Leslie Robinson-Stone – Page 29 – County of Santa Barbara

Mar 13, 2020

Santa Barbara County K-12 Public School Closure

Closure Begins No Later than March 18 and continues through the end of March

As of 4:15 p.m. March 13, 2020

With the COVID-19 situation changing rapidly, the Santa Barbara County K-12 Public School Superintendents, charter school administrators, and Santa Barbara County Superintendent of Schools, Susan Salcido, have been carefully evaluating the possibility of school closure for students throughout Santa Barbara County. Leaders have been meeting regularly to evaluate this complex issue. Today, in cooperation with the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department (SBCPHD), the decision has been made to close all schools by Wednesday, March 18. By proactively making this difficult decision, districts can implement their plans in light of their individual community needs

“The closure of any school has real consequences beyond the loss of instruction, social connection and cognitive engagement. This was a very difficult decision, which was not made lightly,” said Santa Barbara County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Susan Salcido. “Our school leaders recognize that this closure has widespread ramifications and are working to address impacts such as nutrition for students who typically receive meals during the school day.”

At this time, there are no confirmed cases in Santa Barbara County.

Santa Barbara County Public Health Director Van Do-Reynoso said, “We support the decision to close public schools. While there are no confirmed cases at this time, this demonstration of social distancing will help to slow the spread of the virus and minimize the public health impacts in our community.”

Some of our districts have 20,000 students in suburban areas and others operate in rural locations with fewer than 100 students. This plan allows for some flexibility for each district to implement their closure plan with their communities in mind.

Classes will not resume before the end of March. Given the dynamic situation, decisions related to reconvening will be made in conjunction with SBCPHD.

Schools FAQ

Public schools, charter schools, programs and services of the Santa Barbara County Education Office (SBCEO) in Santa Barbara County will close no later than Wednesday, March 18, meaning that last day students will be on campus is Tuesday, March 17. Administrators will be monitoring the situation to determine when schools might be able to reconvene safely.

K-12 Public School Districts (no later than March 18 – end of March)
Ballard School District	March 18
Blochman School District	March 16 (open for drop off on Monday/Tuesday)
Buellton School District	March 18
Carpinteria Unified School District	March 16
Cold Spring School District	March 16
College School District	March 18
Cuyama School District	March 18 – April 20
Goleta Union School District	March 16
Guadalupe School District	March 18
Hope School District	March 16
Lompoc Unified	March 18
Los Olivos School District	March 18 – April 14
Montecito Union School District	March 16
Orcutt School District	March 18
Santa Barbara Unified School District	March 16
Santa Maria Bonita School District	March 18
Santa Maria Joint Union High School District	March 18
Santa Ynez Valley School District	March 18 – April 14
Solvang School District	March 18
Vista del Mar School District	March 18

Santa Barbara County Education Office programs at school sites will close in alignment with the school site closure date with the exception of the court schools which will remain open. Early Start services in the home will transition to remote consultation starting March 18.

Charter Schools (no later than March 18 – end of March)
Adelante Charter	March 16
Family Partnership Charter	March 16 (open on 3/17 for families that need drop off options)
Manzanita Public Charter	March 18 – April 6
Olive Grove Charter	March 16 (remote learning)
Orcutt Academy Charter	March 18
Peabody Charter	March 16
Santa Barbara Charter	March 16 – April 3
Santa Ynez Valley Charter	March 16 – April 3 (Spring Break April 6-13)
Trivium Charter	March 17 (remote learning)

Private Schools (In-person learning closure dates. If your student attends this school, please contact the school directly.)
Agape School of Christian Education
The Anacapa School
Bishop Garcia Diego High School	March 16 & 17 (no students on campus), March 18-April 9 (remote learning), April 10-19 (Easter Break)
Cachuma Elementary & Middle School	Open
Children’s Montessori School
Coastline Christian Academy	March 16-20 (remote learning), March 23-27 (Spring Break)
Crane Country Day School	March 16-20 (remote learning), March 23-April 3 (Spring Break)
Dunn School	March 18-April 14 (remote learning, Spring Break)
Eagles Christian Academy
Eureka School of Santa Barbara
First Baptist Christian School
Garden Street Academy
Grace Christian Academy
John Paul II Preparatory
La Purisima Concepcion Elementary	March 17 – March 31*
Laguna Blanca School	March 16
Lompoc Valley Baptist School
Marymount of Santa Barbara	March 16-20 (remote learning), March 23-27 Spring Break*
Midland School
Montessori Center School	March 16-27*
Notre Dame	March 16-31*
Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Elementary	March 16-31*
Pacific Christian	March 18 – April 3
Providence School	March 16-20 (remote learning), March 23-27 Spring Break*
Saint Therese Classical Academy	March 16-March 31*
Santa Barbara Middle School	March 16
Santa Ynez Valley Christian Academy
South Coast Montessori
St. Joseph High	March 17 – March 31*
St. Louis de Montfort Elementary	March 16 – March 31*
St. Mary of the Assumption School	March 16 – March 31*
St. Raphael Elementary	March 16 – March 31*
The Howard Carden School	March 16 (closed), March 17-end of the month (remote learning)
The Knox School of Santa Barbara	March 16 – April 20* (remote learning)
The Santa Ynez Valley Family School
Valley Christian Academy
The Waldorf School of Santa Barbara

*The school will consider the conditions at this point to determine if it’s safe to reopen campus-based learning.

