• Personal belongings:  If your student has essential belongings at school that need to be picked up, we will be developing a process that ensures safety and allows for pick up.  We will share more with you about that process in the coming weeks.
• High School Seniors: High school seniors will receive support from their school administrators and counselors on opportunities to earn credits needed for post-secondary transitions. We are working closely with the state’s college system to ensure smooth transitions.
• Graduation Ceremonies: In-person graduation ceremonies will change to virtual ceremonies and/or be delayed. A final decision related to graduation ceremonies will be shared by the end of April.  We want to do our best to create meaningful culminating activities for our seniors given the circumstances.
• School Activities: All school events, including sporting practices and matches, field trips, dances, etc. will be canceled during the extended school closure. We are engaging with students to come up with creative alternatives to celebrate milestones such as prom and field day. In some cases, special events may be postponed until later dates. We will keep students and families updated on these decisions so that you can plan your participation in advance.

More information can be found on the district website: www.camas.wednet.edu. Please continue to take good care of yourselves and your families. This is a difficult time for all of us, and we will get through it together. 

Sincerely,

Jeff Snell, Superintendent
Camas School District

Camas School District Superintendent Dr. Jeff Snell provided an update today about the the school district’s coronavirus plan. This is his statement, with some information from Friday, as well:

While there are no cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) associated with any Camas School District schools, the Clark County Health Department announced the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in Clark County over the weekend. The confirmed coronavirus case is a male in his 70s. He has been in isolation, pending test results, and remains in isolation. The health department will release additional information as it becomes available. 

The health department is not recommending any changes to the steps we are already taking to prevent the spread of illness. We are closely monitoring the evolving situation and in regular communication with state and local health department officials and with other districts in the region.  We will rely on public health guidance/recommendations to make the best decisions for the health of students and families. 

Steps the district is taking to keep students and staff healthy and safe:

• We are evaluating student and staff participation in events that require travel outside of the district on a daily and case by case basis. In general, the district follows the lead of the host organization, and any additional guidance from public health officials regarding the cancelation of events. Parents and guardians always make the final decision on whether their students will attend events outside of our district. 
• We are reviewing planned district events through the end of spring break. We have a lot of events each day in the district. Some of those events are very difficult to reschedule, other events can be moved. The district and individual schools will be providing updates on an ongoing basis, so please watch for changes. Our goal is to reduce opportunities for exposure while continuing to provide events for students. It’s a difficult balance. Currently, the recommendation from public health is not to cancel events. Postponing events when possible seems to be a prudent path forward. 
• We are creating contingency plans should the situation in Southwest Washington and in our district dramatically change. We will, of course, keep you informed about any developments. If the COVID-19 illness spreads more broadly, we will follow the guidance and recommendations of public health officials and share this information with staff and families as quickly as possible.  

Determining these plans has not been easy. Our goal is to minimize exposure while still providing education for our students. There are no easy solutions, and the plans we make are fluid as information changes. I will frame our plans in a series of questions and answers.

What happens if one of our schools has a known exposure to the virus?
Most likely the school would be closed for a minimum of two days while we do a deep cleaning and follow any additional guidance from health officials.

What about extra-curricular activities?
We will continue student activities such as clubs and athletics as long as school is still in session. Activities that take place away from schools will be assessed. Individual student participation is a decision made by families.

What about events/competitions put on by other organizations? 
We will continue to follow the lead of the organization and any direction from health officials. Individual student participation is a decision made by families.

What about community events we host such as school carnivals or movie nights?
Events that bring the community, students, and staff together and are not time-bound will be postponed, possibly until after spring break, when we will reassess the unfolding situation. We realize that this can be challenging; however, limiting exposure when we can is important. Specific information about events will be coming out from both school and district levels.

As we watch the world around us, it seems inevitable that the coronavirus will continue to impact our operations. There are opportunities for us all in these moments to demonstrate the care and compassion that make our community such a wonderful place to live. We will continue to update you as situations change.

To learn more, visit www.camas.wednet.edu

Discovery High School Principal, Aaron Smith, addresses Common Themes and Myths:

Discovery High School does not have AP courses.

Myth buster alert! While Discovery may not offer as many AP courses as a large, comprehensive high school, we have selected a handful of AP courses which all students will experience. Our AP courses are less about covering a tremendous amount of content and more about themes and processes, thus being more accessible for all students. They are also much more adaptable for a project-based environment (like the real world). Beginning next year, all Discovery freshmen will take AP Human Geography as their social studies class, while our sophomores will have AP Seminar for their English class and AP World History for social studies. AP Seminar is an interdisciplinary course that encourages students to demonstrate critical thinking, collaboration, and academic research skills. A perfect fit! In addition to having the option to take the AP exam at the end of the term for possible college credit, our AP for all approach will result in a 100% participation score for AP offerings at Discovery. Why is this important? A 100% participation score is more attractive to universities when compared to a lower participation score at a school with many AP courses. Bonus! 

It is not possible to take four years of math at Discovery. 

Wrong again! Our students will have the same math pathways and opportunities as our other high schools, including pre-calculus and calculus.  

Discovery High School does not have as many electives.

There is no getting around it. A smaller high school program cannot offer as many electives as a much larger school. However, we will continue to add options as we grow and have other flexible and personalized pathways. We will continue to offer Spanish as a world language and hope to add Mandarin as well. Additionally, we have courses such as coding, music production, guitar, and multimedia and film where students can spread their creative wings. We also offer design and engineering courses operating out of our world-class fabrication lab led by Bruce Whitefield, the highly successful Camas Mean Machine Robotics coach. Lastly, our commitment to passion projects gives students the opportunity to dive deep into an area of interest and to explore possible career paths. 

