WE
WE WILL
WE WILL BRING YOU THE RESULTS AND ANALYSIS IN THE LATEST
TWISTS AND TURNS.
>>> NOW BACK TO THE BIG STORY
LOCALLY THIS WEEK.
AS SCHOOLS ARE PREPARING FOR
THE WORST WITH THE CORONAVIRUS.
NORTHSHORE SCHOOL DISTRICT HAS
CANCELED OTHER CLASSES TODAY SO
STAFF CAN TRADE FOR REMOTE
LEARNING.
LEARNING.
LEARNING. >> WE GOT THE SUPERINTENDENT
WITH US HERE THIS MORNING TO
TALK ABOUT THIS BIG CLOSURE AND
DECISION.
DECISION.
DECISION. IN MOURNING.
IN MOURNING. FIRST, I WANT TO ASK YOU ABOUT
THE FACT THAT YOU CLOSED TODAY
AND NOT YESTERDAY.
I HEARD THERE WERE 30% OF THE
KIDS WHO CALLED IN SICK AND
DIDN'T SHOW UP FOR SCHOOL
YESTERDAY.
YESTERDAY. THE PARENTS MAY HAVE KEPT HIM
HOME.
HOME.
HOME. WHY
HOME. WHY NOT CLOSE YESTERDAY?
WERE YOU EXPECTING THE NUMBER
OF ABSENCES?
OF ABSENCES? >> GREAT QUESTION.
WE HAD AN INCREASING NUMBER OF
ABSENCES AS FAMILIES HAVE BEEN
INCREASINGLY ANXIOUS ABOUT THE
VIRUS AND ITS OUTBREAK AND HOW
IT HAS TOUCHED OUR COMMUNITY
WITH MANY MEMBERS OF OUR
FAMILIES CONNECTED TO THE LIFE
CENTER EITHER WITH STAFF
WORKING THERE OR FAMILY MEMBERS
WHO PASSED AWAY.
THERE HAS BEEN AN INCREASING
LEVEL OF ANXIETY.
THE REASON WE CLOSE TO TODAY
AND NOT YESTERDAY, AND LET ME
BE CLEAR WE CLOSED TO DO
PLANNING AND PREPARATION FOR
EDUCATIONAL CONTINUITY FOR THE
STUDENTS.
STUDENTS.
STUDENTS. WE BELIEVE IT'S IMPORTANT IN
THE COMING DAYS TO PREPARE FOR
POSSIBLE EXTENDED SCHOOL
CLOSURES.
CLOSURES.
CLOSURES. OUR STAFF CAME IN ALL WEEKEND.
TEACHERS AND LEADERSHIP AND THE
CABINET, TO PLAN TRAINING
THOUGHTFULLY AND AUTHENTICALLY
FOR ALL STAFF IN THE DISTRICT
SO WE CAN BRING A REMOTE
LEARNING THAT FORM TO SCALE FOR
23,500 STUDENTS.
23,500 STUDENTS. WE WERE NOT READY TO ROLL OF
THE TRAINING MONDAY.
WE NEEDED ANOTHER DAY TO MAKE
SURE THAT EVERYTHING WAS READY.
AND WE WANTED TO GIVE THE
PARENTS A DAY'S NOTICE TO MAKE
CHILDCARE ARRANGEMENTS AND
OTHER ARRANGEMENTS.
OTHER ARRANGEMENTS. WE TRY TO BE THOUGHTFUL IN OUR
PLANNING.
PLANNING.
PLANNING. WE HAVE 3000 STAFF TO BRING UP
TO SCALE ON THE LEARNING
INITIATIVE.
INITIATIVE. WE NEEDED TO PAUSE THE DAILY
ROUTINE AND TO UNDERSTAND WHAT
WE ARE TALKING ABOUT IS NOT
BUSINESS AS USUAL.
WE NEED TO MAKE SPACE FOR THIS
TRAINING AND THIS IMPORTANT
CONVERSATION ABOUT
CONVERSATION ABOUT PREPARATIONS.
PREPARATIONS. >> IN EVERY SCHOOL DISTRICT YOU
HAVE TO BALANCE ANXIETY THAT
THE PARENTS HAVE WITH WHAT THE
DOCTORS AND HEALTH OFFICIALS
ARE SAYING WHICH IS, IT'S NOT
TIME TO CLOSE SCHOOL.
EVERYBODY NEEDS TO LIVE THEIR
LIFE.
LIFE.
LIFE. HOW
LIFE. HOW DO YOU STRIKE THE BALANCE?