LOCAL HEALTH EMERGENCY AND LOCAL EMERGENCY DECLARED ALONG WITH HEALTH OFFICER ORDER FOR SOCIAL DISTANCING IN SANTA BARBARA COUNTY

(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) – There are no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Santa Barbara County at this time. In order to protect the health of our community, the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department has issued a declaration of a local health emergency and health officer order for the postponement and cancellation of events, as indicated below, as well as social distancing measures. The guidelines to be implemented are in direct alignment with California Department of Public Health’s most recent guidelines issued today regarding social distancing and public gatherings.

Following the public health declaration, the County proclaimed a local emergency, which is an essential step for local governments dealing with significant incidents. It ensures that all county resources are available to respond to COVID-19 in Santa Barbara County. Having the proclamation in place also helps facilitate state and federal reimbursement for emergency response.

Large gatherings that include 250 people or more should be postponed or canceled.
- This includes gatherings such as concerts, conferences, and professional, college, and school sporting events.
Smaller gatherings held in venues that do not allow social distancing of six feet per person should be postponed or canceled.
- This includes gatherings in crowded auditoriums, rooms or other venues.
Gatherings of individuals who are at higher risk for severe illness from COVID-19 should be limited to no more than 10 people.
- This includes gatherings such as those at retirement facilities, assisted living facilities, developmental homes, and support groups for people with health conditions.
A “gathering” is any event or convening that brings together people in a single room or single space at the same time, such as an auditorium, stadium, arena, large conference room, meeting hall, cafeteria, or any other indoor or outdoor space.

This applies to all non-essential professional, social, and community gatherings regardless of their sponsor. Gatherings that do not meet the aforementioned criteria should only be conducted when they are essential—that is, if the activity is essential and could not be postponed or achieved without gathering, meaning that some other means of communication could not be used to conduct the essential function.

COUNTY DECLARES LOCAL HEALTH EMERGENCY, LOCAL EMERGENCY, HEALTH OFFICER ORDER

This guidance will remain in place at least through the month of March. As with all guidance that relates to COVID-19 response, authorities will revisit this guidance on a regular basis to evaluate the continued public health need for it and to evaluate if any elements need to be changed.

Social distancing is a practice recommended by public health officials to stop or slow down the spread of contagious diseases. It requires the creation of physical space between individuals who may spread certain infectious diseases. The key is to minimize the number of gatherings as much as possible and to achieve space between individuals when events or activities cannot be modified, postponed, or canceled.

The goal is to prevent people physically coming together unnecessarily, where people who have the infection can easily spread it to others. This guidance does not apply to activities such as attendance at regular school classes, work, or essential services.

Certain activities are essential to the functioning of our community and must continue. Hence, this does not apply to essential public transportation, airport travel, or shopping at a store or mall.

This does not apply to congregate living situations, including dormitories and homeless encampments.

For more information, please visit www.publichealthsbc.org or call the County’s COVID-19 call center at (833) 688-5551

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTH RELEASES CORONAVIRUS DISEASE (COVID 19) INFORMATION PORTAL FOR COMMUNITY

(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) – The Santa Barbara County Public Health Department (PHD) released a new information portal to augment its current website in response to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). The new user-friendly communication portal uses accessible icons to organize information as a one-stop -shop information source for the community. The site is easy to navigate for the most current updates and trusted information from public health officials, as well as a section intended for PHD’s critical community health care partners. There are currently no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Santa Barbara County.

The new COVID-19 website is located at http://PublicHealthSBC.org with information available in English and Spanish. The site features daily status reports, general information about coronavirus, prevention tips, frequently asked questions, and links to information released by the California Department of Public Health Department (CDPH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The PHD has been working diligently to prepare for the possibility of a COVID-19 case in Santa Barbara County. “Keeping the public safe and healthy is our most important responsibility. We are using all avenues of communication to ensure that our community has the most up to date information and can make informed decisions about their health and the health of those around them,” shared Dr. Henning Ansorg, Health Officer for Santa Barbara County. “Each of us must stay informed and understand what COVID-19 is, how together we can slow the spread of this disease, and how we can continue to act in the best interest of each other – all of this takes having the right information.”

Health officials note that immediate risk for the general public remains low at this time. Nevertheless, due to the rapidly changing nature of the spread of COVID-19 around the world, it is more important than ever to prepare for potential community spread. The PHD reminds the community to take the following steps to protect their health and the health of those around them:

Wash your hands with soap and water
Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands
Avoid close contact with people who are sick
Stay away from work, school or other people if you become sick with respiratory symptoms like fever and cough

For more information about COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019), please visit the SBCPHD COVID-19 website at PublicHealthSBC.org or call the PHD information line at 805-681-4373.