Morrow County School District

Morrow County School District is pleased to welcome several new administrators to the district for the 21-22 school year. Jami Carbray, New Vice Principal at Sam Boardman Elementary Steve Sheller, New Vice Principal at Riverside Jr/Sr High Marissa Turner, New Special Education Coordinator & Vice Principal at Morrow Education Center According to Erin Stocker, Executive Director of Human Resources, “I continue to be amazed by the leadership and skillset within our district. These new administrators bring with them proven track records of being student-first educators, as well as the willingness to take on new challenges. I look forward to the upcoming school year for Morrow County School District with the addition of these leaders to our team.” Read more about these new faces in the district press release: https://www.morrow.k12.or.us/article/513370

We would like to offer some clarity on our graduation requirements in regards to the headlines floating around right now about Oregon graduation requirements. We want to assure our families and communities that Oregon and Morrow County School District continue to maintain high graduation expectations for all of our students. • Senate Bill 744 requires a review of Oregon graduation requirements and a pause on the Essential Skills requirement for graduation (passing the state test or similar assessment in reading, writing, and math) to determine if the requirement is still appropriate in relation to college and employer needs. • credit requirements for Oregon diplomas remain • MCSD offers multiple diploma types that are at or above the requirements in the Oregon diploma • MCSD also recognizes the importance of career planning and currently requires students to complete two credits in an area related to the student’s career interests. • MCSD teachers and administrators are committed to providing quality instruction in all subjects (core and elective). • MCSD utilizes frequent assessments to assess student learning • MCSD offers both on campus and remote college level courses for high school students in each community. • We remain committed to working collaboratively with the businesses within Morrow County to provide our students with the skills to be successful in today’s workforce.

We are hiring! www.morrow.k12.or.us/page/employment

Beginning this Thursday students and staff will be required to wear masks during the school day.

The new school year is fast approaching! Please visit your school websites for information about registration dates and times. We do need all families to complete registration forms.

Like everyone, Morrow County School District was disappointed to hear that Governor Kate Brown has placed a new mask mandate on Oregon public schools after announcing in June that we would all have local control of COVID-19 protocols. While Morrow County COVID-19 rates have returned to the numbers we were seeing last fall, we feel that we have safety protocols in place that would allow our schools to operate safely in-person. We understand and share the frustrations of our families and ask everyone to understand that school boards and administrators have little room to defy this order without risking daily fines imposed on the district and risks of sanctions on the licenses of our teachers and administrators. What can families and community members do to help advocate for a return to local control? Contacting your state representatives and the Governor’s office through the complaint link is a start. https://www.oregon.gov/gov/pages/share-your-opinion.aspx It is important that we work together in returning local control to the school district. As we continue to navigate state updates, MCSD will remain committed to providing full-day, everyday education programs for all of our students to include in-person and virtual options.

MCSD will continue with our current plan of optional mask use at our summer programs UNTIL OHA/ODE finalize their rule around K-12 mask use. https://www.oregon.gov/newsroom/Pages/NewsDetail.aspx?newsid=64174 MCSD is committed to keeping our school buildings open to full-time, in-person learning this school year.

August Jumpstart starts in 1 week!

We would like to share with families and the public that Morrow County School District expects to fully reopen schools to full-day, in-person learning this fall. We maintain those expectations through guidance from the Oregon Department of Education and its Ready Schools, Safe Learners Resiliency Framework for the 2021-22 School Year. Currently we anticipate that we will be able to return to school with the optional use of face coverings by students and staff as well as full use of our bussing system. For families that have found online or school at home works better for them, we will continue to provide this opportunity through our online school at MEC. There are always many details to opening school in the fall, and this year those details will include things like COVID-19 safety measures. We of course will continue to partner with public health officials and plan to keep families updated as we finalize those details as we move into August.

Don't forget to schedule your Well Care appointments - these cover the required sports physicals!

MCSD Virtual Program

It is time to start returning any technology that was checked out to students / families. This includes Chromebooks and hotspots for the summer.

Student's last day of school is June 10th - stay tuned for details on summer school programs.

Another great summer opportunity for MCSD high school students! Learn how to drive a forklift through a virtual reality simulator at the BMCC Workforce Training Center.

Congratulations to the class of 2021! Please see each high school's website for graduation ceremony details.

In honor of the men and women who have died while serving in the military.

Opportunities for students 12 years and older to start getting their COVID-19 vaccines through Morrow County Health Department.

We have lots of great jobs - both licensed and classified! All with great benefits! https://www.morrow.k12.or.us/page/employment

Wishing all our mother's a happy Mother's Day!

Morrow County School District is proud to announce our 2021 Crystal Apple Award winners: Charlene Baker, Special Education Teacher, Riverside Jr/Sr High School Amber Benetti, 6th Grade Teacher, Irrigon Elementary School Darlene Jacobsen, 1st Grade Teacher, Sam Boardman Elementary School Teresa Parret, Assistant Custodian, Heppner Jr/Sr High School Read each Winner's Bio on the district website: https://core-docs.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/1247577/Crystal_Apple_Winner_Bios_May_2021.pdf Congratulations!