CORONAVIRUS: Seattle Public Schools dashboard shows 97 more cases this past week

Seattle Public Schools‘ weekly COVID-19 dashboard update is up. It shows 214 total cases reported among students and staff since the school year began – 97 more than the 117 reported in last week’s update. The individual school numbers don’t show week-to-week change on the dashboard, but here’s what we have compared to last week’s numbers:

Chief Sealth International High School – 8, up 2
Lafayette Elementary – 7, up 1
Denny International Middle School – 6, up 2
Roxhill Elementary – 6, up 3
Highland Park Elementary – 5, up 1
Gatewood Elementary – 3, unchanged
Pathfinder K-8 – 3, up 1
West Seattle High School – 2, up 1
Madison Middle School – 2, both newly reported this week
Genesee Hill Elementary – 1, unchanged
Louisa Boren STEM K-8 – 1, unchanged
Sanislo Elementary – 1, unchanged
West Seattle Elementary – 1, newly reported this week

Still no cases reported at Alki, Arbor Heights, Concord International, or Fairmount Park elementaries. The school-by-school numbers are not separated into students/staff, but in the Southwest Region (West Seattle/South Park), 41 of the 46 cases are listed as students, 5 as staff.

23 Replies to "CORONAVIRUS: Seattle Public Schools dashboard shows 97 more cases this past week"

  • JJ September 20, 2021 (2:22 pm)

    I wonder if we are at the very early stages of an exponential growth curve, or if numbers will just continue to trickle along slowly like this. I guess we will find out over the next month or two. I hope all these children and staff recover quickly, and without any lasting troubles.

    • Non-expert September 20, 2021 (3:21 pm)

      This is an interesting question. My assumption is that we’ll just see a slow trickle in growth because our vaccination numbers in this city are pretty good. Who knows though, I could be totally wrong (though I hope I am not)

      • wsalien September 20, 2021 (4:31 pm)

        I have no idea either but hopefully it will get better, I just read that Pfizer is safe for kids 5 and up according to early tests and should be available for them in the coming months, and all the teachers and staff will be fully vaxxed soon, I don’t think ALL of them are quite yet, but both those things should help a lot.

      • Westerngirl September 21, 2021 (8:01 am)

        Sadly, I think it will grow exponentially once 2 or more cases start showing up in a single classroom.  Right now it’s just a little spark.  But rest assured— I am no expert either.  I am a former elementary secretary and I just know how regular old flu seasons of the past seemed to start the first week of school and didn’t end until the last day of school. But unlike past years responses to normal flu seasons, everyone is really taking extreme caution. So there is hope that SPS can keep it contained.

    • Holleigh September 20, 2021 (10:04 pm)

      Great questions. My hope is the latter of the two. Or better yet, we have already spiked and case will drop as kids develop immunity/vaccines become available.

  • skeeter September 20, 2021 (3:26 pm)

    Great job SPS teachers, admin, and especially students!  Keep those masks on and keep up the good work.   Side note – we are so fortunate here in Seattle.  Many other states and cities are dealing with irate parents screaming “UNMUZZLE MY CHILD!!” to anyone who will listen.  

  • Jim September 20, 2021 (3:46 pm)

    I wonder how many people don’t report that their child has Covid ( mild case) but continue to send them to school, since most people are only given so many days of paid sick leave at their job; in the past there has always been a small handful of students who were sent to school sick when they should have stayed at home.  Also people who work for school district only are given so much sick leave and in the past there has always been a small handful of people who work in schools to come to work sick. So, in my opinion there might be more cases of mild Covid that is not being reported. Just something to think about.

    • teacher September 20, 2021 (6:43 pm)

      If a kid is sneezing up more than once or has a runny nose and is sniffling, then teachers send them to the nurse to get checked for symptoms. At My elementary school we are very cautious.

    • Micha September 20, 2021 (9:12 pm)

      Children are suppose to be the strongest and most resilent against covid19.. side note I have heard or several covid positive persons allowed to go to work based on the fact that they are fully vaccinated. That seems very wrong yet those persons still went and knowingly exposed their fellow co-workers.  

  • Busrider September 20, 2021 (3:52 pm)

    More needs to be done to ease kids anxiety. The middle schools are crowded and they are unable to stay 3’ apart let alone 6’ per school nurse’s standard. 

    • SeattleParent September 20, 2021 (6:20 pm)

      Remind kids that they are wearing their masks, and it is working.  For may kiddos, helping them find the things they can and do control about their situation helps their mood.  We know a lot more now than we did 2 years ago and we will continue to learn more about covid.  School should feel like a safe place and if they are not feeling safe, help them find trusted adults at school that they do feel safe with.  Also, point out that their friends and other kids in their class might be feeling the same way they are and it might be nice for them to reassure their friends, too.

