New guidelines released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention March 19 are allowing districts including Bend-La Pine Schools to increase the amount of time students spend in school buildings. In a letter sent to families March 25, Interim Superintendent Lora Nordquist announced that students in the district would soon have an option for "all-in" instruction taking place five days a week.

"The Oregon Department of Education and Oregon Health Authority has revised school distancing guidance, aligning with revised guidelines released Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which say students can safely sit 3-feet apart in classrooms under certain conditions," Nordquist wrote.

BLPS will bring students back full time in phases, starting with 4th and 5th graders on April 5, followed by students in 6th through 12th grade April 12. Students in grades K-3 already attend five days a week. BLPS will continue to offer remote instruction for students who are not comfortable with in-person learning, or who "have found success with distance learning," Nordquist wrote, including the ongoing Bend-La Pine Schools Online program, or the district's Comprehensive Distance Learning option formulated for the 2020-21 school year.

Meanwhile, the Redmond School District announced this week that due to the new CDC guidelines, it would begin sending secondary students back to classrooms full time starting Monday, April 19. Read full story