Office of International Education Newsletter ISSUE 7, MAY 2021
Dear Partner Agents and Friends, Spring is in full swing here in our state! Cherry blossoms are coloring the city in pink and tulips in the Skagit Valley, famous for tulip farms, are adding more colors up north of Seattle. The mornings are not yet warm, but I can definitely feel the coming of summer with the bright sunshine and flowers. This is exactly how I feel about our life these days. Businesses are recovering and I see more foot traffic in town. Life is revitalizing day-by-day as more people are vaccinated for COVID-19. In our state, COVID-19 vaccinations are proceeding at full speed; a football stadium, a convention center, local pharmacies and grocery stores, the Amazon campus, and many locations are serving as a vaccination site. Even walk-in vaccination sites are set up throughout our state! According to the Washington State Department of Health website, our county (King County) has administered over 2 million vaccines, and the state as a whole over 6 million. This shows the strength of our state leadership. I am very proud to inform you that Washington state is ranked #1 state in the U.S. for US News’s 2021 Best States rankings. This includes health, education, economy, environment, etc. Students had a chance to get vaccinated at school in partnership with the pharmacy at Safeway SeaTac in late April and throughout May. In mid April, we shifted to four days a week face-to-face instruction (with an option for students to attend classes fully online or be in school twice a week.) Safety is our number one priority and we are accommodating every student’s comfort level. Continued >>
A message from Mariko
Skagit Valley Tulip Festival in April 2021