    • Concerned September 20, 2021 (7:32 pm)

      One simple measure they could do to help at middle schools and maybe high school’s is to open all the hallway doors. Kids crowd up at this area opening the doors and passing the door back to the next person . It slows down the flow and reduces social distancing to inches if that

  • Scubafrog September 20, 2021 (7:12 pm)

    Poor kiddos, once the vaccines are okayed by the FDA for them, hopefully many parents choose to vax.  The number of kids in hospitals nationwide right now is incomprehensible.   Anti-vaxxers and anti-vax propaganda-pushers think their decision just affects the single woman or man – it doesn’t (and they’ll never understand that).  The “muh freedums!” crowd isn’t compassionate nor empathetic to society’s needs nor the Greater Good.  674k dead in America so far, and climbing.  The GOP has become an existential threat to the nation in every facet (note their anti-teacher/anti-education/anti-vax stances).

  • Mari06 September 21, 2021 (3:37 am)

    If my child’s high school isn’t listed above does that mean there are no cases yet?

  • Pessoa September 21, 2021 (9:20 am)

    “Existential threat?”  Uncritical group think is the greatest threat. 

  • Ellen Carleton September 21, 2021 (10:25 am)

    It was obvious that people were going to catch Covid once the schools opened up. And hoping that long-term damage won’t be done from it? According to the data, even a mild case of Covid can have lasting long- haulers effects even among children.Lots of pressure from parents to reopen schools for the sake of the mental health of their kids, and now they’re all angry because the schools did open and the kids are catching Covid. It’s also obvious to me that a kid who is dead is no longer a mental-health concern. I retired and did not go back to teaching, and would not have taught in-person until Covid was under control, and until everyone who goes in the building every day was tested every day, which is the only way to ensure no Covid in a school. That’s where we should be putting our money, into testing. You can’t trust anyone to tell the truth about their symptoms and people may not even know that they are carrying Covid or the flu virus. Let’s hope the schools close down again to protect people, especially kids, and that everyone starts to treat this like a pandemic.

    • K September 21, 2021 (11:14 am)

      People are allowed to have different opinions on this topic (whether to send the children back or not), but personally, I’m THRILLED to have my child back and it’s going even better than I had hoped.  The school has made tremendous efforts to keep the children as safe as possible, and I’ve never seen my child happier or more excited about learning.  Every parent that I’ve spoken to that has sent their child(ren) back have expressed the same.  And for those who didn’t feel safe doing so, there are/were remote or home-school options.  Please don’t “hope” schools will close again.  That’s an awful thing to say. 

      • Adam September 24, 2021 (6:25 pm)

        No its fine If kids say and parents say that cause there are other kids besides your kid and those other kids who do not feel comfortable at school right now.

    • skeeter September 21, 2021 (11:26 am)

      “Let’s hope the schools close down again to protect people, especially kids, and that everyone starts to treat this like a pandemic.”Fortunately for my child, the governor disagrees with you.  Driving to school in a car is more dangerous to a child than the risk of the child dying from Covid that was spread at school.  In person education is important for our children, and society/parents are willing to accept some Covid risk.  

      • Pessoa September 22, 2021 (10:31 am)

        Quite right. There is factually more chance (god forbid) that a young child suffers a serious injury via car accident or other mishap, than falling ill and dying of Covid. 

    • Graciano September 21, 2021 (11:42 am)

      Exactly as Ellen Carleton says!

      • K September 21, 2021 (12:45 pm)

        To say, “ It’s also obvious to me that a kid who is dead is no longer a mental-health concern.” is disgusting and short sighted.  Kids can die from poor mental health as well, not just covid, and I’d be willing to bet those numbers are much higher.  I am privileged to have gotten myself and my child through these last couple of school years while maintaining my in-person job and remotely schooling my young child when it was necessary….but I wouldn’t wish that continued stress on anyone.   It boggles my mind that you could wish for more hardships for families.  Not everyone has the ability to work from home AND be their children’s teacher.  

        • Alki mom September 22, 2021 (9:22 am)

          Well said, K. I would also like to point out that this dashboard does not reflect the number of COVID outbreaks in school. A school may have 7 positive cases reported in a week but we can’t tell from the dashboard if they were in the same classroom, etc. SPS has the data to make future enhancement to the dashboard so it provides a better picture of how effective their multi-layered mitigation measures are at preventing COVID from spreading in schools. I believe my son’s school is doing a great job at listening to parents’ concerns and doing everything they can to make in-person learning safe for everyone.

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