Darrington School District
Dear Darrington Students and Parents
In the light of imminent school closures, we are suspending tonight’s parent-teacher conferences. Your student’s teacher(s) will be in contact with you in the coming days to schedule a make-up date to discuss progress. We appreciate your understanding and patience during this unprecedented time.
Sincerely,
Dr. Buck Marsh, Superintendent
Dear Darrington Students, Staff and Community:
Wednesday, Gov. Inslee announced new measures to slow the spread of COVID-19 in Washington State. After prohibiting gatherings of 250 people or more, Gov. Inslee then asked all school districts in King, Pierce and Snohomish counties to immediately plan for probable emergency school closures.
These school closures could be immediate and long-lasting. We are learning now that the extent of a long-term closure could go well beyond spring break—approximately four- to six-weeks with reassessment after that time. The governor will hold a press conference this morning at 9 AM, at which time he is expected to address mandatory school closures.
We have been working with the Snohomish Health District and Snohomish County to plan for a possible closure related to the COVID-19 outbreak. Based on current information, families should now begin preparing for a possible school closure, one that might possibly last six weeks or longer. Our major priorities surrounding a prolonged school closure are:
o Providing meals to students
o Providing educational resources and supports to students and families
o Exploring childcare options for impacted families
COVID-19 has disrupted our normal routines and way of life. The state is taking unprecedented steps to protect lives. We ask for your patience and understanding as we work through this crisis. Teamwork, optimism, and coming together as a community are the trademarks of life in Darrington. We will communicate updates in real time on our website, Facebook, and via email. Rest assured that we will not waver in our commitment to address the safety and welfare of our students, our staff, and our community.
Sincerely,
Dr. Buck Marsh, Superintendent
First off, thank you to students, parents and staff for your strides in preventing illness in our schools and community. Your efforts towards additional cleaning, social distancing, proper hand washing, and staying home when ill are making a big difference in helping slow the spread of illness in Darrington. We appreciate all that you do for our schools and our hometown.
In the Darrington School District we are taking additional steps in light of the COVID-19 outbreak. These are based on the Snohomish Health District (SHD) recommendations, and will continue at least through April 5 (the end of spring break) or until the threat posed by this outbreak subsides:
Facility use by outside groups will be suspended. We are committed to ensuring that our common areas and classrooms are clean for our students when they arrive on campus each morning, so we will prioritize cleaning and leave facilities ready to go each evening.
All field trips and non-essential out-of-district travel are suspended. SHD has recommended this practice, with the goal of limiting exposure to affected individuals and large groups that increase the risk of infection.
All concerts, dances, performances, informational meetings, and evening events are suspended. This includes outside performances, groups, presentations, and guest speakers. We are also encouraging as many parents as are able to move to a telephone or digital format for conferences this week. Limiting exposure to individuals from outbreak areas and practicing social distancing (avoiding assembling in groups of 50 or more) are ways to keep safe.
Volunteers in school will be limited to GPI volunteers: These involve maintenance of existing greenhouse programs as well as outdoor walks that involve only one class. These activities, due their outdoor nature and lower numbers, are lower risk and will be limited to a single class participating at a time (per social distancing).
Middle School Winter Sports are cancelled, Spring High School athletic practices will continue at this time, and before/after school club meetings may take place. Several contests have been postponed or cancelled at the HS level, please check school website for updates.
At this time SHD continues to recommend that schools remain open while taking precautions such as those listed above. We will continue to work closely with the authorities to keep our schools safe and healthy. The safety of our students, staff, and community is of the utmost importance. We appreciate your patience and help during these efforts.
Throughout the COVID-19 outbreak, we have been in close contact with our league partners to determine if any events might be postponed or cancelled. Districts across the region have limited out-of-district travel and large gatherings to slow the spread of the disease. This morning league superintendents made the decision to cancel MS Wrestling and MS Girls Basketball for the remainder of the season. We appreciate the commitment and hard work of our players, coaches, and fans this season, and hope that everyone stays healthy this season.
Earlier today I attended a conference call with Dr. Chris Spitters from the Snohomish Health Department. Here is an update on the current situation in Snohomish County and the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, as it relates to schools, and our current response as a school district.
The current recommendation from SHD is that we communicate with individuals who are in one or more of the groups at greater risk due to COVID-19. This group includes those who are: 60 years of age, have an underlying medical condition (like heart disease, lung disease or diabetes), have weakened immune systems, or pregnant. At present there are no additional advisories for these individuals beyond those for the general public (hand washing, covering coughs, staying home if sick, etc.). The advice of SHD is that at-risk individuals consult with their primary care provider for more information if they are concerned about carrying out normal daily activities.
SHD is advising schools to practice a strategy of disease prevention known as social distancing. In addition to other disease prevention strategies, the policy prescribes the limiting of non-essential gatherings in large groups (greater than 50 people), avoiding handshakes and other gestures, and restrictions on non-essential travel outside the District. As such we are placing a moratorium on new field trips, performances and other gatherings. Principals and activity directors will look at currently scheduled events and assess on a case-by-case basis. I have asked principals to work with staff to identify ways to move as many parent-teacher conferences and other meetings to telephone as reasonably possible.
SHD made it very clear in today's conference that they are not recommending school closures at this time. Their goal, as well as ours, is to slow the spread of COVID-19 in our community through simple, common sense measures. In addition, we have heightened our efforts toward disinfecting our schools throughout the school day. I will continue to share updates with the staff and community as the situation develops and more information becomes available.
Sincerely,
Dr. Buck Marsh, Superintendent
As concerns regarding Coronavirus (COVID-19) continue to increase in our region, it is important to learn about steps we can all take to keep everyone safe this season. Darrington Schools will increase levels of cleaning and disinfecting of common areas. We are working closely with Snohomish Health District and other agencies as the COVID-19 season continues. We will also communicate with students, staff and our community on easy ways to halt the spread of coronavirus and other causes of illness during flu season. Attached is a document from SHD on ways to stay safe. Simple steps like proper hand washing, covering coughs and sneezes, and staying home when you are sick will greatly reduce the spread of disease. Please call us with questions or for more information.
Congrats to the Darrington Boys Basketball team for a great season. In case you missed it, the Herald recently did a great feature on the team that can be found here:
