Launch

03

Mar 2020

0

Dear Launch Families,

Launch is committed to keeping our learning community informed. The health and well-being of our students, staff, and community are a top concern.

Launch continues to monitor the CDC, City of Seattle, King County Public Health, and Seattle Public Schools to align our response plans to help mitigate the possible spread of the novel coronavirus causing the COVID-19 disease.

In this time of uncertainty, we strive to keep families well-informed regarding our plans, as well as ask for your support in keeping our students healthy.

We are asking parents and/or guardians to assist us in the following ways:

  1. Please encourage your child to wash their hands when they arrive to Launch, and throughout the day. Here are is great video from the CDC around handwashing “Happy Handwashing Song
  2. Please keep your child home when ill, and notify Launch if your child is diagnosed with COVID-19 or has been in close contact with individuals who have been diagnosed
  3. Please update your contact information in Procare, to ensure you receive all necessary information in a timely manner
  4. Reminder: If you think you or your children were exposed to COVID-19, contact your primary care provider and call 1-800-525-0127 (Wa. State Dept. of Health) and press # for next steps. Unless it is an emergency, do not go to your nearest emergency room without calling ahead so they can take steps to provide you with the right treatment and protect others from a possible exposure.

Launch has a stringent cleaning and disinfecting protocol to prevent the spread of any contagious diseases. Teachers have been asked to review their cleaning checklists, and additional cleaning strategies are in practice around heavy hand contact places like door knobs, light switches and computer boards.

If a Launch location and/or the neighboring community is highly impacted by the virus, we will be working closely with our teachers to ensure state required ratios are adhered to. If we have a significant number of staff absences, or area schools begin to close, Launch will also close the affected location. We will endeavor to communicate any impacts to the center with as much advance notice as we can.

Additional information from the Department of Health can be found HERE, including some suggestions for helping children understand what is going on.

Thank you for your help in keeping our children safe and healthy.

Laura Nicholson, Director of Operations
Mari Offenbecher, Interim Executive Director

Additional Resources

CDC page on Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)

King County page on COVID-19 – there is a link where you can subscribe for email updates as they are posted on the site

Seattle Public Schools updates on COVID-19

https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/02/28/809580453/just-for-kids-a-comic-exploring-the-new-coronavirus

  • If you are in King County and believe you were exposed to a confirmed case of COVID-19, or if you’re a healthcare provider with questions about COVID-19, contact our novel coronavirus call center: 206-477-3977.
  • The call center will be open daily from 8 AM to 7 PM PST.
  • For general questions about COVID-19 or Washington State’s response, please call the Washington State Novel Coronavirus Call Center at 800-525-0127.