As we head into Winter Break, our team wanted to take a minute and say THANK YOU to our wonderful parents and guardians.  We know how difficult this school year has been for you and we sincerely hope this holiday season is filled with as much cheer and joy as possible. Like many of us, we are certainly ready to close the book on 2020 and are eager to welcome 2021.  We have some exciting news to share about the new year, so please carefully read the following updates!

JAN 4-8  |  DISTANCE LEARNING ONLY

The first week after Winter Break is a Distance Learning Only week. This means there will be no on-site services for any students. During this week, we will retest our entire staff for COVID-19 and urge any families who have traveled or hosted visitors during the holidays to quarantine. 

JAN 11  |  PK-6 RETURNS TO HYBRID

This week, our School Board approved our updated PK-6 reopening plan and mitigation plans. As long as no more than 3 percent of our total staff tests positive for COVID-19 during the mandatory testing period (Jan. 4-8), we will welcome PK-6 students back to hybrid learning on Monday, Jan. 11! 

We are thrilled to get our students back in the classroom. More information from our schools will be available in the coming weeks. 

REOPENING PLAN FOR 7-12

This week, Governor Inslee announced new school reopening guidance and a new Decision Tree with updated metrics from the Department of Health.  The updated guidance is based on current science and recent research as well as documented success stories in districts like ours.  Our team is going through the new metrics and guidance and working with our employee groups to develop a plan to safely bring our 7-12 grade students back to the campus for hybrid learning. That plan would then be brought to the School Board for approval.

While we don’t have a specific timetable to share at this time, we are working very hard to make sure we bring our secondary students back to campus in the safest manner possible.  

CONTINUING FOOD SERVICE 

Our FREE food service will continue through Distance Plus and distance learning.  Beginning on Monday, Dec. 14, our Food Service team will partner with our transportation department to increase meal drop-off locations around Oak Harbor.  To see our full list of locations and times, please view our website.

Our school buildings will also remain open for an extra 30 minutes to allow families to come by and pick up their free meals.  As a reminder, you can visit any of our school locations and collect food, not just the one your child attends.

Adjusted Meal Pick-up Times:  10:30 a.m - 12:30 p.m. at each school site

ENJOY THE HOLIDAYS

The holidays are fast approaching and we know many of you have plans to travel and see family.  In order for us to successfully keep our schools open, please remain diligent in social distancing and mask-wearing.  As an added layer of precaution, we are urging families and staff to sign up for WA Notify - the Washington Exposure Notification tool for your smartphone. This tool lets you know if you’ve possibly been near someone with COVID-19. The product works through your phone, without sharing any personal information, to alert users if they may have been exposed to COVID-19.  It is completely private and doesn’t know or track who you are or where you go. Click here for more information.