Reynolds Middle School resuming in-person instruction after 3-week pause for student fights, misbehavior

Oregon school bus

Reynolds Middle School will resume in-person instruction on a staggered schedule after a three-week shift to distance learning. (Bruce Ely / The Oregonian)

After canceling in-person learning for three weeks to review campus safety procedures, Reynolds Middle School will resume on-campus instruction on a staggered schedule this coming week with more supervision in place.

The district used the unusual three-week shift to online classes to review campus safety, leading to more adult supervision, including the hiring of two campus monitors to supervise what the district called “more challenging areas of the campus.” Those include both high-traffic areas like hallways and those that are isolated.

“We need to ensure there is someone in those areas to catch something before it escalates,” said Steve Padilla, a district spokesman.

The district adopted other changes after meetings with staff, parents and students. Those include de-escalation training for teachers, reorganizing lunch periods and modifying recess activities to include what the district called “high-interest games, competitions and celebrations for students.”

Reynolds will create a peer mediator program to allow students to play a role in resolving conflicts and is also recruiting additional mental health practitioners to support students.

The Reynolds School District’s decision to shut down classrooms for such an extended period because of student behavior appears to be rare. But the pandemic-related problem it faces might not be. In November, parents in Northeast Portland stood outside Roseway Heights Middle School holding signs pleading for more security and resources after a streak of serious fights among students.

Like schools across the state, the 9,000-student Reynolds district east of Portland shuttered all of its schools in March 2020 but then reopened them to hybrid learning in spring 2021 following Gov. Kate Brown’s direction. This fall, the district returned to full-time in-person learning, but that has been challenged by student and staff COVID-19 cases and quarantines.

Padilla said the school’s student body had felt the “cumulative effect” of coronavirus-related time away from school — going from in-person school to distance learning, then shifting to hybrid classes and then in-person learning with mask wearing and social distancing protocols.

“It was a lot for everyone to take in, especially some students,” he said.

The school, in Fairview, is one of three middle schools in the district. It serves 928 students from parts of Gresham, Fairview and Wood Village.

Superintendent Danna Diaz said in a statement that the district worked during the pause to ensure teachers, staff and administration at Reynolds Middle School “acquired the social-emotional support and academic tools to provide every student with a safe learning environment.”

“We would like to thank parents, students, teachers and staff for their patience and understanding during our short-term distance learning time to help ensure we return to a safe, productive learning environment,” she said.

Teachers return on Monday, Dec. 6, followed by sixth grade on Tuesday, Dec. 7, seventh grade on Wednesday, Dec. 8 and eighth grade on Thursday, Dec. 9.

— Rob Davis

rdavis@oregonian.com

503.294.7657; @robwdavis

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