I hope all of you are doing well and staying healthy during this unfolding event. We are all having to adjust to this new normal, which seems to be changing more quickly than ever. In times like this, it is more important than ever that our community stays connected and that our conversations flow in both directions.
Yesterday, Governor Inslee issued a new order closing many more types of businesses. In his address, he emphasized that it was truly time to stop making any decisions that could affect the exposed, high-risk people in our communities. I bring this up here because it reminds me that this starts with me, as an individual. I need to practice self-care, as well as care of those in my immediate community, and that we all need to be aware of the effect our actions have on others. In all of the hard decisions we have had to make lately, we have had our families and our staff in mind, front and center. As we all adjust to this new, evolving reality of being distanced from one another, I ask that all of you also please take care of yourselves. Whether this means taking time to read a book, go for a walk or listen to music that helps transport you somewhere else, please find time to practice self-care. Additionally, you can practice self-care and care for your loved ones by keeping abreast of the most recent updates from King Co. In more uplifting news, our Upper School began its Distance Learning program this yesterday with success! While there is of course an element of chaos built into something so new, I have been hearing positive feedback from our faculty so far. I am proud of how hard these folks have worked, and how successfully and quickly they have gotten this program up and running. With that being said, we also recognize that many more of you are worried and curious about what learning from home will look like for children in the Early Childhood and Toddler programs. We want you to know that we are working on that this week. The directors of those programs, Melissa and Kim, have been working hard to put together something much more robust than what you have seen so far, with the goal of making it as user-friendly and accessible for all families. Please look for more to come on that in the next couple of days. Finally, on childcare, please know that we are working on a solution as quickly as we can, and we appreciate your understanding while we figure this out. When considering alternative childcare options at MCH during the closure, there are many factors we need to consider. We will need many members of our teaching teams to continue working within our Distance Learning programs remotely, and we will also need to ensure our teacher to student ratio allows for both staff and students to be in childcare while also following state guidelines on social distancing. We are also actively working on increasing our operational safety and developing protocols to implement that will ensure a higher level of health and safety in our classrooms for both staff and students. All of these components will affect the number of families we will be able to serve. With all of that in mind, we have created a brief survey that will help us in creating a childcare solution that will work for those most in need. I know I have said it many times recently, but sincerely know how grateful I am for your continued grace and patience as we work hard to put all of these plans into place. Please remember that I am here for you, and to reach out when you are in need. We are a beautiful, caring community and I am confident that we will come out of this stronger than ever. As you may be aware, Governor Jay Inslee announced earlier today a historic mandated closure of all private and public K-12 school in King, Snohomish, and Pierce Counties from March 17-April 24th, 2020, with all schools scheduled to return on Monday, April 27th, 2020.
As Public Health officials and the governor continue to emphasize, it is vital that our health care systems not get overwhelmed during this crisis. This school closure allows MCH and our community to play its part as global citizens in helping to slow down the spread of the virus. Simultaneously, we want to be supportive and responsive to the needs within our community. Due to the recent positive case within our parent community, the fact that symptoms in young people are mild in nature and may not always be apparent, and the fact that we had over 32% of student illness and 29% of staff illness in our community last week, childcare will remain closed through Friday, March 20th, 2020. While we know this will be difficult for many of you, this additional time will allow us to determine what childcare can take place during the remainder of the extended closure. The MCH Upper School will start its Distance Learning format this coming Monday, March 16th, and will now be extending it through Friday, April 24th. The Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) has stated it will be reviewing whether we will be allowed to resume classes on Monday, April 27th, and will communicate this accordingly. Please reach out to us if there is anything, we can do to support you as we all adjust and comply with this mandate. We will be sure to share any new updates as they become available and thank you for your support and patience in these trying times. As you may be aware, Governor Jay Inslee held a press conference today at 10:15 a.m. In addition to announcing a ban on large gatherings and events of 250 people or more, direct guidance was also given that all schools should be preparing to move to online education, should a closure be mandated by the