COVID-19 Response
COVID-19 Response
With the ever-changing information and protocols regarding COVID-19, we will be placing updated communication and information here for our community to stay informed.
March 2020
From Sandi Wollum, Seabury Head of School
Our physical buildings are closed but we will continue school through our new distance learning platforms.
April 13, 2020
From Sandi Wollum, Seabury Head of School
Last Monday, Gov. Jay Inslee announced that public and private schools in Washington will remain closed for the rest of the school year due to the COVID 19 pandemic. While it wasn’t necessarily unexpected news, it was a real blow to all of us who love our Seabury family and miss being together so much. We know that our kids wish they could be at school. And teachers and staff miss our students more than we can express.
We want to assure you that we are committed to using all of the creativity and resources at our disposal (and you know we are creative people at Seabury!) to make sure that our kids have the highest quality distance-learning possible for the rest of this year and as long as it takes.
May 15, 2020
From Sandi Wollum, Seabury Head of School
Seabury is a school – a place for learning and growing. But it is also a community of families who come together to support our unique and amazing kids. Summer@Seabury has been an important part of providing enriching, engaging summer camp experiences for Seabury students and for the public as well.
This year, in light of the COVID pandemic and as we enter our third month of sheltering at home, it is especially important for Seabury to provide opportunities for our students to stay connected, engaged, and inspired during the summer months. So we have developed a summer program that will look different than our typical program, but will support our students and families.
June 10, 2020
From Sandi Wollum, Seabury Head of School
The State of Washington in collaboration with the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) and health department are publishing the first set of guidelines for schools to use in planning for the reopening of school in the fall. We are reviewing the guidelines and participating in discussions with the Northwest Association of Independent Schools (NWAIS) and the Washington Federation of Independent Schools (WFIS) how the guidelines will be applied to independent schools like Seabury. We will be updating the Seabury community via emails as well as our monthly Town Hall meetings planned for this summer. All school families can find the link to our virtual Town Hall meetings on our Family Corner (family portal on the seabury.org website). If you are not a current family, but wish to attend, please contact our school office for information at office@seabury.org.
Our Town Hall Summer Schedule:
Thursday, June 18th at 4 p.m.
Thursday, July 16th at 4 p.m.
Thursday, August 20th at 4 p.m.
June 17, 2020
From Sandi Wollum, Seabury Head of School
Last week, the State of Washington with the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) published the first set of guidelines for schools to use in planning for reopening. School districts and private schools will be using these guidelines along with recommendations that may evolve over the summer to create plans for the fall.
The guidelines have given us a framework, but there are still lots of decisions to make about specific details of our implementation plans. We are working with OSPI, the health departments, the Northwest Association of Independent Schools (NWAIS) and the Washington Federation of Independent Schools (WFIS) as well as consulting with doctors in our community to make sure our plans are in line with guidelines, support best practices for health and safety, and also work with the culture and program of Seabury School.
We are committed to sharing our plans with you as they develop. While there is much to be decided, there are a number of things we know about what to expect for the fall. Please be aware that state guidelines could change if transmission rates increase or as new information is learned about the virus. The plans listed below are based on what we know now and are subject to change if state requirements change...
August 12, 2020
From Sandi Wollum, Seabury Head of School
As you know, Seabury has been preparing all summer to ensure that we continue to provide a robust, intellectually stimulating, active, child-centered program designed to meet the unique needs of each of our students in the face of the challenges posed by COVID-19.
Yesterday, we received THIS NOTICE from Dr. Anthony Chen, director of the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department, changing his recommendation to a requirement that all schools “begin the school year using distance learning until COVID-19 disease activity in Pierce County decreases to a level safe to re-open schools for in-person learning.” While there are some encouraging signs the transmission rates may have peaked and are possibly heading down, they are still extremely high – double what they were when we closed school and shifted to distance learning in March.
As a result, Seabury is moving forward with the expectation that we will open the school year for grades K-8 in distance learning mode. Our pre-k class is regulated under childcare guidelines, so it will open in person as long as childcare facilities are still able to be open. For our K-8 classes, we will monitor community transmission rates and as soon as we get to the ”moderate” level as determined by the state’s school decision tree, we will move to in-person learning, starting with our youngest students. ...
September 16, 2020
From Sandi Wollum, Seabury Head of School
Now that COVID-19 transmission rates in Pierce County have continued to decline, we have moved into what the state has termed the “moderate” zone in its school opening decision tree. This allows schools to make plans to bring their youngest students back to campus for in-person learning.
