Coronavirus Impact: School, university closures related to COVID-19 in San Francisco Bay Area

KGO logo
Tuesday, April 7, 2020
The latest videos about coronavirus in the US
Here's a look at the latest videos about novel coronavirus and the spread in the U.S. and across the world.California is the first U.S. state to treat Covid as endemic but are we there yet? ABC7 News explains the difference between a pandemic, epidemic and endemic.

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- The novel coronavirus pandemic is having a broad economic and social impact on the Bay Area just months after COVID-19 was first detected in the Chinese city of Wuhan.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday ordered the state's 40 million residents to stay at home, restricting non-essential movements to control the spread of the coronavirus that threatens to overwhelm the state's medical system.

RELATED: Everything you need to know about Bay Area's shelter-in-place order

His move came after counties and communities covering about half the state's population already had issued similar orders. He said the restriction is "open-ended," and it could raise false hopes if he predicted how long the order might last.

CORONAVIRUS IMPACT: Cancellations related to COVID-19 in San Francisco Bay Area

California schools may remain closed through the end of the school year as a precaution due to the coronavirus pandemic, the state superintendent said in a press release on March 31.

Here's a list of Bay Area school closures before the shelter-in-place went into effect.

SAN FRANCISCO

Emergency Care: While schools are closed in San Francisco, the city's recreation and park facilities will be open to care for students from kindergarten through 5th grade during the hours of 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. The San Francisco Public Library will have homework help and education enrichment services available to students grades 6th through 12th. Those services will be available Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., beginning March 16. For more information, click here.

San Francisco Unified School District - CLOSED: SF Unified School District announced that all schools will be closed due to coronavirus concerns. SFUSD previously canceled 'non-essential" events at all schools until March 22. Lowell High School closed earlier after a student's parent tested positive for coronavirus.

On Tuesday the district confirmed that all school sites will remain closed through June 2, the end of the school year. "Interactive teacher-led learning" will be delivered to students starting on April 13. Before the latest announcement, SFUSD said in a tweet that they were extending the temporary school closures through May 4.

Glen Park Elementary School - CLOSED: SFUSD is closing the elementary school immediately Thursday after the department learned that 7 students from the school have reported respiratory illness. The Depart of Public health is investigating and testing the students for COVID-19. SFUSD is going to recess schools for all students preK-12 effective Monday, March 16 through the end of the regularly scheduled spring break (April 3). On April 7, SFUSD announced all school sites will not reopen this academic year.

Archdiocese of San Francisco Schools (San Mateo, San Francisco, Marin) - CLOSED: The announcement came Tuesday on their website: "Pamela Lyons, Archdiocese of San Francisco Superintendent of Schools, announced Tuesday that all 90 Archdiocesan K-12 schools, including Archbishop Riordan, Marin Catholic, Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory, and Junipero Serra High Schools, will close starting March 12. A full list of schools may be found at here. This decision was made following confirmation by the San Francisco Public Health Department on March 8 that a student in an Archdiocesan school had tested positive for the novel Coronavirus, COVID-19. This district-wide closure includes any planned school events such as fundraisers and community activities, as well as field trips. School buildings will not be open to children, parents, or community members during this time. Course content will be delivered utilizing the Archdiocesan distance learning protocol which has been distributed to all schools."

Archbishop Riordan High School - CANCELED: All classes, sports events and activities for Monday, March 9 after parents of a Riordan student tested positive for the COVID-19 virus, school administration announced on their website.

ICA Cristo Rey Academy - CLOSED: San Francisco school will close for two weeks after a staff member tested positive for novel coronavirus.

San Francisco State University - CANCELED: Remote instruction has been extended until the end of the spring semester. There will be no face-to-face instruction for the remainder of the semester and Commencement will be postponed.

City College of San Francisco - CANCELED:All classes suspended until March 30th.

Academy of Art University - CANCELED: All on-site classes are canceled for student safety precautions due to COVID-19 concerns. Effective Wednesday, March 11 through Monday, March 30, 2020. 10,000 students are to receive full credit for using the university's online platform.

UCSF events - CANCELED/POSTPONED: All gatherings planned in UCSF locations for in-person meetings, lectures, events, and conferences that involve 150 or more participants shall be canceled or postponed. UCSF recommends that meeting organizers of events involving fewer than 150 participants prioritize alternatives or modifications to in-person gatherings. Consider alternatives to in-person meetings, including audio/video conferencing tools. These tools can support social-distancing practices, which are an effective strategy for limiting and preventing community transmission of COVID-19.

