With 98% of its classroom staff vaccinated against COVID, the Methow Valley School District shares the highest vaccination rate in the state with just eight other districts. The other districts at 98% are some of the largest, including Seattle, Bellingham and Issaquah.
The state Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) released vaccination data for the 295 school districts across the state on Saturday (Oct. 30). Like state and health care employees, all school staff were required to be vaccinated against COVID or obtain a medical or religious exemption by Oct. 18, or be subject to dismissal.
The mandate issued by Gov. Jay Inslee in August applies to teachers and administrators, bus drivers and cafeteria workers, and coaches and other contracted employees. It covers public and private schools, colleges, and early learning and child care programs. Students are not required to be vaccinated.
In the Methow, 93% of the total school workforce has been vaccinated. Two percent of classroom employees and 7% of all staff received religious exemptions, according to the OSPI data.
The compliance rate at other school districts in Okanogan County for classroom staff ranges from 94% in Pateros to 66% in Oroville. The rate for all school employees ranges from 79% in Omak to 58% in Tonasket. Oroville’s rate is among the lowest in the state — only 15 districts are lower. The three lowest are at 40% (one district) and 44% (two districts).
Where numbers in any category were under 10, OSPI combined them to protect employees’ privacy. Similarly, if a district reported a 100% vaccination rate in any group, that would be combined to protect privacy, OSPI Director of Communications Katy Payne said.
Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal celebrated the vaccination numbers in a press conference on Thursday (Oct. 28). “This is really, really fantastic information,” he said. “Schools are, quite frankly, the safest place for kids to be.”
Even in August, when Inslee expanded the mandate to include school staff, almost 90% of school employees statewide were already vaccinated, Reykdal said. State averages are high in all positions, with more than 90% of classroom staff, 88% of building staff (including administrators and cafeteria staff), and 87% of bus drivers and central-office staff vaccinated, he said.
In every county, the average vaccination rate for school employees exceeds the overall rate for eligible county residents, Reykdal said.
The mandate left it to local districts to evaluate requests for religious exemptions and to provide accommodations where possible, Reykdal said. Accommodations may include double masking, increased distancing, regular testing, and keeping unvaccinated staff out of the cafeteria, where students will be unmasked while eating, he said.
Added pressures
While students and teachers are thrilled to be back in school — in person — the year and a half of remote or partially remote instruction has brought unprecedented challenges for everyone in education, Reykdal said.
Schools are diligent about contact tracing to prevent a COVID infection from spreading among students or staff. But that means that an average of 14% of students are home under quarantine at any given time — and that causes a massive disruption in learning. Teachers need to prepare individualized lesson plans and be sure students learn the material they missed, Reykdal said. “The burnout is very real,” he said.
These absences have exacerbated the academic, social and emotional needs from the past year, leaving educators stressed and overwhelmed, Reykdal said.
Although 3% of students in the early grades are still being home schooled, Reykdal took the opportunity to ask the state Legislature to preserve funding to support educators, even with the lower enrollment. He also asked lawmakers to fully fund school nurses statewide.
