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Schoolhouses remain empty Gov. Brown extends statewide closure through rest of school year THE WORLD STAFF SOUTH COAST — Brickand-mortar schools are staying closed for the rest of the academic year. While traditional classrooms were already on shut down until April 28 due to the novel coronavirus, Governor Kate Brown announced Wednesday that students and teachers will not be returning to their desks anytime soon. However, distance learning will continue. “The best thing we can do for the health of our children and
thousands of educators across the state is to give everyone certainty by announcing the decision today to close in-person classes for the remainder of the school year,” Brown said in the press conference. “School and learning will continue as best as we can using remote means.” School districts both locally and across the state have been readying distance learning to be in place by April 13 at the latest. But instead of distance learning being a reprieve, it will be the new normal from now into June. “The core value of our schools is to place the student and their learning at the center of all our decision making,” Brown said. “We understand the incredible disruption this can have on each student’s education. We all see
Zach Silva, The World
North Bend High School, along with all schools across the state, will remain closed for the rest of the school year.
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Program helps foster families
The Face of Coronavirus
AMANDA LINARES The World
Adam Robertson, The World
Lakeside City Hall is closed to business during the COVID-19 health crisis. Residents can, however, still do business over the phone and online. The city asks residents to pay bills online or to drop a payment in the city hall mail slot. There is a City Council meeting being held Thursday at 7 p.m. on Facebook Live.
Staff sends students messages of support ADAM ROBERTSON The World
REEDSPORT — Staff members of the Reedsport schools took to Facebook last week, offering students, and the community, messages of love and well wishes using the hashtag #BeBrave2020. The images can be viewed on the Reedsport Community Charter School Facebook page. They feature staff members in their homes with signs offering words of support and encouragement during the COVID-19 health crisis, as well as inspirational quotes. Many messages also expressed that the staff missed their students and
would see them again soon. Superintendent Jon Zwemke offered a quote from Horace that “adversity has the effect of eliciting talents which, in prosperous circumstances, would have lain dormant,” while another staff member quoted Tupac Shakur “for every dark night, there’s a brighter day.” “I believe it was as important for staff to reach out as it was for kids to see the messages,” said Zwemke. “This quarantine is teaching us the importance of reaching out in new ways to students. We really care and want to keep our connections with our students and community.”
The idea was devised by Zwemke on April 3. He reached out to staff to complete the photos over the weekend. By April 6, 52 people had joined in. Zwemke said it was an impulsive idea, but he’s happy that it worked out well. Amanda O’Brien, principal of Highland Elementary School said they want to share a positive message to encourage the students and families with a familiar face. She recalled it’s been several weeks since any of them have seen each other and having even that connection to the students is nice. “It is still very important to find the positives in times like these,”
O’Brien said. The Reedsport Schools are also planning a staff parade around the community to see students and families in person. There will be proper social distancing precautions, with staff members in a car, waving and saying hello to families on the sidewalk. Details of parade locations are available on the school websites and Facebook pages. “Look for our parade routes to see what time your teacher will be driving by,” states the district. “Please remember to stand back and wave from a distance. We miss you and can’t wait to see you.”
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COOS COUNTY — All around Coos County, heroes are popping up and coming to the rescue. As the novel coronavirus continues to unfold, citizens throughout the county are stepping up to help some of the area’s most vulnerable populations. As part of a statewide initiative, the Oregon Department of Human Services teamed up with Every Child, a community-led nonprofit organization, to launch a new comprehensive emergency response system to get foster families the help they need. On March 23, the “My NeighbOR” initiative was kick-started as a way to connect citizens across the state with foster families and youth in foster care who are in need of tangible, essential items. “When COVID-19 started happening, what we started to see around the state were foster families in crisis,” said Every Child Coos County Director Melissa Hart. “We saw families that weren’t able to get out and get groceries, families that were desperately needing educational supplies and other essential items.” According to Hart, a majority of the families in need are just simply unable to leave their homes to grab groceries or supplies as they have a full house of children with behavioral challenges or kids who are medically fragile. As an organization that specializes in community mobilization, Hart said its nonprofit decided they wanted to provide additional support to foster families and connect them with community members who are looking to help. As of now, the county has received eight need requests from families who said they were in need of items such as diapers and groceries, said Hart. Nearly 20 people have signed up to become donors or “neighbors” and so far Please see Foster, Page A2
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