government. Additionally, Lake Washington School District has just announced they will be closing for two weeks, through March 27th, 2020, and that other school districts and private schools are also following suit. With these updates in mind, the World Health Organization declaring this a pandemic, and in light of rapidly changing conditions, we believe the best decision is to extend our school closure through March 27th, 2020. We did not come to this decision easily, we understand the complexities we face in serving such a diverse population from infancy through seventh grade, and we know that many of you rely on our school for childcare. At this moment, our leadership team is planning for an alternative model for how to help provide childcare during school hours, for families who are not able to remain at home with their children. We will be sending out a survey to all of you shortly asking you to share with us your childcare needs. Please respond to this as soon as you can, so we know what your individual needs are as related to childcare. Program directors and teachers in our Upper School have already been working hard to prepare for distance learning during an extended closure. Detailed communication from your child’s teaching team will be sent to you in the coming days. Please note that the communication sent earlier this week related to your child working from home these past three days will not count towards state mandated instructional hours, and that long-term distance learning plans will be more thoroughly representative of the high-quality education your child is used to receiving. This means that the three closed school days this week will not be counting towards our mandated 1000 hours of instruction for our Upper School Programming and will be treated similarly to snow days. However, we are well ahead of the 1000 hours required for grades 1st to 7th, as well as the 450 hours required for Kindergartners. Therefore, we will not currently have any hours to make up due to this week’s closure. As we enter into this extended break, we will continue to be vigilant in monitoring new announcements that affect our community, especially related to school closures. One final note: I believe that a community is defined by the strength of the connections among the members. I want to thank you for your supportive responses, grace and understanding as our community continues to navigate through this unprecedented experience; these decisions are not being made lightly and are always considered through the lens of continuing to offer the best possible education and childcare to your children. It is with relief that we share with you the following great news: the parent who tested positive has fully recovered! The rest of the family will remain in a 14-day quarantine as planned.
News about COVID-19 (coronavirus) continues to evolve rapidly. Thank you for your support and encouragement as we monitor the situation and continue to monitor and evaluate our response to these ever-changing circumstances. Currently, there are no new cases of COVID-19 among MCH students, their families, or our staff. We encourage everyone to continue to practice good hygiene and sanitation measures. We are recommending that all members of our community continue to follow guidance for anyone who may have had contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19. This guidance can be found in the Washington Dept. of Health PDF on potential exposure, which is included as a link below: ▪ You should monitor your health for fever, cough, and shortness of breath during the 14 days after the last day you were in close contact with the sick person with COVID-19. Our school closure covers the 14 days since the family who was exposed has been on campus. ▪ If you get sick with fever, cough, or shortness of breath (even if your symptoms are very mild), you should stay at home and away from other people. If you have any of the following conditions that may increase your risk for a serious infection —age 60 years or over, are pregnant, or have medical conditions—contact your physician’s office and tell them that you were potentially exposed to someone with COVID-19. They may want to monitor your health more closely or test you for COVID-19. ▪ Source: COVIDexposed.pfd Thank you for your patience and grace as we all work through this challenge together. Please keep me notified if anyone in your family begins to show symptoms, is being tested, or has tested positive for COVID-19. We assure you that your privacy will be protected, and your disclosure will help us make sure we keep our community safe and informed. Thank you for your patience today as we worked with our attorney and Public Health to determine the nature of information we are allowed to share with you. I want you to know that I truly understand that it has been stressful for families to not know more specific information. These new rules may also feel confusing, when combined with our regular guidance on illness. Per Public Health guidance and at the instruction of our attorney, we are required to uphold HIPPA privacy law and are unable to share which classroom the child is connected to. We want to gently, yet firmly, remind everyone that this it is a parent in our community that tested positive for COVID-19, not one of the students. This parent has not been on our campus for several weeks and their child has not been on campus since last Friday, Feb. 28th, 2020. Additionally, no one else in the family has shown any symptoms of illness and are in self-quarantine for the recommended 14-day period. It’s also important to remember the following