Individual classrooms at 10 elementary schools in the Kent School District were closed by the end of last week due to COVID-19.<\/p>\n
Classrooms at several of the schools reopened Jan. 24 while others won’t reopen until Jan. 31, depending on when the closure occurred, according to the district’s COVID-19 dashboard.<\/p>\n
It is by far the most closed classrooms during one week in the district during the 2021-2022 school year.<\/p>\n
In addition to the individual classrooms at the 10 schools, the district entirely closed Pine Tree Elementary last week due to multiple COVID-19 cases. It was the first, and so far only school, to be completely closed due to the pandemic this school year.<\/p>\n
A few schools had as many as two or three classrooms closed as the omicron variant spreads through King County, the state and the nation.<\/p>\n
The elementary schools with closed classrooms included Cedar Valley, Daniel, Fairwood, Horizon, Meridian, Panther Lake, Ridgewood, Springbrook, Sawyer Woods and Soos Creek.<\/p>\n
There are 42 schools in the district, including 29 elementary schools.<\/p>\n
Students switched to remote learning during the closures. Each school contacted all impacted families of the closed classrooms, according to the district.<\/p>\n
District officials provide no specific details about the grade of the classroom closed or the number of positive cases to protect student privacy.<\/p>\n
The district announced earlier in January its plan to keep in-person learning going at schools as long as it has staff and not too many COVID-19 cases.<\/p>\n
The district considers the following policy for closure of a classroom after consultation with Public Health – Seattle & King County:<\/p>\n
• Three or more students or staff in the same room\/area test positive for COVID-19<\/p>\n
• The cases have symptoms that start within 14 days of each other<\/p>\n
• The cases are not associated with one another in another setting (household, club, etc.)<\/p>\n
If a full class needs to quarantine or a school is directed to temporarily close in response to COVID-19 transmission, then:<\/p>\n
• Staff and families will be notified by phone, letter, and\/or email of the classroom closure<\/p>\n
• Students will shift to the 100% remote model used during the 2020-21 school year<\/p>\n
• Schedules will mirror current 2021-22 in-person schedules<\/p>\n
• Teachers will have two days to transition to synchronous remote learning, and learning will begin online fully by the third day for impacted classrooms<\/p>\n
• Classroom closures will typically last 5-10 days<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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