COVID-19, PPS Force Closure Of Cleveland, McDaniel High Schools

PORTLAND, OR — Portland Public Schools has shut two high schools Friday and will transition to remote learning for at least next week, officials say. The move comes in response to a "significant increase in the number of COVID-related absences for both students and staff."

The decision to shut the schools temporarily comes on the heels of the district's decision to ignore a state warning that if schools continue extracurricular activities, "they should expect rapid transmission of COVID-19 that will prevent students from participating in in-person learning."

The district says that as of late Thursday evening, 431 staff who are eligible to be replaced by substitutes had called out sick. The district was unable to fill 175 of those jobs because of a shortage of substitute teachers. Portland is not alone in this problem as the number of available substitutes across the state is great diminished.

PPS says that the number of staff calling out sick because of COVID is "predicted to continue increasing" as the state is feeling the pressure of an omicron-driven surge.

“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," PPS Regional Superintendent of SEcondary Schools Margaret Calvert said.

"We are mindful of the significant impact that comes from this decision," PPS Regional Superintendent for Secondary Schools Margaret Calvert said. "Our goal is to keep our school buildings open and maintain in-person instruction whenever possible.

"However, where we cannot offer sufficient staffing to continue on-site instruction in a safe environment, we will have to implement temporary distance learning until we can reopen."

The district provided more details for parents at both schools.

Additional Information for Cleveland High School:

• Extracurricular activities, including ###/strong
• Breakfast and lunch will be offered to Cleveland students for grab-and-go pickup at Franklin High School (5405 SE Woodward St, Portland, OR 97206) tomorrow from 1 to 3 p.m.
• Tech support desk. Most students have been provided with a PPS Chromebook. The technical support desk will be available to families and students via email at ###a href="mailto:support@pps.net">support@pps.net or by phone at 503-916-3375.

Additional Information for McDaniel High School: