COVID-19 surge hits Treasure Valley schools. Which ones have temporarily closed?
As COVID-19 cases surge across the Treasure Valley, more schools are being forced to close temporarily.
Peace Valley Charter School in Boise and Owyhee Elementary School in the Nampa School District will both be closed Friday. Both schools plan to reopen Tuesday.
In an email to the Peace Valley community, Principal Andrew Ross said the school was expecting to have a high number of faculty and staff members out Friday “for a variety of health reasons,” along with a number of students “out sick for various reasons or quarantining.”
Ross did not mention COVID-19 directly in the email. He cited state law that said the “health, safety of welfare of the pupils” should be taken into account to continue educational services. A “significant percentage” of faculty and staff are unable to attend school, Ross wrote.
The school’s after care program and after-school clubs will also be canceled Friday.
Ross said the school expects to open Tuesday but will let families know Sunday if that changes.
Owyhee Elementary in Nampa closes
In Nampa, Owyhee Elementary has 10 staff members out for “various reasons,” including five with confirmed cases of COVID-19, district spokesperson Kathleen Tuck said. That’s about one-third of the staff members at the school, she said.
“We’re just hit so hard at every single school that we just can’t cover everything there,” she said. “We’re really struggling.”
The district is not mandating masks or social distancing in classrooms, Tuck said.
On Wednesday, the Caldwell School District also announced all of its schools would be closed Thursday and Friday due to an increase in COVID-19 cases, staffing shortages and high numbers of student absences.
The district also put into place a temporary mask mandate through Jan. 21.
Sage International School in Boise also closed Wednesday and Thursday due to high numbers of staff out. The school also plans to reopen Tuesday but will reach out to parents Sunday with any updates.
Schools across the Treasure Valley have been reporting increasing numbers of positive COVID-19 cases and have been struggling with staff shortages and high absence rates among students.
Health officials have warned about how contagious the omicron variant is and encouraged schools to implement mask mandates and other mitigation protocols. Most school districts in Idaho do not require masks in the classroom.
Becca Savransky covers education for the Idaho Statesman in partnership with Report for America. The position is partly funded through community support. Click here to donate.
