Our School's COVID-19 Plan

Safety Requirements for Students, Families, and Staff

Daily health screenings, including temperature checks, must be completed at home by families and will also be done  randomly by school-based staff.   These daily health checks are very important  to keeping our school community healthy and safe.

School-based staff and students cannot report to school if they have:

• Been knowingly in close or proximate contact in the past 14 days with anyone who has tested positive through a diagnostic test for COVID-19 or who has or had symptoms of COVID-19.

• Tested positive through a diagnostic test for COVID-19 in the past 14 days.

• Experienced any symptoms of COVID-19, including a temperature of greater than 100.0°F, in the past 14 days.

• Traveled internationally or from a state with widespread community transmission of COVID-19 per the New York State Travel Advisory in the past 14 days.

Every morning, prior to entering the school, specific staff will perform random samplings of temperatures for both students and school-based staff using non-touch thermometers.

•Schools will not record or track student and/or staff temperatures or other health information.

• Face coverings and gloves will be worn continually by designated staff taking temperatures.

• Any student exhibiting a fever from a random temperature check will  be evaluated by the nurse. If a nurse or health professional is unavailable, student will be escorted to the building’s Isolation Room.

In order to accommodate a student who may exhibit symptoms of COVID-19, we have a room designated as the Isolation Room which will be used to safely isolate the student  in the building until they can be picked up by a guardian.

• The school  nurse will evaluate  the student in the  appropriate medical space.

• Should the nurse/health professional be unavailable to examine the student at that time, the student must be placed in the building’s Isolation Room.

• Immediately after holding a student, the Isolation Room will be closed and a deep cleaning will be performed before it can be used again.

Student Shows Symptoms of COVID-19 While at School

• Students showing symptoms of COVID-19 will be escorted to the nurse’s office or Isolation Room by a designated staff member.

• The nurse or health professional will evaluate the student for symptoms of COVID-19, such as fever, cough, shortness of breath, sore throat, lack of sense of taste or smell, and other symptoms.

• If no nurse or health professional is available, the student will wait in the supervised Isolation Room for pick up.

• A family member or guardian will be contacted by the school nurse or a staff member and asked to pick up the student.

•  Upon pick up, the nurse/health professional and school staff will strongly encourage the family to visit a doctor and get the student tested for COVID-19, and be provided with  information of the closest testing site, if asked. Below is the link to testing sites.

https://www1.nyc.gov/site/coronavirus/get-tested/covid-19-testing.page

If the student has had no known contact with a positive case, the student can only return to school when all the following are met:

• Presents a negative COVID-19 test result AND

• Presents clearance from a health care provider evaluation AND

• The student has been symptom free for 24 hours without the use of medication.

• Additionally, the student should participate in remote learning if feeling well enough.

If DOHMH or NYC Test + Trace Corps determine the student is considered a close contact of a positive case, the student can only return to school when all the following are met:

• The student has completed a 14-day quarantine regardless of symptoms or test results since their last exposure to that case AND

• Presents a negative COVID-19 test result after the 14-day quarantine AND

• Presents clearance from a health care provider evaluation AND

• The student has been symptom free for 24 hours without the use of medication.

• Additionally, the student should participate in remote learning if feeling well enough.

If the student does not get tested, then the student cannot return to school until:

• 10 days have passed since the first symptom AND

• The student has been symptom free for 24 hours without the use of medication.

The DOE will explore the possibility of adjusting the standard for students returning to school who have been unable to seek COVID testing and health care provider evaluation.

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Safety precautions taken by the school

Below are the steps  we are taking  to make  the physical building a safe place for learning.

• Our class size for in-person teaching and learning is reduced to 9  to 11  students per classroom in order to follow physical distancing guidelines

• Mandatory use of face coverings will be  enforced for all individuals while in the building. All students in PreK to Grade 5 and all teachers and staff are included.  Exceptions to face covering usage are as follows:

o Medically verified students who cannot tolerate a face covering, including where students with such coverings would impair their physical or mental health,

• Outdoor signage (e.g., six-foot space markings and directional signs) will be posted outdoors and  upon entry and throughout the school buildings, including entrances, exits, classrooms, offices, public assembly spaces and corridors.

• Hand sanitizing dispensers have been installed throughout co-located spaces and high traffic areas.

• Wellness barriers are  placed in the general office, and at the  safety desk.

• Custodians will sanitize the school building on a regular basis. Cleaning and disinfection will includeall high touch surfaces: classrooms, desks & chairs, conference tables, drinking fountains, door handles and push plates, conference tables, light switches, restroom fixtures, partitions and hardware, buttons on hardware, elevator buttons, gym padding,and physical therapy equipment.

• Improvements in ventilation

The main building has central AC, which is currently working properly.

Custodian Engineer has performed regular maintenance,  including changing filters on a schedule.  Classroom windows will be opened for fresh air.