Following the closure of most schools in San Mateo County on Friday due to poor air quality, local district officials are indicating they plan to keep campuses open Monday (Nov. 19).
Sequoia Union High School District schools closed Friday but will be open Monday, according to a post on the district’s website.
“After consulting with the Environmental Protection Agency’s guidelines, the San Mateo County Department of Public Health, and neighboring school districts, we have determined that the air quality standards are anticipated to be at levels that will allow for us to resume a normal school schedule tomorrow,” the district said Sunday.
“Although acceptable, we recognize that the air quality is not ideal,” the district said. “For that reason, if you determine that you do not want your student to attend school tomorrow (Monday), we will excuse the absence.”
Officials decided to close Menlo School in Atherton Monday and Tuesday because of "continued unhealthy air levels in the area."
After closing schools on Friday, the Menlo Park City School District notified parents that it plans to keep schools open Monday and Tuesday. Officials will excuse absences for parents who choose to keep their children at home because of the poor air quality. Its schools are closed for Thanksgiving break starting on Wednesday.
“I appreciate your flexibility and understanding this week as we have tried to navigate the relatively new world of protecting students and staff from poor air quality and the decision to close schools,” Superintendent Erik Burmeister wrote in an email to parents Friday afternoon. “I fundamentally believe that schools, similar to hospitals, should stay open whenever and however they are able. Many families rely on us not just for a great education, but also for a safe place for their children to be cared for and supervised. Unfortunately, there were too many conditions that our staff could not control that resulted in the decision to close.”
On Friday, district officials and community experts developed a plan of action and protocol for responding to unhealthy air quality going forward. Dubbed an Air Quality FAQ, the document outlines how the district intends to respond to future instances of poor air quality, including how it will institute “shelter-in-place” protocol.
Woodside Priory, Woodland School, Nativity Catholic School, Sacred Heart Schools and Menlo School closed Friday. Woodland School, Phillips Brooks School and Sacred Heart Schools begin their Thanksgiving breaks on Monday.
Nativity planned to hold classes Monday through Wednesday, Principal Jessica Patti wrote in an email.
According to the Office of Education website, Las Lomitas Elementary School District schools were closed Friday, and schools in the Woodside Elementary and Portola Valley school districts were open.
Schools in the Portola Valley and Las Lomitas school districts are closed for Thanksgiving break starting Monday. Woodside Elementary is expected to stay open Monday and Tuesday, according to the school's [website. The school's Thanksgiving break starts Wednesday.
The San Mateo County Community College District announced Sunday night that its three campuses -- Cañada College, College of San Mateo and Skyline College -- plan to reopen Monday. Classes were canceled Thursday and Friday due to the poor air quality.
Menlo College in Atherton remained open last week and as of Friday had no plans to close this week, Menlo College President Steven Weiner wrote in an email.
Ravenswood City School District schools closed Friday. Schools will be closed for Thanksgiving break starting Monday.
The San Mateo County Office of Education decided not to close all public schools Friday since “there’s a lot of different kinds of climates and conditions” from Menlo Park up to South San Francisco, said Patricia Love, administrator of strategy and communication for the Office of Education.
“You really don't know unless you're in those areas what the conditions are,” she said. A lot depends on the age of the school buildings and if they can keep outside air out, she said. If staff don't come in, it can be difficult to stay open if there aren't enough substitute teachers, she said.
“The air quality isn’t just bad in one place — it’s bad at home and school,” she said. “We want kids to be healthy and educated, so maybe the best place to be is here at school as long as you shut the door and turn off the HVAC (system).”
The unhealthy air quality led Central Coast Section officials to relocate the cross country championships and several football playoff games.
Menlo-Atherton's football playoff game against Milpitas was moved from M-A on Friday to Salinas High School on Saturday, Nov. 17. Sacred Heart Prep played its game Saturday against St. Ignatius at Alisal High School. The games were postponed twice due to the smoke.
The CCS cross country championships were also moved from Crystal Springs to Toro Park in Salinas on Sunday, Nov. 18.
Officials also canceled the NorCal Water Polo tournament, impacting teams from Sacred Heart Prep and Menlo School.
Air quality is expected to remain in the "unhealthy" range throughout most of the Bay Area until late Tuesday. It's expected that rain will arrive Wednesday or Thursday.
Palo Alto Weekly staff and Bay City News Service contributed to this report.
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Comments
Menlo Park: Downtown
on Nov 17, 2018 at 11:07 am
on Nov 17, 2018 at 11:07 am
Turning off the HVAC is remarkably misguided. You want to run HVAC, in recirc mode (close any outside air dampers), and keep running air through your filters.
Any tactical filter upgrades you can do (e.g. putting HEPA filter cartridges in) will of course help too.
Menlo Park: Allied Arts/Stanford Park
on Nov 17, 2018 at 6:28 pm
on Nov 17, 2018 at 6:28 pm
If we had just raked the forest, it wouldn't be so smokey.
Some people say.......
Portola Valley: Central Portola Valley
on Nov 17, 2018 at 11:07 pm
on Nov 17, 2018 at 11:07 pm
Someone told me air in PV is considerably better than lower elevations like Menlo or Palo Alto can someone confirm if this is true. And also is that why PVSD did not cancel class Friday??
another community
on Nov 18, 2018 at 10:22 am
on Nov 18, 2018 at 10:22 am
Was in PV the last couple days and some folks said they thought it was better up there. I think they're crazy.
Granted, due to the proximity of trees and ridge lines (thus obstructed/shortened views) it wasn't as easy to 'see' how bad it was, compared to being in a spot with a view across the bay, for example.
Those views, or lack of, really highlight the amount of smoke.
Excuse me while I get back to sweeping the forests.
Menlo Park: Belle Haven
on Nov 18, 2018 at 5:33 pm
on Nov 18, 2018 at 5:33 pm
Raking and sweeping, let's get started!!