Park Orchard Elementary School. COURTESY PHOTO, Kent School District

Park Orchard Elementary School. COURTESY PHOTO, Kent School District

Park Orchard Elementary School classroom in Kent closed due to COVID-19

Fifth classroom closure in the Kent School District since school began Aug. 26

A classroom at Park Orchard Elementary School has been closed Monday, Nov. 1 by the Kent School District due to COVID-19.

All other classrooms at Park Orchard, 11010 SE 232nd St., remain open, according to the district’s COVID-19 School Status Map. The school contacts all impacted families about the closure.

Park Orchard is the fifth classroom at five schools that the district has closed due to the pandemic since classes started Aug. 26. The other classroom closures were at Daniel, Covington, Panther Lake and Meridian elementary schools. The district has not had to shut down any entire school.

The district considers closure of a classroom after consultation with Public Health — Seattle & King County when:

• Two or more students or staff in the same room/area test positive for COVID-19

• The cases have symptoms that start within 14 days of each other

• The cases are not associated with one another in another setting (household, club, etc.)

A COVID-19 outbreak in a school is considered when the following have been met:

• There are two or more COVID-19 cases among students or staff

• The cases have a symptom onset or positive test result within a 14-day period of each other

• The cases are epidemiologically linked

• The cases do not share a household

• The cases are not identified as close contacts of each other in another setting during the investigation

If a full class needs to quarantine in response to COVID-19 transmission, then:

• Staff and families will be notified by phone, letter and/or email of the classroom closure

• Students will shift to the 100% remote model used during the 2020-21 school year

• Schedules will mirror current 2021-22 in-person schedules

• Teachers will have two days to transition to synchronous remote learning, and learning will begin online fully by the third day for impacted classrooms

• Classroom closures will typically last 14 days

Latest COVID-19 numbers

Since Oct. 1, the district has had 93 students with COVID-19, with 16 cases still active as of Nov. 1, according to the Kent School District COVID-19 Reporting Dashboard.

Twenty-three staff members have had COVID-19, with four active cases.

The district has more than 23,000 students at 43 schools.

The data table represents COVID-19 cases for students and staff in the district since Oct. 1. The date coincides with the transition to the new database being used by the district’s contact tracing staff hired and trained in September.

The district refreshes the dashboard every Monday by 10 a.m.

A case is a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis. Active cases are cases with a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis within the infectious period for students/staff members.

The dashboard contains only cases recorded and reported starting Oct. 1. Students/staff that have had contact with a COVID-19 case but have not tested positive themselves are not included in the dashboard.


Talk to us

Please share your story tips by emailing editor@kentreporter.com.

To share your opinion for publication, submit a letter through our website https://www.kentreporter.com/submit-letter/. Include your name, address and daytime phone number. (We’ll only publish your name and hometown.) Please keep letters to 300 words or less.

More in News

File photo
Man sentenced in Federal Way rock throwing death

Judi Kilma retrieved a fist-sized rock after a man punctured one of the tires on Kilma’s bicycle.

t
Kent Police Blotter: March 11-25

Incidents include commercial burglary, DUI arrest

Flowers for slain trooper Chris Gadd begin to collect outside Washington State Patrol District 7 Headquarters on Saturday, March 2 in Marysville. (Ryan Berry / Sound Publishing)
Lynnwood man pleads not guilty in crash that killed WSP trooper

Raul Benitez Santana arraigned Tuesday on vehicular homicide charge in Trooper Chris Gadd’s death.

Captain Ron Mead and Corporal Alexis Robinson embrace during a memorial for Washington State Patrol trooper Chris Gadd on Tuesday, March 12 at Angel of the Winds Arena in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / Sound Publishing)
Man was reportedly driving 112 mph before crashing into Trooper Gadd

Charging documents reveal details of March 2 crash that killed Kentlake High graduate

t
Kent apartment shooting injures man, woman on East Hill

Incident began Sunday, March 24 as domestic dispute; woman’s brother gets involved and shots are fired

Chase Wilcoxson, father to Matilda, 13, and Eloise,12, places a family photo at the roadside memorial dedicated to his daughters, Buster Brown, 12, and Andrea Hudson, 38. Photo by Bailey Jo Josie/Sound Publishing.
Families forgive Kent suspect involved in fatal crash near Renton

High-speed collision March 19 killed four; families of victims call to make the roads safer

t
Kent mayor plans to keep fighting for sales tax to hire more police

State of the City address also touches on new restaurants, roundabouts and walking paths

t
Crews to begin work on $13.8 million final phase of 76th Avenue upgrade

Street to be raised above Mill Creek floodplain, paved with concrete; bridges to replace culverts

t
Smoke alarms help Kent family of five escape house fire

Firefighters rescue one male from roof in March 19 fire on East Hill

File photo
Victims identified in ‘mass casualty’ collision that killed four near Renton | Update

Detectives say the collision was caused by an 18-year-old driver.

t
Semi-truck rollover blocks Green River Bridge in Auburn

Traffic had to be diverted from State Route 18; heavy impact on Kent streets

t
Seattle church’s donation to cover asylum seekers bill at Kent hotel

Group to remain at Kent Quality Inn for two more weeks