Health & Safety

Frequently Asked Questions.

How will the schools decide when it is safe to return to in-person school?

The Reopening Vashon Island School District Plan lays out criteria for a return to in-person school. Please note that this document will continue to be updated and the decision is not automatic.

VISD will follow all Health and Safety Guidance by the WA State Department of Health, the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Schools, Seattle King County Public Health and the Department of Labor and Industries.

School reopenings will happen in phases, depending on the state of King County and our own school population.

In Phase 1 and 2:

School 2.0: If King County is in Phase 1 or Phase 2, or if public health officials direct the schools to close, the model is School 2.0. This is distance learning at home with more structured time and programming than the 1.0 version of Spring 2020. Learn more details here.

In Phase 3 and 4:

If King County moves from Phase 2 to Phase 3 or Phase 4, the schools may move to either of two models:

Elementary In-Person Four-Day Week and Secondary In-Person Two-Day Rotation: Elementary students would attend four days a week in-person/face-to-face with teachers, with safety measures to support social distancing. Secondary students would attend via Two-Day in-person/face-to-face rotation with smaller classes and participate in distance learning at home when not attending school. This would continue until it is deemed appropriate by the public health officials that it is safe to relax the social distancing.

VISD Online/Remote School: The optional program for families and/or students who would not feel safe returning to school in Phase 3 or Phase 4 will be an online school model with VISD staff supporting students through the online school course(s). The online curriculum will be delivered through a VISD Google Classroom or an outside provider.

What about students with special needs?

When deemed appropriate by the public health officials, small groups of students who require special services will participate in limited weekly face-to-face instruction.

What precautions will be in place?

Given the fluid nature of knowledge about the disease, we will hold off on sharing our plan for health precautions until it is certain that schools will reopen. Possible health precautions are listed in the Reopening Vashon Island School District Plan.

Neighborcare

We are happy to share that the Neighborcare Health Center at your child's school will be open this fall. We are excited to offer both remote and scheduled, in-person visits to students this fall. If you are interested in scheduling an appointment for you or your child, please send an email to SBHC@Neighborcare.org. If you or your child are not yet registered, you can complete our registration form here: Click Here to Register for Neighborcare School-based Health Services.

COVID-19 Resources

How to get tested

VashonBePrepared has arranged for on-Island testing, available with a referral from a doctor. Learn more here or call (844) 469-4554.

For other testing sites, contact your primary care provider or visit this page from the Department of Health and Human Services.

Useful pages

Keep Children Healthy During the Coronavirus Outbreak (CDC)

COVID-19: Stress & Coping – Information for parents (CDC)

How to Protect Yourself and Others (CDC)

Talking to Children About the Coronavirus (CDC)

What to Do If You are Sick with Covid-19 Symptoms (Washington Dept. of Health)

Cloth Face Coverings for Children During COVID-19 (American Academy of Pediatrics)