Thank you for your diligence in reading our notifications and following the guidelines we shared. Yesterday, we were able to close schools in an orderly fashion and prepare our students for at least six weeks away from the classroom.  

In the past 24 hours, our teams prepared and served nearly 1,700 breakfasts and lunches to our families at three different locations, checked-out nearly 1,300 Chromebooks to families in need and finalized optional learning opportunities for students to utilize during the extended closure.  This is quite an achievement in just a few days of preparation, so if you see one of our staff members continuing to serve our families, please take a minute to say thank you. 

Today, we received notification that, now that schools are closed, we should no longer expect to be notified by Island County Public Health of staff members, students or parents who test positive for COVID-19. They anticipate that many staff, students and parents will test positive over the coming days and weeks. This is why the Governor ordered all schools in Washington State to be closed effective today.

While we can expect no further specific case notifications during the closure, we were able to confirm today that a staff member at North Whidbey Middle School tested positive for COVID-19. This is the first confirmed case of COVID-19 of a staff member or student in Oak Harbor Public Schools. The individual was not at school this week. Again, Public Health warns that we should expect many more cases to be identified in our community.  

Public Health advises families and staff at all schools to assume, at some point, they have had contact with a confirmed case, whether at school or in the community. That’s why it is so important that everyone follow all social distancing and hygiene guidelines to keep themselves and those around them safe. Be sure to watch for symptoms and contact your primary care physician if you have flu-like symptoms.

We understand this a challenging time for our students, families, and community and we will remain in touch with updates and information as they become available. We are still here to help. We urge families to visit our COVID-19 webpage at www.ohsd.net/COVID-19. There you will find all of our communications as well as links to additional resources and agencies.