Governor Jay Inslee closed the public schools across Washington State until at least April 27.
Inslee said schools must close by the end of Monday and will remain closed through at least April 24. The earliest possible date students could return to class would be April 27, Inslee said.
The closures will affect more than 1.2 million students.
Standardized testing will likely be suspended.
That’s putting matters into perspective.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Close them all, throughout the country, NOW!
LikeLike
The countries of Europe have already done this.
LikeLike
Let’s suspend high-stakes standardized testing until the entropy death of the universe.
LikeLike
And sue the testing companies for perpetrating fraud and recover the money paid to them for use in putting nurses into schools.
LikeLike
Our school along with all the other districts in the county shut down as of last night.
Of course, one of the key questions for all our communities will be who should be “social distanced” and who can’t be -because those people simply have to go out and do their jobs. (Doctors, police officers, firefighters come to mind first but there are plenty of others.)
Who makes those sorts of decisions and how….well, maybe someone on here has a better handle on that than I do. I haven’t heard much if anything about how those things are being organized.
What is the plan, as Diane mentioned in a reply to a comment I wrote yesterday? (“…the lesson being that the foot soldiers were moved around by distant generals who were never under fire. Those on the ground lived or died because of decisions made by others they never knew,” she said.)
Yeah, who are those “others”? Who are those generals, those planners now?
So far the president has been a pathetic, tragically ineffective leader. But has that totally true, absolutely not-fake news surprised any but his most ardent supporters?
I am heartened, though, by lots of other people, from local officials to the just plain folks I’ve run across this weekend. People who were and will step up. Not everyone but plenty of us.
My daughter had a dance competition early yesterday morning. She and I drove up to Binghamton, a small-sized city about an hour away from here in Upstate New York.
The competition was still on -and before perhaps some people on here start judging, let me say that this was not the sort of event that had an auditorium packed full of people.
The dancers were up on a stage, there was a smattering of people here and there. We were certainly underneath the state edict of what, 500 or even 250 people gathered in one place.
Dancers are tough people.
I went to watch and my daughter performed.
And I think everyone sort of knew. This was it, for a while -though I didn’t hear anyone talking about that.
The Forum Theatre is on the National Register of Historic Places. It seats 1,500, My guess is this was a very unique event in its 101 year history. I turned off my phone and for a couple hours just watched. No news, no Trump, no national disaster unraveling slowly but surely.
Could and should the dance competition have been cancelled? Well, maybe. But we will all have those judgement calls to make in the days ahead. When to take a risk…when not. What or who or how to trust…others and our own judgement as well…
This is my daughter’s senior year. She wanted to dance.
So, I sat there and watched as something absolutely breathtaking happened on that stage.
It is truly amazing the kind of beauty that our fellow humans beings can create.
There were all ages of students and sorts of music. There was a little girl doing a tap dance to “Singing in the Rain.” A super precise group of hip hop performers. And, there were some older high school students, young women who obviously have had many, many years of ballet training.
I’m certainly not one to cry especially out in public but I have to admit that at several moments I had tears welling up in my eyes sitting there in that dark theatre. These young people, our children, are capable of doing so many great and wonderful things. How did it come to this?
I’ve got to…we’ve all got to do better for them, whatever it takes.
I don’t know what the “plan” will be but I intend on trying to seek out the best of our human spirit in the weeks ahead. To assist others when and however I can. Certainly to lay low and remain isolated when that is the right thing to do, also.
It’s like those Italians who are quarantined in their homes but are still opening their windows and sharing the joy of singing. We will find a way.
I don’t know if the video of yesterday’s competition is up online yet. It was filmed and I’m sure it will be shared eventually, There will be millions of hours of video and massive libraries worth of words written about what we are all experiencing together right now.
Here are the YouTube links to a couple of the songs that were used by the performers.
“Mad World” originally by Tears for Fears. (How fitting a title.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHtcliIvnHI
And the song my daughter danced to, “Mystery of Love” by Sufjan Stevens. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0CP9zpbmAQ
Both are definitely worth listening to.