already published information: What to do if you were potentially exposed to someone with confirmed COVID-19 First, know that you generally need to be in close contact with someone with COVID-19 to get infected. Close contact includes scenarios like living with or caring for a person with confirmed COVID-19, being within six feet of a person with confirmed COVID-19 for about 10 minutes, or if someone with COVID-19 coughed on you, kissed you, shared utensils with you or you had direct contact with their body secretions. If you may have had close contact with a person with COVID-19 but are not sick ▪Monitor your health for fever, cough and shortness of breath for 14 days after your last contact with the ill person. ▪Do not go to school or work. Avoid public places for 14 days. If you are a close contact of a person with confirmed COVID-19 and are sick ▪If you are sick with fever, cough, or shortness of breath, even if your symptoms are mild, isolate yourself. ▪If you are at higher risk for severe illness (over 60, with underlying health conditions such as heart disease, lung disease, or diabetes), have a weakened immune system or are pregnant) call your health care provider. They may want to test you for COVID-19. ▪If you have symptoms but are not in a high-risk category, talk with your health care provider. They will help you determine if you need to be evaluated.” ▪Source: https://www.kingcounty.gov/depts/health/news/2020/March/5-suspected-covid.aspx Finally, the Public Health number is 206-477-3977. Should you have questions about you or your child’s health please do not hesitate to reach out to this number and ask questions. We hope this information answers your questions. We’ve been receiving a few inquiries asking for more information on the classroom or program to which the affected family belonged. At this point, we are actively working with Public Health to determine next steps, including the amount of information we can provide, balancing the community’s desire to know more details about the positive test, and privacy required by law. We empathize that this is a stressful time. We are recommending following the guidelines created by King County Public Health on what to do if you may have been exposed to someone with COVID-19. This is the same guidance we are recommending for our staff. Here is the direct text from the King Co. website, followed by the link to the full press release: What to do if you were potentially exposed to someone with confirmed COVID-19First, know that you generally need to be in close contact with someone with COVID-19 to get infected. Close contact includes scenarios like living with or caring for a person with confirmed COVID-19, being within six feet of a person with confirmed COVID-19 for about 10 minutes, or if someone with COVID-19 coughed on you, kissed you, shared utensils with you or you had direct contact with their body secretions.
If you may have had close contact with a person with COVID-19 but are not sick: Monitor your health for fever, cough and shortness of breath for 14 days after your last contact with the ill person.
We have added a more detailed PDF of what to do in the case of direct exposure to our website resources. Thank you for your patience as we wait to confirm with Public Health, and for your grace in this time of stress. Today, I received communication that a parent in our community has tested positive for COVID-19. This parent, however, has not been on our campus for several weeks, and the child has been out of school since last Friday, Feb. 28th, 2020. At this point, no one else in their family is showing any symptoms of illness, and all are in self-quarantine for the recommended 14-day period. We have been tracking absence and illness (including specific symptoms) for the last week. We are not aware of any other students, staff, or community members who seem to be presenting COVID-19 specific symptoms. MCH Will Close Its Campus from March 9th – 13th We have been in direct contact with Public Health officials, who have given us full support to make this decision for our community. Out of an abundance of caution, we will be closing our campus all of next week, so that we can thoroughly clean and disinfect the entire campus. Again, we want to be clear that this is not an extended closure, and please keep in mind that school was already going to be closed next Thursday and Friday. We will no longer be offering childcare for next Thursday and Friday. Elementary and Middle School Program Directors will be in touch with Upper School families early in the day tomorrow with at-home support suggestions and guidelines that will help sustain children's learning during our three days of closure next week. Early Childhood and Infant/Toddler Program Directors will also reach out to the families in the Lower School by Monday morning with a few suggested activities to engage children’s learning as well during the three day closure. Staying Calm and Informed Our community is strong because we support one another, especially in times of crisis. Our recommendations and policies for preventing the spread of this virus remain in effect. There is an additional link to that information at the end of this email.
We also ask out of utmost respect for this family’s privacy that you do not seek out information on their identity. We firmly believe that this update contains all the necessary information to help you understand our current situation. Please continue practicing recommended hygiene per Public Health officials. In addition, please follow these steps, should anyone in your family begin showing symptoms of illness.