>> GREAT QUESTION.
YESTERDAY THE SCHOOLS WERE OPEN
BECAUSE WE BELIEVED THE SCHOOLS
WERE SAFE WITH THE EXCEPTION OF
ONE SCHOOL.
ONE SCHOOL. WE HAVE MULTIPLE SCHOOLS WITH
STAFF EXPOSED AND FAMILIES
EXPOSED.
EXPOSED.
EXPOSED. FAMILIES HAVING TRAVELED
INTERNATIONALLY.
INTERNATIONALLY. IN OUR COMMUNITY WE ARE
TRANSPARENT.
TRANSPARENT. WE ARE OPEN TO CONVERSATION.
WE HAVE AN OPEN SURVEY AND WE
RECEIVED OVER 1000 COMMUNITY
COMMENTS.
COMMENTS.
COMMENTS. OUR FOLKS HAVE CHOSEN TO SELF
QUARANTINE AND IN SOME CASES WE
HAVE ASKED THAT.
SO, WE HAVE A LARGE NUMBER OF
SCHOOLS THAT STAYED OPEN.
32 OUT OF 33.
EVEN WITH MULTIPLE EXPOSURES.
WE HAD ONE SCHOOL, AS YOU KNOW,
FRANK LOVE ELEMENTARY WITH A
STAFF MEMBER WHO TRAVELED
INTERNATIONALLY WHO HAD FLULIKE
SYMPTOMS WHO HAS BEEN TESTED
AND WE DON'T HAVE THE RESULTS
YET.
YET.
YET. >>
YET. >> THIS IS THE ONLY DISTRICT IN
THE STATE WHERE YOU HAVE CLOSED
ALL THE SCHOOLS DAY.
TAKING A DRASTIC MEASURE TO
MAKE SURE THAT YOU CAN GET
STAFF TRAINED.
STAFF TRAINED. IN THE EVENT THAT THERE IS NO
SCHOOL FOR MULTIPLE DAYS,
RIGHT?
RIGHT?
RIGHT? OR
RIGHT? OR POSSIBLY WEEKS.
YOU GOT TO HAVE STUDENTS
LEARNING.
LEARNING.
LEARNING. DO YOU THINK THIS IS THE KIND
OF THING THAT IS HAPPENING
BECAUSE KIRKLAND IS A HOT ZONE
FOR THE OUTBREAK?
>> WE SEEM TO BE UNIQUELY
EFFECTIVE BECAUSE IT IS A HOT
ZONE AND BECAUSE WE HAVE 94
LANGUAGES SPOKEN IN THE
DISTRICT AND A LOT OF
INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL WITH
FAMILIES ON BUSINESS OR FAMILY
AFFAIRS.
AFFAIRS.
AFFAIRS. ANYTHING THAT HAPPENS IN ONE
PART OF THE WORLD HAPPENS IN
ALL PARTS OF THE WORLD.
EVEN JAKE WHO HAS STUDENTS IN
THE NORTH SHORE DISTRICT,
EVERYTHING WE DO TOUCHES ONE
ANOTHER.
ANOTHER.
ANOTHER. IN OUR DISTRICT WE FELT LIKE IF
WE WERE GOING TO BE ENCOURAGED
EVERYWHERE TO PLAN AND PREPARE
WE NEEDED TO STOP AND MAKE
SPACE TO HAVE THOUGHTFUL
PLANNING AND PREPARATION AND WE
ARE READY FOR THE FAMILIES AND
STUDENTS IF NECESSARY TO CLOSE
FOR A LONG PERIOD OF TIME.
>> IF THAT'S THE CASE I ASSUME
THERE WILL BE ONLINE CLASSES.
HOW WILL YOU HANDLE THAT?
>> THAT IS WHAT WE ARE DOING
TODAY.
TODAY.
TODAY. WE
TODAY. WE HAVE IN EVERY SCHOOL STAFF
WORKING WITH STAFF TO TAKE WHAT
WE'VE BEEN DOING IN POCKETS
ACROSS THE SYSTEM AND BRING IT
TO SCALE.
TO SCALE.
TO SCALE. SO THAT WE ARE ABLE TO
EQUITABLY MEET THE NEEDS OF ALL
THE STUDENTS.
THE STUDENTS. WE HAVE PUT OUT A CALL TO THE
FAMILIES WHO NEED THINGS AT
HOME AND MAYBE INTERNET ACCESS
FOR HOTSPOTS THAT WE ARE
ISSUING THOSE ON A NEED BY NEED
BASIS AND WE ARE UP