LikeLike
P.S. a good piece from the Washington Post on Tuesday. Best of luck and thank you to all the journalists out there working so hard to bring us the facts and hope. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/03/10/coronavirus-what-matters-isnt-what-you-can-see-what-you-cant/?fbclid=IwAR0JdxMe6MAdJzzaYgHuqAr75E0WBXQvSDr0X7kRpQ1EWqDAYVjHWixZUNY
LikeLike
Thank you, John, for sharing this story.
Think of the many performers and athletes and artists of many kinds and ages who were ready to show their hard work to the public but were canceled. It’s very sad. It’s sad that the world is closing down around us. It’s sad that stores are being stripped bare by panic shopping.its sad that many people living alone will have no one to care for them.its sad that millions of low-wage workers will be laid off and have no money to feed their families or pay their rent. I could go on, but so could we all. We are living through an unprecedented crisis, all of us, and our leadership is inept, uncertain, fluctuating between false bravado and confusing assertions about where things stand.
LikeLike
Here are some reasons for optimism from the same Washington Post writer I linked to above, Megan McArdle. Good writing.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/03/12/there-are-reasons-be-optimistic-regarding-coronavirus/?arc404=true&utm_campaign=wp_week_in_ideas&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_ideas
I took a walk yesterday evening when we got home and the same point hit me: the United States is a huge, spread out nation. Even our most populated cities are not as densely packed as other places. As McArdle details, this geography will help.
I do feel so bad for the people in less economically developed nations who are facing this crisis without that geographic buffer as well as the power and resiliency of our economy. Of, course, other world cultures that might seem less developed have created enviable even noble ways of adapting to dire challenges. There are surely lessons we can and should learn from them.)
I can only hope this global tragedy can help bring us together in the future at some point.
Funny thing is, BTW, where we live up here it’s hard to know the difference between “social distancing” and just the regular isolation we know so well, LOL. I walked down the road and there were no cars. Well, there’s hardly ever any cars on Route 97.
Gotta keep a sense of humor if possible.
LikeLike
Stories.
My mother was a student nurse at Massachusetts General Hospital during the 1918-19 “Spanish flu” pandemic. I did not know that detail in her life history until I became custodian of some family records. Among these records was a certificate of appreciation for service during that pandemic. Her name is hand lettered in classic Gothic-style calligraphy, on parchment. The certificate is signed by the chief medical officer of MGH.
The link below shows how experts in Cincinnati Ohio are preparing for the worst. So far, we do not have any documented cases of people who have the virus. Even so, well-informed staff at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center are assuming that will change and all too soon. They are preparing for the worst because they are first responders to everything, not just this threat, and they are under-appreciated. https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2020/03/14/coronavirus-ohio-covid-19-tents-set-up-university-cincinnati/5051646002/
LikeLike
This from Jay Inslee in WA state:
ASSESSMENTS
As of March 13, state assessments are canceled statewide for the remainder of the 2020 school year. These include: Smarter Balanced Assessments (English Language Arts and Math) for grades 3–8 and 10; Washington Access to Instruction and Measurement (WA-AIM) English Language Arts and Math for grades 3–8 and 10; English Language Proficiency Assessment (ELPA21); Washington Comprehensive Assessment of Science for grades 5, 8, and 11; Washington Access to Instruction and Measurement (WA-AIM) Science for grades 5, 8, and 11; WIDA Alternate ACCESS for English learners; and WaKIDS for Transitional Kindergarten.
LikeLike
It’s a good thing we have a federal system of government. At this point it seems that state and local efforts are being better coordinated. State and local authorities have tired of waiting for the Trump administration to get their act together and have taken matters into their own hands.
LikeLike
Diane,
I checked with OSPI, the WA State Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction.
Here is the OSPI post.
“OSPI has decided that all state testing will be canceled for the 2019–20 school year. This includes the Smarter Balanced Assessment (SBA), the Washington Comprehensive Assessment of Science (WCAS), the Washington Access to Instruction and Measurement (WA-AIM), English Learner Progress Assessment for the 21st Century (ELPA21), and WIDA Alternate ACCESS for ELLs.”
Barbara Bennett, MA
Educational Therapist
Seattle, WA
LikeLike