As you have likely heard, the Lake Washington School District recently updated its guidelines. Those changes go into effect on March 12, 2022. The complete guidelines are available online. There are several changes, but the most visible will be that masking will become optional. 

We recognize that this is a sensitive topic in the community. Some families are ecstatic to take this step towards normalcy, some are more hesitant, and some have members with medical conditions that preclude this step. Regardless of your family’s situation, we are thrilled that our school counselor, Brittney Driftmier, has been visiting each class to prepare the students for this transition. To help you make an educated and informed choice, we want to make sure you have the following information easily accessible.

Vaccination Rate: The King County vaccination rate dashboard is updated every Tuesday.

Washington State DOH:  The WA Department of Health Covid dashboard has an enormous amount of data sets, including 7 and 14-day case rates by county, vaccination rates, and hospital utilization.

CDC Community Level: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a new tool to help communities decide what prevention steps to take based on the latest data. Levels can be low, medium, or high and are determined by hospital beds utilization, hospital admissions, and the total number of new COVID-19 cases in an area.

Our experiences over the last two years have taught us that Covid guidelines are fluid and subject to change. We hope that the information above helps guide you to the best decision for your family. We encourage you to reach out to your pediatrician or family doctor for any advice on what is best for you and your family.