Peninsula Schools delay return of 2nd-graders ‘indefinitely’ as virus surge continues
The Peninsula School District announced to parents on Friday that it would delay the planned Nov. 30 return of in-person second grade instruction indefinitely due to the recent surge in COVID-19 cases.
On Saturday, the district revealed a new case at Harbor Heights Elementary, bringing the number of known cases in schools to nine.
“I believe we have little choice but to place the 2nd grade return on hold,” Superintendent Art Jarvis said in an email.
“With the continuing upward spike and the impending holiday period, we cannot foresee a definite opportunity,” he told parents. “We will watch the health metrics for any opportunity to advance this next step. In the meantime, we are maintaining the program to serve K-1, special education, and other selected small groups of students, in-person.”
The district also encouraged anyone who travels for the holidays to quarantine before returning to school.
The development comes as the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department has been struggling with a “third wave” of COVID-19 infections that have been hovering around 200 new cases a day. Cases in Gig Harbor have reached 420 with six reported deaths.
“I believe it is difficult to justify congregating more bodies in the schools at the very time health officials are pleading with all of us to stay out of larger groupings,” Jarvis said.
The email went on to ”ask that parents keep children who travel home from school” and that they are “are requesting that staff who travel out of state would also voluntarily quarantine.”
The email did not specify how long this quarantine should last, though a district spokesperson said they are recommending a 14-day quarantine period in line with Governor Jay Inslee’s travel advisory.
According to the Georgia Institute of Technology, which released a map evaluating Thanksgiving risk, the risk of a person testing positive at a gathering of 50 people in Pierce County is 43%.
New covid case
The district also launched a COVID-19 Data Dashboard Thursday which showed previously unknown positive cases at Gig Harbor High School, Peninsula High School and Kopachuck Middle School.
On Saturday, the district sent a message alerting parents that “an individual” at Harbor Heights Elementary had tested positive for COVID-19, and that those who had been in close contact with them have been notified.
Assistant Superintendent John Hellwich said federal law prohibits “disclosing information that would lead to possible identification of any staff or students who are monitoring their health at home.”
The dashboard can be found on the district website and shows that four schools all had one new case apiece. The new positives bring the total to nine positive cases in the district. Besides Harbor Heights, Peninsula has five cases; Purdy Elementary, Gig Harbor and Kopachuck had one each.
Pilot testing program
In an email late Friday to parents, the district also announced the launch of the school-based testing pilot program.
The pilot program is being rolled out with the hopes of eventually allowing for the staged return of students all the way up to 5th grade. The district had announced the program would be put into place several weeks ago, to the surprise of the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department, which said it was not ready yet.
There will be a kickoff event at Key Peninsula Middle School and Gig Harbor High School from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 29 where “PSD students, staff, families, and the general community are welcome to stop by to take a PCR test using a mid turbinate nasal swab.”
The program will then “operate in the Peninsula School District between Nov. 30 and Dec. 18” with rapid antigen weekly testing that provides results in 15 minutes.
A polymerase chain reaction or PCR test typically takes longer by looking for active genetic material of the COVID-19 virus. An antigen test only “look for proteins that are part of the surface of the virus.”
Researchers and medical professionals consider the antigen test to be less accurate than the PCR diagnostic test.
The email acknowledged that as a district they “have had COVID-19 cases” which they attributed “to the activity levels in Pierce County.”
The current communication also stated “each family can choose what’s right for them” stopping short of mandating testing though specifying they “are hoping for 100 percent.” It came with the warning that “if participation rates are too low we will not be allowed to continue in the pilot.”
The COVID-19 Data Dashboard can be found at https://www.psd401.net/schoolreopening. Scroll to the icon at the bottom of the page.
Reach Chase Hutchison at chasehutchinson@thenewstribune.com
This story was originally published November 20, 2020 at 2:00 PM.