Thank you for your patience as we continue to monitor and plan for the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak. Our leadership team has been meeting regularly to assess the risks to our students, staff and family community, as well as to continue to plan and identify actions that will minimize the spread of the illness. We would like to share additional guidelines and resources with you. Yesterday, Public Health officials provided additional guidance for reducing the risk of exposure and slowing the spread of COVID-19. At this time, Public Health continues to recommend that schools stay open, and we will be following this recommendation. In this vein of being proactive and up to date, we have implemented a plan that incorporates additional guidance from Public Health officials. The goal of these measures is to minimize risk of spreading COVID-19, while having the minimum amount of impact on daily on-campus activities. These measures will be in effect through March 18th, 2020 and at that time, we will re-evaluate the need to continue limiting activities. We also acknowledge that this guidance may change with additional developments. Starting today, March 5th, we are taking the following steps:
As mentioned above, Public Health continues to recommend schools remain open, and we plan to continue to operate with as much normalcy and consistency as long as we can maintain appropriate supervision and adequate services. Therefore, we will continue to hold student clubs, as well as before and after school childcare. Here is additional guidance for individuals, provided by Public Health (resource links at the end):
A Note on Voluntary Student AbsencesWe recognize that while attendance is important, we also understand that families may consider keeping children home from school out of an abundance of caution. Here is helpful information to consider when making a decision about sending your child to school:
Continued Hygiene PracticesAs we have communicated previously, we are continuously reviewing our hygiene procedures to ensure they include the most up to date guidance from the above-mentioned agencies and have been extra diligent in our efforts to minimize the spread of disease. Students are washing hands regularly, materials are being sanitized, and surfaces and handles are being disinfected several times a day. We ask that you please continue to review hygiene measures at home. This includes effective handwashing and keeping fingers out of noses, mouths, and eyes. Another practice you can implement at home is to ensure your electronic equipment, such as laptops, computers, tablets, and phones, are cleaned regularly. In the Event of a School ClosureThere are several factors that MCH will use to determine whether a school closure is necessary, and this plan may change over time per the recommendation from Washington State Department of Health and King County Public Health and other agencies. Again, we will not close the school unless it becomes a necessity and as a last resort, as we fully understand the long-term impact this will have on many of our families. In the event of an extended closure, the Elementary and Middle School programs will be implementing distance learning programs, and guides to how this will work for those different groups of students will be sent out to families immediately, should that become a necessity. Due to the hands-on nature of the Early Childhood and Infant/Toddler Programs, distance learning will not be an option for these programs. We have however been contemplating ways in which younger children can have a meaningful experience in their home environment and stay connected to the school community. Students and their families can anticipate following daily instructional/open class time that mirrors as closely as possible what they experience during a typical on-campus school day. This is to ensure your child continues to receive the quality education they deserve, and that they are meeting the required number of instructional hours mandated by the state. Teachers will be assessing student engagement, participation, work completion and effort. However, please note that these guidelines are not intended to be a replacement for the high-quality Montessori instruction that happens in our classrooms each day. When students return to school, our teachers will continue to build on the learning that was occurring prior to absences or closures. The following guidelines will help our teachers ensure students’ needs are met, and to make distance learning as accessible and comfortable as possible for students and their families:
For Lower Elementary students, teachers will communicate with parents on upcoming assignments through email. Teachers will also schedule planned video call time to connect with students on a more personal level. They will also be available during normal working hours to assist students as needed. At the Upper Elementary level, students will use a detailed schedule, and will stay connected throughout the day with their teachers using Microsoft Teams. This software will allow students to receive assignments, video group lessons, collaborate with classmates and interact with their teachers in real time. For assignments, students will log in and use Microsoft Office software, and turn their assignments in through Teams or via email. Middle School students will have a similar experience to Upper Elementary students and should be able to easily transition into distance learning, as they are already doing the majority of their work through Microsoft Office and Teams. They have previously practiced connecting with one another and their teacher through video calls in Teams and will follow a daily schedule with guidance. For assignments, students will log in and use Microsoft Office software, and turn their assignments in through Teams or via email. For families where technology resources such as a home computer or internet access might be an issue, we will work to help these students, including possible school laptops being lent out, or sending students work via USB through the mail. *A note on classroom Montessori materials. There are, of course, many lessons in both Lower and Upper Elementary that require the use of materials. Teachers are working hard on creative solutions for how to mitigate the impact of students not having materials at home, and will ensure students are still receiving individualized, meaningful instruction while learning from home. QuestionsIf you have specific questions related to this update, please email me directly. We will continue to send updates as we receive new information from Public Health officials. We understand that changes such as these can be difficult for many families and appreciate in advance your patience and grace as we continue to monitor this situation. Additional ResourcesIllness Policy ClarificationWhile most families understand, appreciate and are complying with the approach to exclusion to illness we are following, others have sought further clarification because we are accelerating vigilance in monitoring and enforcing these guidelines. I specifically want to comment on cough and/or runny noses as these symptoms are currently prevalent within our community and I have been filtering a few concerns regarding the exclusion vigilance of these symptoms and the hardship these restrictions impose on our working families.
