Coronavirus could force Pierce County schools to close, offer online instruction
As health departments discover more positive cases for coronavirus across the nation, school officials in Pierce County are responding.
They’re prepared to cancel school if the health department recommends it.
Remote learning strategies are in the works.
Emergency operations plans are getting updates.
In the Parkland area, Franklin Pierce School District “dusted off” its plan from the swine flu, or H1N1, from nearly a decade ago.
“We’re making sure we’re up to speed with that,” said Franklin Pierce spokesperson Joel Zylstra.
As of Monday, 18 people have contracted the virus, six of which have died. None of those cases were in Pierce County.
Most school districts in Pierce County said they’re looking to the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department for orders.
“We’re in contact with them multiple times a day to stay up to speed on the status of the virus and their guidance,” Tacoma Public Schools spokesperson Dan Voelpel said Monday.
Canceling school
At this time, health officials don’t recommend closing any schools, as there are no confirmed cases in Pierce County.
“Schools don’t need to take any special precautions beyond what we’ve recommended for good hygiene recommendations, to keep ill students and staff out of school and routine environmental cleaning,” Jeff Duchin, health officer for Public Health - Seattle & King County, said in a news conference on Monday.
Still, districts are prepared to cancel school if a recommendation is made to do so.
Puyallup School District was the first and only district in Pierce County to close schools due to coronavirus concerns.
Ferrucci Junior High and Wildwood Elementary were closed Monday after district officials were alerted a student’s relative was exposed to somebody diagnosed with COVID-19. Officials said they made the decision out of an abundance of caution before consulting the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department.
In the Gig Harbor area, Peninsula School District schools will remain open at this time, according to its website.
If a case of COVID-19 is found in the Peninsula School District, “we will follow direction from public health officials, which may include closing schools and canceling activities and sporting events,” the district reported. “It is likely, at a minimum, that the Peninsula School District would close any affected school for at least one day for disinfection.
“An affected school would only be open after we are satisfied that it is safe for students and staff to return to school.”
If told to close by the health department, districts likely would ask the state to waive the missed days.
“If the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department determines that we need to close schools, then we will,” Bethel spokesperson Doug Boyles said in an email to The News Tribune. “To make up the days, we would apply for emergency waiver days from the state. Any days not approved would have to be made up at the end of the school year.”
Health officials also don’t recommend closing schools to do a one-time cleaning.
“We just heard today from the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department that closing schools to do a one-time cleaning is not an effective solution — it is the routine cleaning that helps the most. That is why we continue to follow the procedures we have in place during flu season to keep our schools safe for students and staff,” Boyles said.
Tacoma Public Schools echoed they it was sticking with routine cleaning but exploring additional purchases of hand sanitizer for schools.
“We anticipate there will be an ongoing need,” Voelpel said.
Online learning plans
In the event of a long-term school cancellation, some districts are looking for ways to continue student education remotely through technology.
“If the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department determines we need to close schools for an extended period of time, we will consider creative solutions for continuing education,” Boyles said. “All of our students have access to an iPad thanks to our voter-approved technology levy. That would be a good starting place. But again, online learning would only be a stop-gap measure until schools opened back up.”
Sumner-Bonney Lake School District also is considering alternative learning opportunities as recommended by the state.
“After review of OSPI’s guidelines and requirements in their Feb. 28 memo, we’re looking into the possibility of creating a distant learning plan should an online option become necessary,” district spokesperson Elle Warmuth told The News Tribune.
Franklin Pierce has the capability to share assignments and communication from teachers for secondary students through its learning management system, Canvas. The district has used the program for students out of school for long periods of time for various reasons. The program isn’t available to elementary students.
“I think we’d be scrambling if we ever got to that point,” Zylstra said.
Creating a district-wide remote learning plan wouldn’t be so easy for Tacoma Public Schools, Voelpel said.
“For a district like Tacoma, with a ride range of people with different languages, income levels and access to the internet, it would be virtually impossible to stand up an entirely new learning platform for every student in the district,” Voelpel said. “However, we are looking at what’s possible.”
Other preparations
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that schools with no confirmed coronavirus cases plan and prepare by reviewing, updating and implementing emergency operations plans (EOPs) with local health departments.
For example, Bethel School Board approved a new EOP in February.
“It is a 400-page document that covers everything from fires and floods to cyber-attacks and pandemics,” Boyles said. “The plan includes threat assessments, clear and concise directions for actions to take, forms and more — anything we might need during an emergency, including our Hazard Mitigation Plan and a Continuity of Operations plan.”
The CDC also suggests that school districts:
▪ Develop information sharing systems with partners, like health departments, for day-to-day reporting.
▪ Identify critical job functions and plan for absenteeism and alternate coverage by cross-training staff.
▪ Perform routine environmental cleaning by wiping down frequently-touched surfaces and providing hand wipes for student and staff use.
“Schools want to be ready if COVID-19 does appear in their communities,” CDC stated on its website.
This story was originally published March 3, 2020 at 5:05 AM.