Discovery is not a high school for college-bound students.

This one is absolutely false. Ultimately, colleges and universities are seeking students with a high GPA, competitive SAT scores, and additional interests outside of their classwork. Discovery High School graduates will receive a transcript with a traditional GPA that looks like any other high school. In fact, Discovery students have more opportunities to improve their GPA based on our standards-based and growth-mindset approach. In other words, we believe students should have multiple opportunities and avenues to demonstrate their learning and growth, versus a more rigid approach focusing on homework completion and one-chance exams. Lastly, institutions of higher education are looking for students who can demonstrate skills beyond memorizing content. A portfolio of projects and an ability to articulate Discovery’s emphasis on developing their success skills of collaborating, communicating, creating, critical thinking, and time management will help our students stand out in a crowd of applicants. Just ask one of our model schools and mentors, High Tech High in San Diego. High Tech High is a well-rounded project-based school that has been around since 2000. They also have a 98% success rate when it comes to college admittance. 

Running Start

Due to the nature of our flexible schedule and focus on collaboration, the learning experiences at Discovery High School are not designed to support part-time students. However, students may attend Discovery High School until their junior or senior year and then transfer to CHS if they wish to go the Running Start direction. This would not impact their credits or path to graduation. Our Discovery juniors and seniors will focus on internship opportunities for learning beyond the classroom.

As Camas School District (CSD) grapples with an $8.2 million budget deficit, the School Board listened to a budget committee update Monday night that outlined nine major considerations to resolve the challenging financial issues.

Mike True and Mary Tipton, who volunteer on Superintendent Jeff Snell’s special budget committee, explained in detail the methodologies used to analyze the thorny issues in front of them, as well as their commitment to finding the best possible solutions.

The special budget committee was formed to take a deep dive into how CSD spends its money, find ways to reduce expenses, and ultimately provide Snell with overall considerations on how to balance the budget, which was thrown into chaos following “McCleary” legislation, legislative fixes, loss of voter-approved levies, and collective bargaining agreements. Approximately 225 of the state’s 295 districts are dealing with similar budget deficits.

School board member Connie Hennessey said that although the process is painful, she also sees this as an opportunity to shine light on inefficiencies throughout CSD. Seventeen community members, from various and diverse backgrounds, are on the committee who meet regularly to find solutions. The urgency of their work is in part because the current bargaining agreement stipulates certificated staff must receive layoff notices by May 15.

“We’re dealing with extraordinary circumstances and I appreciate everyone on this committee,” said True. “This isn’t easy work, but we don’t want to bury our heads, this is our community, and we want you to know our desire is to preserve as many programs as possible — we don’t want to cut programs entirely as they will be hard to bring back.”

He also emphasized this is a year-to-year approach, as CSD doesn’t know how future legislation could change the funding model.

True addressed the first four points, which are as follows:

1) Use of Fund Balance:
a. Using fund balance allows CSD to address the budget gap over two years.
b. Access fund balance in year 1 (2019-20) at a reasonable level, but could potentially lead to additional reductions in 2020-21.
c. The committee believes it’s important to maintain the fund balance at 5 percent of the annual operating budget. This allows for emergencies and 2-4 weeks of continued operations in the event the state doesn’t provide funding in a timely manner.
d. Future justified uses of fund balance may include preservation of programs, additional of staff to reduce overload, where justified and appropriate, and short-term opportunities where there is a known strategy to refund.
e. Future uses reducing unrestricted fund balance levels below 5 percent are not recommended for addition of programs, addition of staff, or compensation increases for existing positions.

2) Advocate for legislation that provides sustainable district funding.

3) Work towards preservation of CSD program opportunities for students during the funding model transition, which includes the following:
a. Avoid cutting entire programs.
b. Establish program evaluation metrics for future analysis of impact and efficiency.
c. Pursue opportunities to enhance program support funding from PTA/CEF/Boosters and other supporting organizations and initiatives.

4) Preserve student access to counselors.

Tipton addresses points five to nine, which are as follows:
5) Close staffing alignment to the state prototypical school funding model while preserving the goals of CSD. Reduce teacher on special assignment staff to a minimum level that keeps support for target district initiatives.
a. Protect class size — contractual class size target
Elementary: 24
Middle School: 30
High School: 31
b. Manage staffing to avoid increased overload, as defined in collective bargaining agreement.

6) Maintain appropriate security levels and protocols.

7) Reduce non-staff expenses: 7.5 percent reduction goal.

8) When pursuing capital projects, continue to consider the impact on operating expenditures.

9) As future funding becomes available, consider the following:
a. Prioritize service levels to our students, community and staff.
b. Prioritize program and extracurricular funding for students.
c. Growth of fund balance to appropriate levels.

“This is our report about our guidance to Jeff, who will be finalizing his recommendations to the board in the next few weeks,” said Tipton. “We’ve had a board member at every budget committee meeting, for which we are grateful.”

True said the committee members all come from different places and levels of understanding.

“I’ll go on the record and say that Mary and I have made a three-year commitment to be a part of this,” said True. “As processes move on, we’ll continue to look at fund balance and uses within that fund balance. It’s not an enjoyable process. There will be reductions.”

School Board member, Corey McEnry, said: “We’re thankful for so many stakeholders as we wrap our heads around this.”

Budget committee members present in the meeting acknowledged the challenges they face with making the considerations. “It’s really hard to understand,” said one member.

The School Board voted unanimously in favor of Resolution 12-03, which is a Modified Educational Program that authorizes Snell to move forward with a budget model.

Snell said he will continue to work with legislators advocating for better funding, and that CDS staff will work through the budget committee’s considerations to draft staffing models for the upcoming school year.