We understand that young children often present with runny noses and that immune systems are building in the first couple of years of life, that common colds are frequent and typical, and that runny noses can take up to two weeks to subside. We also sympathize and appreciate that keeping children home for that amount of time is an extreme burden to families for a variety of reasons. However, these are the expectations and recommendations from state and federal officials, and we will be remaining firm in applying them to our community. Especially, given the fact that the surrounding local area is experiencing increased community spread of COVID-19, we will be rigorously applying these exclusion criteria and insisting on the abatement of ALL symptoms prior to the return to school. It is vital that we do this to slow the transmission of illness within our direct school community, as well as the greater local community. This means that working families need to develop plans for managing exclusions and/or closures. Our priority needs to be in managing this current crisis and developing plans for crisis management as things continue to unfold. We ask that you respect the work we are doing to prepare our community, and that you adhere to these guidelines and please refrain from asking us to reconsider them. To reiterate, if your child experiences ANY as of the following symptoms they are considered too ill to attend school and they must stay home until they are completely symptom free. We are being vigilant about this out of the need to protect the health and safety of our community.
Please reference the following resources used in developing these policies: Lake Washington School District Communication 3/2/20 Lake Washington Guidelines for Keeping Sick Children at Home Washington Department of Health Guidelines for Schools on Emergencies for Managing the Coronavirus As you are no doubt very aware, the impact of COVID-19 on the country and Washington state continues to develop on a near hourly basis. We wanted to reach out to share what our Emergency Response Team is doing to monitor and prepare for a potential increase in frequency of the COVID-19 in King County. I am writing today to bring you up to date on our current community status as well as the plans and procedures we are putting into place in our classrooms. We also know that some of you may be wondering about school closures in our area, and our plans related to this. At this time, we are planning on starting school as usual on Monday morning. As the Head of School, I take my duty seriously to communicate immediately any and all relevant information as the situation continues to develop. Each of the following sections will illustrate what we are currently doing to be proactive in preventing the virus’ spread, our advice for how to help assist us in these preventions, and our plans for possible developments. I also encourage everyone to remember that feelings of anxiety in situations like this are normal; on the same token, it is important that we all aim to strike a balance between vigilance and calm, measured response. It’s also important for our community to remember that the risk of COVID-19 is not at all connected with race, ethnicity or nationality. Viruses do not discriminate, and neither should we. It’s important that we share vital information but limit the spread of fear and hysteria based on gossip and rumors. Finally, we have included resources we have used to make decisions so far. Thank you for your patience and understanding as we attempt to guide our community with the most up to date information, and please reach out to me with any questions you have related to this message. Our Current Response at MCHCurrently, we are not aware of any known members of our community with symptoms or diagnoses related to the COVID-19. The MCH Emergency Response Team has already begun implementing proactive procedures, which are an elevated version of what we put into place during influenza season. This means:
MCH Protocol Concerning Signs of IllnessWe recognize that our community is strong because we all work together. The following directions take this into mind, and we are grateful for your support and understanding in this time of stress. All the criteria are based on recommendations from the Washington State Department of Health (DOH-WA), World Health Organization (WHO) and the Center for Disease Control (CDC).
In the Event of an MCH School Closure
How Families Can Be Prepared Off-Campus
Local, State, Federal and International ResourcesThe following list of resources are the sources provided in the vast majority of news articles, and we recommend checking these pages out first. The pages listed should be updated regularly with the most up-to-date information.
|
Archives
November 2020
Categories |
Montessori Children's House
5003 218th Ave. NE Redmond, WA 98053 Phone: 425-868-7805 [email protected] For Records Requests, please reach out to [email protected]. |
Founded in 1987
Fully Accredited in Infant - Elementary II
|