University of San Francisco events - CANCELED: Some campus events have been canceled, per City of San Francisco Department of Public Health guidelines.

EAST BAY

Piedmont Unified School District - CLOSED: All schools, classes, after school activities closed from Monday, March 16 to March 27. The district is planning for online instruction while schools are closed, and the goal is for teachers to email online homework and learning activities for students starting Tuesday afternoon, according to the district's web site.

San Ramon Unified School District - CLOSED: Schools in the San Ramon Unified School District is expected to be closed through the end of spring break, April 10. The school district is expected to release more information on the closure Friday night.

Hayward Unified School District - CLOSED: Schools in the Hayward Unified School District will be closed through March 27 beginning Monday, the district announced Friday. The closure will then move into spring break. Spring break will end April 3 for students at "traditional schools" in the district. Spring break at year-round schools will end April 10.

Berkeley Unified School District - CLOSED: Berkeley Unified will close all preschools, elementary and middle schools, as well as Berkeley Adult School, starting on Monday, March 16. See announcement here.

Berkeley High School - CLOSED: Berkeley High School will close on March 13.

West Contra Costa Unified School District - CLOSED: District schools for the next three weeks, starting Monday, March 16. School will resume on Monday, April 6. In order to minimize disruption to the calendar, Spring Break will be moved up to the week of March 30. More details on the district's website.

Pittsburg Unified School District - CLASSES CANCELED: Classes and activities in the Pittsburg Unified School District are canceled for two weeks beginning Monday, March 16, school officials said Friday. The district says spring break may be moved because of the closure. Students will switch over to remote learning.The district confirmed there are no cases of COVID-19 on any campuses.

Berkeley City College, College of Alameda, Laney College and Merritt College - CANCELED: Face-to-face classes are canceled on Wednesday, March 11, Thursday, March 12, Friday, March 13, and Saturday, March 14, 2020.

Cal State East Bay - SUSPENDING: In-person classes were suspended as of March 11. All in-person lecture, discussion and seminar courses are to be moved online. All of these courses will be canceled through Friday, March 13 and resume online Monday, March 16.

Mount Diablo Unified School District - TO CLOSE : Mt. Diablo Unified School District will close schools starting on Tuesday, March 17, 2020. Note that Monday is a scheduled development day for teachers with no students present.

Oakland Unified School District - All schools and child development centers within OUSD will be closed to students through May 4, 2020. In a press release on March 25, Superintendent Kyla Johnson-Trammell announced in collaboration with the Alameda County Office of Education (ACOE), the Alameda County Public Health Department and those in five other Bay Area counties, that the decision has been made to extend the closure for an additional month. The new targeted date for reopening all District schools is May 4.

Oakland's Aspire Monarch Academy - CLOSED: Oakland Unified School District announced on Wednesday night that the school would be closed until the end of this week after a staff member was possibly exposed to the novel coronavirus. According to district officials, it participated in a call with the Alameda County Public Health Officer and learned there were two confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the county. District officials say depending on local developments and public health recommendations it may need to limit or cancel large gatherings as well as canceling assemblies and field trips.

UC Berkeley - SUSPENDED: UC Berkeley said Monday afternoon that most in-person classes will be suspended as of March 10 through spring break, which ends March 29. All lecture and seminar classes will be offered in an alternative way through March 29, the university said. Professors who do not have a remote way to teach their classes will have two days to have a plan in place to teach online. Classes that have to meet in-person -- labs, performing arts, physical education -- will continue on as planned, the university said. University events that draw 150 or more attendees are canceled or postponed through March 29. The university is encouraging that events with fewer than 150 attendees be canceled. The campus will remain open during the class suspension.

Holy Name College - SUSPENDED: Holy Names University in the Oakland hills will join many other schools in the Bay Area and elsewhere in moving to online-only classes starting Monday.

Saint Mary's College - OPEN/CANCELLING EVENTS: The College has not suspended in-person instruction yet, but it told teachers that can teach remotely to prepare to do so as early as Monday, March 16. In the meantime, all large campus events have been canceled. More details on the college's website.

Dublin Unified School District - OPEN/CANCELLING EVENTS: District officials said Thursday that all schools will remain open, however they are suspending all events, gatherings, and extra-curricular activities including, assemblies, rallies, performances, dances, fundraisers, open houses, & field trips. High school sports will continue with only essential personnel, while all middle school sports are canceled.

