In COVID-19 response, Orcas Schools close for six weeks

Effective today at close of school

— from Orcas Island School Board: John Fleming, Ayn Carrillo Gailey, Linda Sheridan, Greg White —

As your school board, we believe that what we do at our Orcas Island public schools leaves a significant impact on our children and the community beyond our school doors. In the wake of the rapidly changing COVID-19 crisis, our maintenance crew, teachers and principals have taken aggressive actions to prevent any potential risk of exposure to COVID-19. Those actions have included, but are not limited to: fogging facilities; deep cleaning buildings and buses; limiting the use of school property by outside groups; postponing student travel abroad and off-island; canceling field trips; and canceling interscholastic athletic, extracurricular and academic events.

As of yesterday, after the actions taken by Governor Inslee on behalf of three mainland school districts, as well as the recommendations of regional superintendents, and feedback from our community, we have decided to take further action. That action errs on the side of caution and what we think is in the best interest of our entire community.

The current San Juan County guidelines for closing our schools, due to COVID-19, are based on a threshold of one confirmed COVID-19 case among students or staff; or three cases on the island; or five in San Juan county as a whole. At the time we are publishing this letter, we do not have a confirmed case of COVID-19 on Orcas Island. However, a growing number of health officials have stated their opinion that closing schools can prevent a significant peak in the number of ultimate infections in a community as a whole and slow the transmission.

To that end, we are announcing the closure of our OISD schools, effective end of the day Monday, March 16, 2020, for the recommended term of six weeks. In the meantime, classes will continue as usual as teachers prepare work packets, and we hope this advance notice gives you time to plan your work and family schedule accordingly.

Please know that we do not take this decision lightly. We understand the hardship this can cause parents who may not be able to attend work because of lack of childcare, and the domino effect on our island businesses, but our first concern is the health and safety of our kids and our community.

Orcas Island School District superintendent Eric Webb has for the last few weeks been in constant contact with our county health officials, peer school districts, elected officials, OSPI State Superintendent Chris Reykdal, teachers and families and us as a school board to plan for what the CDC suggested is a required drastic change from our daily routines. Going forward, we, as a school board, have requested that the constant contact and assessment by superintendent Webb  remain in place whether we are closed or not. We are going to keep having public school board meetings during this closure, as normal as possible given the situation.

Please know that critical services, as defined by Governor Inslee, will continue. Those include nutrition for children on free and reduced meals and resources for students experiencing homelessness who heavily depend on our school for services.

As we write this communication, please be aware that we may move up the closure date if we feel it is in the best interest of our community. Updates will be posted to the OISD website. The OISD school messenger system (phone and email) will be used to send out messages as needed.

Furthermore, if you feel a need to keep your child home before the official close date,  please know that there will be no negative  repercussions and we encourage you to do what is best for your family.

Lastly, we want to thank our parents and staff, our community, our non-profit organizations, and businesses in advance for helping our school support our first responders and healthcare workers, and for helping us ensure that all of our kids continue to thrive, no matter their life circumstances. We can foresee how collaborations and extra support may be needed to provide for families during a school closure and we are grateful we have partners in the community who have been generous with their time and expertise in past matters.

It’s times like these that show the character of our community and we believe ours will shine.