The past few weeks have not gone as we originally planned – but in the face of a worldwide pandemic, Springfield Public Schools staff and students have stepped up to make the best out of an unprecedented and confusing situation.

Together, staff collaborated to define Distance Learning and teachers came up with ways to teach their students from afar. Educators of all levels reached out to families to determine who was set up to learn at home, and SPS Technology Services staff worked around the clock to distribute laptops and iPads to students who needed them.

While staff and students continue to work through this new normal and reach as many families as is possible, it's important to remember that we're in this together.

When the first extended school closure was announced by Oregon Governor Kate Brown, SPS staff knew that food insecurity would be a major concern for many families in our area. Nutrition Services staff, as well as district administrators, came up with plans to keep families fed regardless of the length of the closure.

SPS staff have served meals to students between every weekday since extended closures were announced prior to spring break. Those efforts have been widely used by our students and families, with more than 18,000 meals served every week since before spring break.

SPS staff will continue to provide meals between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Monday - Friday. For more information on meal sites and other food resources, follow this link: springfield.k12.or.us/Page/7858

Thank you Nutrition Services staff and all of those who make this work possible

In an effort to have a central hub of information for students and parents to access during Distance Learning, SPS staff put together a new website.

SPS Learns Together is a site that's easy to navigate and broken down by grade level. It also has information about technology, how to troubleshoot certain issues, and how to get in touch with our technology services staff, among other things.

Check it out! springfield.k12.or.us/SPSLearns

In collaboration with city governments of both Eugene and Springfield, area school districts and childcare partners, including the local YMCA have been working to provide childcare for essential workers and emergency responders during the COVID-19 crisis.

Essential workers are those who work in hospitals and healthcare, first responders, grocery stores, banks and credit unions, pharmacies, take-out and delivery from restaurants and bars, pet stores, and gas stations.

If you are an essential worker and feel that you could benefit from this service, please visit the registration site: https://www.eugeneymca.org/youthdevelopment. Additional information about how to register and who qualifies can be found on this site as well.

After several weeks of waiting, Springfield Public Schools finally received a shipment of portable internet devices last week and SPS staff jumped into action.

Technology Service staff worked diligently to organize, test, and distribute about 500 devices to SPS families who need the devices to help their students continue Distance Learning.

But this wasn't their first round of device distributions - the Technology Services team has been instrumental in ensuring that hundreds of families have access to laptop computers and iPads, too. Not only did they compile lists of families who needed devices and handed them out, they also answer technology questions from families and work to troubleshoot issues with families.

We want to send a huge thank you to our Technology Services team for their excellent work over the past several weeks. They have truly been heroes to many.