Diablo Valley College - OPEN/CANCELLING EVENTS: District officials say that they are discussing moving courses online and could make a decision about that shortly. In the meantime, "the college will be canceling some campus events involving large groups of people to minimize exposure. Information about these cancellations will be communicated with the group participants and posted on the website."

SOUTH BAY

Archbishop Mitty High School, Bellarmine College Preparatory and Presentation High School have all closed their campuses due to the Coronavirus outbreak in Santa Clara County. The school's will all implement their on-line learning styles for the remainder of the month of March.

Archbishop Mitty High School - CLOSED: Archbishop Mitty High School in San Jose has officially announced that they will close their campus for the remainder of the month. In consultation with the Superintendent of Catholic Schools of the Diocese of San Jose, the school will move to distance learning beginning Monday, March 16, with a planned return to campus on Tuesday, March 31. This comes one day after the school said they will only close the school for a deep cleaning on Thursday, March 12 and Friday, March 13.

Bellarmine Bells Preparatory in San Jose - CLOSED: Bellarmine Bells will be closing until the end of March in response to the coronavirus. See the school's full statement here.

San Jose Unified School District - CLOSED: All SJUSD locations are closed due to order of the County of Santa Clara Public Health Department. Schools will remain closed until at least April 3. Go to http://sjusd.org for more information .

Santa Cruz County Schools CLOSED March 16-20: The Santa Cruz County Office of Education will close all public schools in Santa Cruz County for the week of 16-20. Schools, however, will be in session on Friday March 13. Schools will reassess the situation at the end of next week to see if an extension of school closures beyond March 20 is necessary

Cupertino Union School District - CLOSED: The district decided to close schools to students for three weeks beginning Monday, March 16, 2020, through Friday, April 3, 2020.

Gilroy Unified School District - OPEN: The school district has canceled all field trips, band and choral events, award ceremonies and staff development training travel at this time. Middle and high school sporting events are still on at this time. All changes to Gilroy Unified are in effect until the schools go on Spring Break April 3 and they will re-evaluate when students and staff return on April 13. There are no plans to close schools at this time.

Presentation High School in San Jose - CLOSED: Presentation High School will close its campus for the next two weeks, starting March 12, with a plan to return on Monday, March 30. Read the full statement here.

San Jose State University - SUSPENDING: The University is suspending in-person classes from March 10- March 13. From March 16- March 17, classes will be distributed of fully online, according to a letter from school president Prez Papazian. The school also canceled 'The State of the University' address scheduled for Monday March 9.

Santa Clara University - SUSPENDED: University leaders are suspending in-person instruction and switching to virtual classes until at least April 13.

Stanford University - SUSPENDED: In-person classes are suspended for the last two weeks of the winter quarter. The university says the classes will move to online formats and large-group events are also being canceled not adjusted. See more information from the University here.

San Jose Unified School District Events - CANCELED: Meetings, gatherings and events for adults have been canceled or postponed. Students sporting events are not canceled, but fans are discouraged from attending. Classes have not been canceled.

Santa Clara County Unified - CLOSED: Starting Monday, March 16, all Santa Clara County schools will be closed for three weeks in order to assess how to safely reopen under the new guidelines.

PENINSULA

San Mateo County Schools - SUSPENDED: At the order of public health officials, in-person classes at schools in San Mateo County are suspended from March 16 to April 3, which includes the regularly scheduled spring break. Students are encouraged to complete "at-home learning alternatives," the district said in a statement. School activities, clubs and sporting events are suspended during the three week period.

South San Francisco Unified School District schools - CLOSED: All schools, after hour events, school hosted seasonal activities canceled indefinitely effective March 16 until April 3. See website here.

Castilleja Middle & High School - CLOSED: Campus will close starting March 16. On Monday and Tuesday, our faculty will continue their preparation for distance learning, and students will use that time to complete work already assigned. On Wednesday at 9:00am (late start day), school will resume online.

Woodside School District - CLOSED: Woodside School will move to a temporary closure for staff planning and transition to at-home learning beginning on Monday, March 16. On Wednesday, March 18, the implementation of the at-home learning program for all students in grades TK-8 will begin. This will extend for two weeks through Friday, March 27.

Portola Valley School District - CLOSED: March 13 will be a minimum day. School campuses are closed to non-staff beginning the afternoon of 3/13 through Spring Break. Distance Learning will be implemented beginning Wednesday, March 18.