As of today, if transmission rates continue to remain low, our plan is to roll out in-person learning at our lower school campus to students in kindergarten through third grade beginning Monday, Sept. 28. If transmission rates continue to stay low, that will be followed by fourth and fifth grades on Oct. 12. Families of students in these grade levels will have the choice to have their child return to school in person or to continue with distance learning from home. Middle school will remain in distance learning mode for the immediate future. Families may change their minds at any time by letting the office and their child’s teacher know one day in advance. If there are enough families interested, we will offer bus service from DeLong Park, 4702 S. 12th St., Tacoma, and the Downtown Tacoma middle school campus. Please complete and submit this form by Wednesday, Sept. 23, to let us know if your student will return in person or stay in distance learning mode and if they are a bus rider wishing to use the bus. ...
October 27, 2020
From Sandi Wollum, Seabury Head of School
As you are aware, COVID case counts have been on the rise for several weeks. Today, schools received an email from Dr. Anthony Chen, Tacoma-Pierce County director of health, recommending that public and private schools return to remote learning until transmission rates return to the moderate level.
The health department’s message to schools states that, "The COVID-19 14-day total case rate in the county is 116 per 100,000 population (with a 6-day data lag), putting us well into the “high” activity level (over 75 per 100,000) outlined in the Department of Health’s Decision Tree. ... During a two-week observation period that began Oct. 9, our daily positive cases (averaged over 14-day periods) increased by over 25 per day. Our analysis does not forecast a significant downturn on the horizon.”
The heath department goes on to say that, “Our latest update shows 19 outbreak-related cases at K-12 schools in Pierce County. The 0-19 age group is up by 37% and is the fastest growing age group among our cases.”
We have approached having our pre-k through grade 3 classes on campus with an abundance of caution and have seen success with our safety protocols and logistics. However, with the holiday season approaching, beginning with Halloween this weekend, we need to take action to protect our children, staff and families, as well as to support bringing down cases in the region. From the beginning of the pandemic we have assured our families that we would follow the guidance of the experts and would trust science when making decisions about when it is safest to be at school in person. ...
January 5, 2021
From Sandi Wollum, Seabury Head of School
Happy New Year, Seabury Families!
We are so happy to be starting 2021 with you! While there are many uncertainties about the months to come, we are happy about the first COVID vaccines and hopeful that the coming months will bring the beginning of the end to the pandemic.
On Dec. 16, the Washington State Department of Health revised its guidelines for schools. The changes, based on the latest COVID research, are designed to continue the use of protocols to mitigate the risk of transmission at schools and also to get kids back to in-person learning as soon as possible.
Seabury is implementing plans to return to in-person learning, once again starting with classrooms in the earlier grades. Our pre-k class has been at school successfully all year. Our K-3 students had the opportunity to be in person for about 6 weeks in the fall, and our staff did an amazing job supporting both the students at school and those continuing in distance learning. We look forward to bringing the sounds of more kids' voices back to our campuses. ...
January 12, 2021
From Sandi Wollum, Seabury Head of School
Last week, we shared that we are preparing to reopen our campuses based on the new state guidelines released on Dec. 16. We look forward to bringing our K-5 students back as soon as possible with our middle school students to follow later this winter or early spring.
Preparations are underway to reopen our lower school campus for grades K-5. We have set a tentative start date of Feb. 1 for grades K-3 and Feb. 8 for grades 4-5. The staggered start will allow a smooth transition for kids and allow families to get reacquainted with the systems in place to mitigate the risk of COVID transmission at school. As with all things during a pandemic, these dates are tentative. Families that are not ready to send their child back to campus are welcome to continue with virtual learning. Children who’ve stayed at home can switch to in-person learning later (and vice versa). Remember for any change, our staff requires a minimum of 24 hours notice to prepare for your child. ...
February 7, 2021
From Sandi Wollum, Seabury Head of School
From the beginning of the COVID crisis, Seabury has been committed to the best in health and safety practices, transparency in our policy and operations, and following the advice of the experts in public health and epidemiology.
We learned this weekend that someone at Seabury School has been diagnosed with COVID-19. The person is currently asymptomatic and doing well. After an investigation with Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department, we do not think you or your child was exposed. The person who tested positive will not be able to return to the school or facility until after the contagious period passes (10 days after the start of symptoms or from the positive test date). We want to let you know what happened and remind you of what you can do to prevent disease spread. ...