Responding to COVID-19
Reported Cases of COVID-19
| Last updated 1/07/2021 | Number of Cases | Location | On-campus or off-campus? |
| Current week | 0 | King County | Off-campus |
| Past weeks | 4 | N/A | Off-campus |
| Cumulative | 4 |
To help us understand the impact of COVID-19 on our community, we encourage any student or employee who has tested positive to notify Kartha Heinz.
Start of Winter Term Campus Access
With the Governor’s new guidance issued January 5, The Seattle School will extend our limited building hours for two more weeks. From January 11 – 22, the building will only be open on Wednesdays (January 13 & 20) from 10:00am – 4:30pm. We’ll resume our normal building hours (Monday/Wednesday/Thursday 10:00am-4:30pm) on January 25.
Campus Access and Events
- Starting August 31, Library services will be available on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays 10:00am-4:30pm.
- Access requests should continue to be directed to Daniel Walkup
- Requests for school-sponsored gatherings (in Phase 2, maximum of five people) should be made to Kartha Heinz three weeks before the planned event.
The COVID-19 Planning Team has been actively working to discern next steps for our learning community in response to COVID-19. From the beginning our care for this community — our students, faculty, staff, and those we serve — has been of the utmost importance to us. At Governor Jay Inslee’s request to the state of Washington, The Seattle School is taking additional measures and made the following very difficult decisions to care for this community and our neighbors:
Effective March 18, all employees will work remotely
Where challenges exist the COVID-19 planning team is working directly with managers of those areas. Employees should direct any concerns to their manager.
Our building will close until further notice
The decision about when to reopen will be determined in the days ahead. Building access will be limited to a very small group of employees designated by the president and all other external fob access will be suspended.
All classes, trainings, and student services will be moved online
Coursework for Fall 2020 coursework will be facilitated online. We will be supporting students remotely. See our Students and Online Learning Support page for details.
All travel and in-person events have been canceled, rescheduled, or moved to online formats, effective immediately
We made this decision in response to mandates from public health officials and in the interest of protecting high-risk populations. We are actively working to either postpone gatherings for a future date or identify alternative delivery methods. We will share updates as they become available.
Prevention
Public Health Agencies have published necessary steps that all persons should take to prevent the spread of COVID-19:
- Wash your hands thoroughly and frequently with soap and warm water. Use hand sanitizer if washing is not an option.
- Avoid touching your mouth, nose, and eyes.
- Cover your coughs and sneezes with tissues or your clothing.
- Keep surfaces clean and germ-free. Properly dispose of used tissues, napkins, cutlery, etc. Wash hands after using shared keyboards, copiers, etc.
- Stay home if you are sick and avoid close contact with people who are sick.
- Clean and disinfect frequently used objects and surfaces.
Please note: public health officials do not recommend healthy people wear masks to prevent respiratory illnesses, including COVID-19. People who are sick should wear masks when they are seeking medical care. Supplies of masks and other personal protective equipment must remain available for health care providers who are evaluating and treating ill people.
The Washington State Department of Health has established a hotline if you have specific questions about COVID-19: 1-800-525-0127.
Resources
Washington State Department of Health
Center for Disease Control
King County Public Health
Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler issued an emergency order to Washington state health insurers requiring them to waive copays and deductibles for any consumer requiring testing for coronavirus (COVID-19). Insurers also must:
- Allow a one-time early refill for prescription drugs.
- Suspend any prior authorization requirement for treatment or testing of COVID-19.
In addition, if an insurer does not have enough medical providers in its network to provide testing and treatment for COVID-19, it must allow enrollees to be treated by another provider within a reasonable distance at no additional cost. The order is effective immediately and applies to all state-regulated health insurance plans and short-term limited duration medical plans until May 4, 2020.
Free COVID-19 testing in Seattle
If you live, work, or regularly visit Seattle, and you are experiencing a symptom(s) of COVID-19 and/or you have been exposed to someone with COVID-19 within the past 14 days, you can be tested for free, even if you don’t have insurance. For more information, please visit the city’s website.
Therapists available for first responders
Alumni and partners of The Seattle School are proud to provide therapist resources to the first responder and EMS community, available here. This list is comprised of information provided by alumni and partners who elected to be included in this resource list. Therefore, inclusion in the list does not signify an endorsement from The Seattle School, nor does The Seattle School attest to the accuracy of the information provided.
Other Resources
Washington State Department of Health
Center for Disease Control
King County Public Health
Student Resources
The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology signed and returned a Certification and Agreement for Emergency Financial Aid Grants to Students to the Department of Education on May 13, 2020. The purpose of our application was to support our students with COVID-19 related expenses correlating with the sudden onset of online education. We intend to distribute all funds to eligible students within the time period allowed, up to June 30, 2021.
CARES Act – Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund Grant
The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology is a recipient of the CARES Act – Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund Grant. On June 24, 2020, we sent out the student application. All applicants will be contacted by July 15 with decisions made by the Benevolence Committee.
Our institution received $29,389 under the CARES Act – HEERF Student portion and $29,389 under the CARES Act – Institutional portion.
As of July 30, 2020 $7,050.25 has been distributed to 13 students with eligible expenses. To date we have 218 students enrolled for Fall 2020 with the potential to receive funding for eligible expenses as allowed under the CARES Act- HEERF requirements. As of September 30, 2020, $12,822 has been spent toward the Institutional portion, as documented in the Quarterly Budget and Expenditure report(s). $7,050.25 of those funds have been reimbursed by the Department of Education, in accordance with requirements of the grant agreement.
As of October 29, 2020, an additional $15,078.22 has been distributed to 16 students with eligible expenses.
As of December 9, 2020, the remaining amount of $7260.53 has been distributed to 9 students with eligible expenses. The CARES-HEERF-Student portion is now fully spent.
Support for Community Members
In some cities there has been a xenophobic reaction to COVID-19, blaming the virus on community members who are perceived to come from Asia. We are here to support all community members, from all races and ethnicities. Xenophobia has no place in our community. As always, any community member who experiences discrimination in any form is encouraged to contact Human Resources or our Title IX coordinators.
COVID-19 Planning Team
The Seattle School’s COVID-19 Planning Team membership has been updated as of August 27. Members now include Kartha Heinz, Mike Anderson, Daniel Walkup, Misty Anne Winzenried, and Daniel Tidwell-Davis. President Derek McNeil will be brought into discussions as major decisions need to be made. The team meets weekly on Wednesday to assess updates from the King County Health Department and CDC and respond accordingly. We ask for everyone’s help to keep our community healthy and safe.