Whatcom Health Officer asks schools to pause in-person learning for older students
Whatcom County Health Officer Dr. Greg Stern has revised his recommendation to area schools and advised that they pause plans to expand in-person instruction for older students in light of the recent surge in COVID-19 cases and Gov. Jay Inslee’s recently announced restrictions.
Stern sent a letter to Whatcom County school administrators Wednesday, Nov. 18, according to a Whatcom County Health Department release, asking them to pause expanding their plans for in-person instruction for middle and high school students, but it did not ask schools to backtrack on in-person learning for elementary students already in classrooms.
“The benefits of keeping students learning in-person certainly have to be weighed against the risks,” Stern said in the release, “but those risks are lower for younger students than older ones, and the benefits to them of socializing with teachers and peers are high.”
Younger students have been found to transmit the virus less effectively than older students and adults, according to the release, in part because they remain in one classroom with one set of instructors and can more easily be kept in small groups.
Older students, the release stated, transmit COVID-19 as efficiently as adults, and having them in multiple classes increases the number of students and staff they are in contact with.
So far, the measures taken by schools — such as distancing, face coverings, minimizing group sizes, hygiene and sanitization — have been effective in limiting transmission in schools, according to the release.
Because of those reasons and the recent increases Whatcom County has seen in the number of new COVID-19 cases, Stern decided to recommend pausing plans schools had to bring back middle and high school students.
“We may need to roll back to remote learning in all middle and high schools if the community transmission rates continue to rise despite the new measures, but want to avoid the disruption of current operations for now,” Stern said in the release. “We continue to monitor the situation and consult with schools and public health agencies on the best actions to take.”
On Wednesday, The Bellingham Herald reported about one class at Birchwood Elementary that was returning to remote learning after one student had tested positive for COVID-19. Bellingham Public Schools told The Herald on Thursday, Nov. 19, that it has not had any other cases associated with its schools.
“When infections occur, it is critical to identify them early, and for those who are infected to isolate,” Stern said in the release. “Those who are infected, and those who have been in contact with them, should not be in school.”
Earlier this week, Whatcom Unified Command spokesperson Amy Cloud told The Herald in email that “what we’re seeing so far in schools isn’t leading us to be concerned about schools as a place where COVID-19 is spreading significantly at this time.”
The Lynden School District announced Monday, Nov. 16, that some of its middle and high school students had returned to in-person learning for the first time since schools were closed in March at the onset of the pandemic.
“We are in regular contact with the (Whatcom County Health Department) and have a meeting this afternoon to discuss the increasing case rates in Whatcom County, the new restrictions for Washington State, and whether there are implications for the Lynden School District,” Lynden Superintendent Jim Frey wrote in a letter to families.
It wasn’t immediately known what the Lynden School District will do in light of Stern’s recommendation.
But in his letter to school administrators on Wednesday, Stern said that in order to “avoid disruption of school operations and families, those middle and high schools that have already opened in-person instruction or have made plans to do so this week do not have to return to remote instruction at this time.”
School districts and private schools have the final decision about their level of operations in compliance with Inslee’s most recent proclamation and the state Department of Health’s decision tree, the health department release stated.
Reaction
Here’s what superintendents for Whatcom County’s public school districts said they will do in light of Stern’s recommendation:
Bellingham Public Schools
In a letter to families on Thursday, Superintendent Greg Baker said the new “guidance is in alignment with our district’s current in-person offerings and future plans.”
“We are going slow to return kids to our schools, per health experts’ advice, and are focusing on our youngest students and those who need particular services or are in unique circumstances. We will continue to lean on the health department for help, and we are so appreciative of their support,” Baker said.
The school district has brought back for in-person instruction students in preschool, kindergarten, first grade, elementary and middle Life Skills and BRIDGES programs.
It is finalizing plans to bring back its second-graders.
The other grades will wait until next year.
“We do not plan to bring back students in full grades 3-12 before the beginning of January 2021,” Baker said in the letter.
Ferndale School District
“Based on the new guidance, our intent is to hold our course with students we are currently serving in-person, but to put a pause on our plans to bring back secondary students within the next month,” Superintendent Linda Quinn stated in a letter sent to the district’s staff on Thursday.
She said current mitigation measures were working.
“When all health and safety guidelines are being followed, the data does not show in-person learning in the hybrid model at the elementary level is contributing to community spread of the virus,” Quinn stated. “As we learn more, we are able to fine-tune our responses, rather than using a broad brush to treat every activity with the same restrictions.”
Quinn said that no school district in Whatcom County planned to stop the in-person instruction they’ve already put in place.
“Whatcom Health Department officials expressed the opinion that we should avoid sudden changes in plans, such as opening schools one day and closing the next, because such changes can be very difficult for families and derail their ability to carry out their own health and safety plans,” Quinn stated in the letter.
Mount Baker School District
Superintendent Mary Sewright said Stern’s recommendations validated Mount Baker’s current phased-in approach.
“This was our first week for K-6 hybrid learning. We are slowly bringing in secondary students who have special needs or are struggling with connectivity, starting Dec. 1,” Sewright said to The Herald.
Hybrid means that students are learning online and in the classroom.
“We will continue to have some CTE (career and technical education) classes in-person part of the time. All junior high and high school students are not starting hybrid learning until Feb 1. I am confident in our approach to keep moving forward slowly and cautiously,” she said.
Nooksack Valley School District
The school district’s K-5 students are receiving in-person instruction four full days a week, Superintendent Mark Johnson said.
Its middle school and high school students are in a hybrid model, with half days.
“We had tentatively planned to expand the secondary schools to hybrid, full days, but will now pause that until after the first of the year,” Johnson said of middle and high school plans.
This story was originally published November 19, 2020 at 2:35 PM.
