Olympia Schools, SPSCC limiting events and travel due to COVID-19 concerns
Olympia School District and South Puget Sound Community College have announced new measures limiting events and travel this week in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19, the illness caused by a novel coronavirus.
Olympia Schools will cancel or postpone travel and large gatherings in light of World Health Organization declaring COVID-19 a pandemic, it announced in a message to families Wednesday.
According to the message: Beginning Thursday and until further notice, OSD will cancel or postpone school field trips, athletic games, concerts, dances, theater performances, school information nights, other after-school or evening events, facility rentals (not including childcare programs that rent OSD facilities), and nonessential staff travel.
Individualized Education Plan meetings, upcoming SAT and ACT testing, and before- and after-school activities led by OSD staff, such as club meetings and athletic practices, will continue as scheduled. The district is looking at alternative methods for parent-teacher conferences for elementary school students scheduled to start March 31.
“We recognize that these new safety measures will likely create hardships in our community,” the message to parents reads. “However, in placing restrictions on public access to our facilities, we reduce exposure to COVID-19 by limiting the number of people coming in and out of our buildings.”
Along with the WHO declaration, the district’s measures follow the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in Thurston County and an order from Washington Gov. Jay Inslee banning gatherings of more than 250 people in three counties north of Thurston.
Similar steps had already been taken by SPSCC.
The college announced Tuesday it would limit events to 100 people or fewer. It also canceled all upcoming study abroad programs until further notice and all staff and faculty travel outside of the U.S. through the end of this year’s Fall Quarter. Planned staff and faculty travel to New York was also canceled.
Other local K-12 school districts were stopping short of OSD’s new measures as of Thursday morning.
In an update sent to parents Wednesday, Tumwater School District included that field trips, special events, and facility use are now being evaluated and considered on a case-by-case basis — due to COVID-19 health and safety concerns, and due to a continued bus driver shortage.
An update posted on the North Thurston Public Schools website says the district will keep following guidance of Thurston County Public Health regarding closures or event cancellation and will contact staff and families immediately with developments.
This story was originally published March 12, 2020 at 8:13 AM.
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