Lynden Christian Schools to go to remote learning amid surge in COVID-19 cases
.jpg "Lynden Christian fans watch football in March at the Lynden school. The school will move to remote learning for its students for two weeks starting Thursday, Sept. 30, as the private school deals with a rise in COVID-19 cases.")
Lynden Christian Schools will be going to remote learning for its students for two weeks as the private school deals with an outbreak in COVID-19 cases.
An email was sent to parents on Tuesday, Sept. 28, informing them that classes would be canceled on Wednesday, Sept. 29, and that remote learning would begin on Thursday, Sept. 30. The website Whatcom News first reported the decision and The Bellingham Herald obtained a screenshot of the email.
Superintendent Paul Bootsma emailed The Herald he intended to make a statement late Wednesday.
Lynden Christian’s school board received a notice from the Whatcom County Health Department that it intended to close the schools and that the school board voted to start remote learning as a way to avoid a forced closure.
“While we are very disappointed with this outcome, we wanted to get this out as soon as possible,” the school’s email stated, adding that it would provide an update within the next 24 hours.
Whatcom County Health Department spokesperson Melissa Morin confirmed that the agency intended to temporarily close Lynden Christian Schools as a way to slow the spread of COVID-19.
In a news release, Whatcom County Health Department said it agreed with Lynden Christian Schools’ decision to close in-person instruction for 14 days and it was necessary to protect the public’s health.
“The temporary closure of Lynden Christian Schools is an unfortunate but necessary step to halt the spread of COVID-19 in the school environment and prevent further risk to the whole community,” said Dr. Amy Harley, co-health officer for Whatcom County, in the news release. “We support the school board’s decision to temporarily close in-person instruction and extracurricular activities in order to quickly curtail the current outbreak so that the school can reopen for in-person learning when it’s safe to do so.”
The health department determined that the school had “multiple cases and/or exposures in nearly every grade and classroom and several classrooms and grades that met the health department’s operating definition of a school-associated outbreak,” according to the news release.
The closing of the campus was something health officers are reluctant to do and only done when other measures have failed to stop the spread of infection, said Dr. Greg Thompson, co-health officer for Whatcom County.
“We want students to be in school, learning safely with their peers. In-person learning has numerous health benefits for children and youth. That’s why schools and public health agencies worked hard to develop standards for schools to safely operate in-person even in the midst of widespread community transmission of COVID-19,” Thompson said in the news release. “But in order for in-person learning to work — not only for students but also for their families and neighbors in the broader community — schools need to adhere to the legally required standards set for masking, contact tracing, isolation and quarantine, and other COVID-19 mitigation measures which have been proven effective in preventing spread of COVID-19 in schools.”
Harley added that they are grateful for the ongoing conversations with Lynden Christian Schools because it helps keeps the students, families and the community safe.
Lynden Christian Schools has elementary, middle and high school buildings on its campus offering classes from preschool through 12th grade. It has around 1,200 students, according to the website elementaryschools.org.
This story was originally published September 29, 2021 at 11:06 AM.