San Mateo Union High School District - CLOSED: Effective Monday, March 16, all schools, including San Mateo Adult School will be closed to students through at least March 27 and enter a phase where the schools will deliver at-home-learning. "While it may not be possible to open on March 30, we want to hold out hope that health conditions are better by then. If the decision is made NOT to reopen on the 30th, then school will be closed through spring break (April 6 to 10). We will advise families of school reopening by Wednesday, March 25." See the district's statement here.

Hillsborough City School District - CLOSED: The district announced Thursday that starting Monday, March 16 through Friday, March 27, schools will be closed and students stay home. Teachers will use March 16 and 17 to plan for remote instruction. See more information on their website here.

Woodside School District - CLOSED: The school district will move at "at-home learning" beginning March 16. This will continue through March 27, according to the district.

College of San Mateo - CLOSED: Campus closed from March 12 through 16.

Nueva School - SUSPENDED: School will not be in session Friday, March 13) through Friday, March 20. The school plans to enact their remote learning plan. See their website here.

Junipero Serra High School - CLOSED: Junipero Serra High School in San Mateo will be closed through March 25. The decision was made, according to the school, because a family member of a Serra student tested positive for COVID-19. The school will participate in online distance learning during this closure. It provided more details in a letter.

Notre Dame High School in Belmont: CLOSED: The Belmont high school will remain closed through March 25. Students and faculty will conduct distance learning throughout the closure. according to the school calendar.

Mercy High School - Burlingame - CLOSED: As part of the Archdiocese of San Francisco, Mercy will be closed for two weeks until March 25th. The school provided more details in a letter.

St Matthew's Episcopal Day School - CLOSED: Classes are closed Thursday March 12 & 13 with online distance learning beginning on Monday March 16. The school has more details on its website.

Charles Armstrong School - CLOSED: The school released this statement: "We currently do not have any confirmed cases of the virus in our community. However, with an abundance of caution and keeping our students front and center, we have made the difficult decision that tomorrow, Thursday (March 12), will be the last day we will bring students to campus and together we will begin the transition into a two-week "At Home Learning" plan." More details on the school's website.

NORTH BAY

Dominican University of California in San Rafael - SUSPENDED: Dominican will suspend regular classes this coming week, March 16-20, and begin online course delivery on March 23 to be continued as long as necessary through the spring semester.

Santa Rosa City Schools - SUSPENDED: Santa Rosa City Schools is suspending siite-based learning at all schools beginning on March 16 until April 5. All after-school activities, child care, and field trips will also be canceled. For more information click here.

Napa Valley Unified School District - CLOSED: Schools in the Napa Valley Unified School District will be closed for nearly a month due to the coronavirus. The closure will begin March 16 and continue through April 13. In a letter, the superintendent of the district said the decision to close schools was approved during an emergency meeting Friday afternoon with the board of education.

Marin County Schools - SUSPENDED: Public schools in Marin County are stopping classroom instruction for at least two weeks beginning March 16, county officials announced Friday. The Marin County Office of Education is now working with districts and schools in the county to help students in need of subsidized meals and other care.

Solano County Schools - CLOSED: All schools in Solano County will be closed for two weeks beginning March 16 through March 27 in light of coronavirus. "We did not take this decision lightly and recognize that this may cause a hardship for some families," the Solano County Office of Education said in a statement Friday.

Mill Valley School District - CLOSED: The Mill Valley School District will be closed from March 16-27.

Reed Union School District - CLOSED: Students will be let out early on March 13. Campuses will remain closed through March 30.

The Bolinas-Stinson School - CLOSED: The Bolinas-Stinson School will be closed for two weeks beginning March 13.

Tamalpais Union High School District - CLOSED: All TUHSD school will be closed starting Friday, March 13, resuming classes on Monday, March 30 as a precaustion against COVID-19. Find the latest info about the school district here.

Sonoma State University - CANCELED: The university in Rohnert Park announced on Thursday that it was suspending in-person classes and moving everything online: "Given the need to be proactive in our planning around COVID-19, Sonoma State University is suspending face-to-face classes for three days to allow faculty time to prepare to teach remotely, should the need arise. SSU will not hold face-to-face classes on Thursday, March 12, Friday, March 13 and Monday, March 23, 2020." The school says that it plans to resume in-person instruction on Tuesday March 24 according to the school's website.

Ross School District - TO CLOSE: Ross School District in Marin County says it will close school from March 16-27.

Go here for the latest news, information and videos about the coronavirus.

RELATED STORIES & VIDEOS: