The superintendent of the Orange County Department of Education announced his support for the closing of schools for at least two weeks during the coronavirus outbreak Friday, as nearly all of the county’s public school districts announced they are shutting down.
“This is not a decision we take lightly,” Al Mijares said in a statement. “We know that temporarily closing a school has a tremendous impact on our families, and steps will need to be implemented to support the continuity of learning and to ensure students have access to healthy meals. But the safety of our students and staff remains our top priority, and we have confidence that this is the proper precautionary course for Orange County.”
OCDE officials are working on ways to help provide educational materials for kids to keep up with the schooling at home.
“I want to reassure our Orange County community that the risk of transmission remains low, and that there are no known cases of COVID-19 infection in a student or teacher at this time,” said Dr. Nichole Quick, the county’s chief health officer. “That said, I understand the concerns parents are experiencing and support the school district’s decision to close temporarily. It’s important to note that as both public and private testing capabilities continue to expand, we expect to see more cases.”
Santa Ana Unified School District board members held a special board meeting Friday afternoon and voted to close schools from Monday through April 10.
Laguna Beach Unified School District has decided to close its schools Monday through April 3.
The Capistrano Unified School District’s board of trustees will hold a special meeting Friday night to consider a staff recommendation to shut down its schools Monday through April 3. Spring break will remain as scheduled from April 6-10.
The Anaheim Unified High School and Anaheim Unified Elementary School Districts have announced schools will be closed Monday through March 27.
The Brea Olinda Unified School District has not made any announcements about closing schools, said Ian Hanigan, a spokesman for the Orange County Department of Education.
Santa Ana College and Santiago Canyon College, which are part of the Rancho Santiago Community College District, announced Friday that the schools would shift to online courses, beginning Wednesday through April 24.
Some classes and other forms of instruction that cannot be done online may still occur on campus, officials said. The district’s child development centers will close, starting Monday and will reopen April 27.