Palo Alto Unified School District will release a detailed update to the community regarding COVID-19, the novel coronavirus, according to a tweet by Superintendent Don Austin this afternoon.
“Principals will communicate directly w [with] staffs, #PAUSD will have detailed update to all this evening. Constant contact with Santa Clara Health Department & Office of Ed,” Austin stated in the tweet.
Due to concerns over COVID-19, Palo Alto High School’s prom has also been canceled, according to a Schoology message this afternoon from Principal Adam Paulson, and approximately 60 district leaders are meeting today in the Media Arts Center to discuss how schools will respond to the pandemic.
“We spent a great deal of time considering ways to hold prom while meeting CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] and the Santa Clara County Health Department guidelines regarding groups and the Coronavirus,” Paulson stated in the Schoology message. “These guidelines are becoming more restrictive each day … unfortunately, we will not be able to hold Prom this year.”
In an email to the community at 10:55 p.m. last night, Paulson detailed how Paly staff have been instructed to keep the campus clean. Read the email below.
Parents/Guardians,
We have been very busy since Monday, 3/9/20 when the superintendent communicated protocols and procedures for moving forward during these unprecedented times. I have been working with our entire staff to answer site specific questions.
Cleanliness is a high priority for our school. This past weekend, I personally walked the campus with our director of facilities to point out high needs areas and to ensure the bathrooms were stocked with soap and towels. We also added 5 sanitizer stations located throughout the campus. This week, we distributed cleaning supplies for all classrooms to ensure all teachers can keep their areas clean during the school day between custodial shifts. Our custodians, campus supervisors, and admin team will be monitoring the cleanliness of restrooms daily and ensuring soap, towels, and sanitizer supplies are stocked throughout the day.
I have attached a calendar with updates on the status of events for the rest of the school year. This will be posted on paly.net and on a weekly basis updated as the year progresses.
Some things to keep in mind:
- Parents are asked not to come on campus except for 504 meetings or IEP meetings. Any other school business should be conducted over the phone or email.
- All sporting events and performances will be limited to 100 spectators and we ask that you keep a six feet radius from other spectators if you choose to attend.
- All field trips, assemblies, and competitions requiring plane travel will be canceled.
Please continually remind your students about thorough handwashing.
Thank you so much for keeping our students and staff at the center of our conversations during these challenging times. Balancing our high school students experience and public safety is a challenging dynamic.
With Gratitude,
Mr. Paulson
According to Santa Clara County Public Health Department, there are 48 recorded cases of COVID-19 within the county as of March 12 at 2:30 p.m.
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