Thursday, March 19
March 19, 2020
An Aloha High School student has tested positive for COVID-19 and attended school while infected.
School updates: Online learning allows students to complete their tasks anytime that day, giving students lots of free time to occupy themselves with. To utilize these digital learning days effectively, Jesuit has decided to send out a google form today surveying student’s thoughts on how their online learning days have played out, as well as urging students to contact their counselors anytime they need help.
In aid to some student’s potential anxiety, depression, isolation, or loneliness during this time of quarantine, Mr. Clarke and Mrs. DeKlotz encourage students to send “points of hope”, which could be anything from a song, work of art, or a meme. Mr. Clake places these “points of hope” at the end of his examen emails each day.
World updates: Yesterday, the Beaverton School District and the Washington County Health Department reported that a student at Aloha High School tested positive for COVID-19 and was at school while sick the week of March 9. The Aloha High School case marks the first of only two cases reported in Portland metro area public schools and is the first case where a student has been infected. Washington County now has 23 cases of coronavirus, the most by far in Oregon, which only has 75 confirmed cases total as of Wednesday.
Several states have already announced that they will either not re-open schools for the rest of the school year or they will not make up missed school days due to COVID-19. Kansas is the only state so far to officially declare that its public schools will remain closed for the rest of the year, though the governor of California has suggested his state will follow suit in coming days. Florida cancelled all tests and grades for the rest of the year, while Arizona has said that it will not require school districts to make up school days in the summer.
In Washington, the race to provide economic relief to workers and families impacted by COVID-19 continues, with Senate Republicans unveiling a 250-page, White House-coordinated proposal that outlines the specifics of the direct payments to Americans, as well as hundreds of billions of dollars in small business and affected industry loans. The Republican proposal offers $1,200 cash payments to American adults who make $75,000 or less individually, as well as an extra $500 per child. It also offers $208 billion in loans to industries such as airlines and $300 billion in loans to small businesses, which are forgiven if they retain all employees on payroll. Democrats have suggested, however, that they want a seat at the table, and adjustments will need to be made to the package to secure bipartisan support.