This Tulare County public school remains open as coronavirus cases continue to spread
An elementary school just outside Visalia remained open this week even as Tulare County reported the largest number of positive coronavirus cases in the central San Joaquin Valley.
Outside Creek Elementary School, a small rural school southeast of Visalia with about 100 students, has not shut down like most other school districts in the state, school staff confirmed Monday and Tuesday.
Outside Creek Elementary School District Superintendent Derrick Bravo did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
School officials across the country have worried closing schools would hamper education, hamstring students from lower-income families who may not have consistent Internet access and cut off a major food source for many of those same students.
In a Facebook post addressed to families, Bravo said, “I hope all is well. School remains open with the independent study option. The independent study packets will be available for pick up on Monday. CDC states: Short to medium closures do not impact the spread of the virus. In other countries, those places who closed school (e.g., Hong Kong) have not had more success in reducing spread than those that did not (e.g., Singapore).”
But at a time when most California has been instructed to stay at home by Gov. Gavin Newsom and avoid gatherings of 10 or more people, nearly every district in the state has shuttered, colleges have moved online and canceled nearly every school-related event.
About 99.6% of school districts in California have closed or announced they will close because of COVID-19, EdSource reports, affecting more than 6 million students.
Most school districts in the Valley closed on March 16 and don’t plan to reopen until at least mid-April. The Visalia School District shut down its schools last week, along with nearly a dozen other districts in Tulare County.
Los Angeles Unified officials on Monday said their schools would remain shuttered until at least May, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention also said there “maybe some impact” to combat the spread of COVID-19 if schools are closed for 8 to 20 weeks. School closures depend on the level of community transmission, according to the CDC.
There are guidelines posted on the CDC website that advise schools on when they should close, cancel or postpone events. All decisions to close or cancel events should be made locally with the help of local health officials, the CDC said.
“Schools, working together with local health departments, have an important role in slowing the spread of diseases to help ensure students have safe and healthy learning environments,” according to the CDC’s website.
Tulare County officials on Tuesday said there were a total of 17 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the county and they expect that number to climb.
“It’s important at this time that our community heed the governor’s order to shelter-at-home and ensure they’re only leaving their homes to access essential services,” said Dr. Karen Haught, Tulare County health officer, on Friday.
The order Newson announced Thursday prevents people from leaving their homes unless it’s for “essential” work, going outside, walking their dogs or picking up groceries and medicine.
Outside Creek Elementary School is the only school in the Outside Creek Elementary School District. There are 112 K-8 students and five teachers at the school, according to Public School Review.
Tulare County Office of Education sites are closed until April 1 to help stop the spread of coronavirus, officials said. Tim HIre, the county superintendent of schools, did not respond to requests for comment.
There have been 1,733 confirmed coronavirus cases and 27 deaths in California, the California Department of Health’s most recent update on Monday afternoon said.
This story was originally published March 23, 2020 at 4:39 PM.