Monitoring Communicable Diseases

Updated: May 1, 2020

Bellingham Public Schools  are closed through the end of the school year. Please continue to stay connected and refer here for the latest updates regarding nutrition.

Starting Monday, May 4 we increased from providing 10 meals (breakfast and lunch for Monday to Friday) to 14 meals to cover the entire week. Students and families can pick up multi-day meal boxes on Mondays between 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. at all 16 of our school and neighborhood complex sites. Meal boxes are available for any student; there is no income requirement or verification needed at this time. We ask families who are sick to please stay home.

Families can go to the following schools to pick up meals:

• Alderwood Elementary School
• Carl Cozier Elementary School
• Cordata Elementary School
• Geneva Elementary School
• Happy Valley Elementary School
• Parkview Elementary School
• Roosevelt Elementary School
• Wade King Elementary School
• Shuksan Middle School
• Options High School

Or the following neighborhood/apartment complexes:

• Eliza Court mobile home park
• Evergreen Apartments
• Regency Park Apartments
• Sterling Meadows Apartments
• Sudden Valley Community Center
• Villa Santa Fe Apartments

At this time we are unable to fill requests for special dietary needs. If you have questions about carbohydrates and allergens please email susan.dejong@bellinghamschools.org and we will try to get you that information in a timely manner.

Please be flexible as plans may change based on access to food, staff and supplies; guidance from the health department; or orders from the governor to prevent COVID-19 from spreading further. This service is possible with the incredible efforts of our food services team and the generosity of Bellingham Public Schools Foundation.

Please continue to check back here for the most up-to-date information.

If you have questions related to our meal service, please fill out this online form, click “school meals” and submit the form; someone will respond soon.

Many teachers have already connected with students and families to check in, provide instructional content and support students’ continued learning.

• Middle and high school students will receive their instructional support through their personal school district computing devices using tools such as OneNote, Microsoft Teams, and Flipgrid.
• For elementary students, teachers will initiate online connections using the SeeSaw program that most of our elementary teachers have already been using to connect school with home.

Please visit our Learning Resources webpage for more information.

This information is now available on our child care webpage.

• Make sure that you have provided up-to-date contact information to your child’s school so that you can receive updates. Follow the directions on our Skylert webpage to set your preferences. 
• Keep sick children at home as appropriate.
• Health Department’s Guidelines for Informal Gatherings of Children and Youth While Schools are Closed. This New York Times article provides some good advice regarding parenting during this challenging time.
• Encourage your children to practice good hand washing. 
• Talk with your children to help minimize fear. This comic is a helpful resource for families. 

• Current COVID-19 resources may be found at: 

• • The Washington State Health Department FAQ 
  • The Whatcom County Health Department FAQ 
  • The Center for Disease Control and Prevention COVID-19 Info Page 
  • CDC page In Spanish 

• It’s important to know the facts. 
• Please remember that the risk of COVID-19 is not at all connected with race, ethnicity or nationality. We all play a part in reducing stigma and discrimination associated with a disease outbreak. Please don’t make assumptions about someone’s health status based on their ethnicity, race or national origin. Viruses don’t discriminate and neither should we. 
• There’s no evidence children are more susceptible to the virus; 98% of confirmed cases to date are adults. 
• We encourage all families to confer with their health care providers for specific medical advice or questions as needed. 

• We rely on the direction of regional health experts for sharing communications relating to communicable disease outbreaks. We work with agencies including the Whatcom County Health Department, Washington State Dept. of Health, and the Center for Disease Control. 
• Our district policy 3414 and procedure  3414 guides the protocols we would follow for any communicable disease. 

• If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to school nurses, Health Services (360-676-6470 ext. 6533), or School Safety & Emergency Management (360-676-6534). 
• Please also take a moment to update your family’s communications preferences in Skyward Family Access by following the directions on our Skylert webpage so you will receive all communications from our schools and district in the way(s) you prefer. 
• Submit questions or comments through this weblink.