Covid -19 Approach to School

    • Clearview Sudbury School

      COVID-19 Health and Safety Protocols 

      Last updated: March 7th, 2022

      As we work together to preserve the safety and health of the Clearview environment, the wellbeing of School Meeting Members and their families is our first priority. To that end I, the Clearview Health and Safety Clerk, have revised our Covid-19 policies and procedures. 

      While many of them do impede our usual levels of freedom and convenience, I want to stress that they do not reflect a new normal but are simply precautions aimed at current conditions and concerns. As circumstances evolve so will these protocols, in keeping with both our experience and guidance from external authorities. 

      On behalf of the school community, we thank you for your patience and understanding. 

      Notes 

      1. Prior to returning to school at the beginning of the school year, each staff member, student, and parent/guardian must sign a form affirming that they have reviewed these policies and that they understand and agree to follow them.
      2. We recommend that School Meeting members get a flu shot prior to returning.
      3. The Health and Safety Clerk will work to familiarize all School Meeting members with the basics of these policies.
      4. The Health and Safety Clerk will post signs throughout the building to remind people of the most pertinent policies.

      Table of Contents

      • Communications
      • Daily screening/arrival & departure
      • Mask/distancing guidelines
      • Handwashing/hygiene/cleaning
      • Shared items
      • Building modifications 
      • Limits on gatherings/visitors/outings
      • Hours/attendance policies
      • When someone develops COVID-19 symptoms or there is a confirmed case
      • Close contacts
      • Returning to school after a COVID-related absence
      • Closing and reopening school
      • Policy review/adjustment

      Communications

      • The school community will be notified in a timely manner when there are confirmed cases of COVID-19.
      • The Health and Safety Clerk will notify known close contacts of anyone testing positive of their potential exposure to COVID-19 and advise those contacts to quarantine for at least 5 days from the time of their last contact with the infected individual. 
      • In these communications the school will, to the extent feasible, maintain the privacy and confidentiality of those involved.
      • Families are asked to promptly notify the school of COVID-19 test results (positive and negative), suspected cases within the household, and close contact with known or suspected cases of COVID-19.
      • Families will be notified of any changes to these policies in a timely manner.

      Daily screening/arrival & departure

      • Families are asked to perform daily health checks–including monitoring of symptoms– and keep students home if they are displaying symptoms consistent with COVID-19.
        • Students and staff who are not feeling well in any way are asked to please stay home. Attendance policies for the time being are adjusted to give people maximum support in keeping themselves and others as healthy as possible. 
      • School Meeting members should not attend school if either of the following applies:
        • recent positive test for COVID-19
        • Presence of any symptom from the list below which the parent and student don’t feel are related to allergies.
        • See “When Someone Develops COVID-19 Symptoms,” “Quarantine vs. Isolation,” and “Returning to School After a COVID-related Absence” below for more details. 
      • Symptoms
        • fever (temperature greater than or equal to 100.0 degrees Fahrenheit)
        • headache
        • sore throat
        • dry cough  
        • chest discomfort that can cause trouble breathing, or persistent pain or pressure in the chest that calls for immediate emergency care      
        • general aches or pains
        • fatigue and/or weakness
        • loss of taste or smell
        • stuffy, runny nose
      • Non-School Meeting members are encouraged to help us minimize exposure by limiting time on campus to 5 minutes.
      • Upon arrival:
        • All School Meeting members and visitors should self-screen by doing a temperature check, use hand sanitizer or wash hands, and answer screening questions (including a symptom review).
          • This screening should be done daily prior to signing in electronically. 
        • Those driving students to school should remain until the screening process is complete for their student(s)
      • Enforcement
        • The Health and Safety Clerk may require any person to undergo additional temperature checks and symptom screening and may require the person to go home, based on the results of screening or refusal to undergo screening.
        • Persons who are willfully or chronically non-compliant with these policies may be sent home by the Health and Safety Clerk—provided at least two other School Meeting members concur with the decision—and may be barred from attending the next school day. 

      Mask/distancing guidelines 

      Masking indoors is optional when the CDC believes the transmission rate in Travis County is “low.” Indoor masking is automatically required if the CDC transmission rate for Travis County rises above “low.” The Health and Safety Clerk is authorized to again require indoor masking if any parent feels the masking policy will force them to unenroll from the school. 

      • When and if masking is required again, School Meeting members and visitors shall bring masks and wear them indoors, no exceptions 
        • Masks may be taken off outdoors.
        • Indoors, in addition to mask-wearing, the following distancing guidelines must be followed:

      at Stage Five, social distance will  be reduced to five feet

      at Stage Four, social distance will be reduced to four feet

      at Stage Three, social distance will be reduced to three feet

      at Stage Two, social distance will be reduced to two feet

      at Stage One, social distance will be reduced to one foot

      The Health and Safety Clerk has discretion to roll our policy back to pool noodle distance if they deem it necessary.

      • People may eat inside provided the only other people in the room are members of their household. If anyone else wants to use the room the person(s) eating must put their mask(s) back on.

      (This amendment will only hold when and if masks are again required.)

      • Masks should be worn over the nose and mouth and securely around the face.
      • Hands must be washed or sanitized (with hand sanitizer containing at least 60% alcohol) before and after helping someone put on or adjust his or her mask.
      • Everyone is discouraged from touching his or her mask while wearing it. Significant touching requires washing or sanitizing one’s hands.
      • Masks should not be worn if they are wet. 
      • Masks must not be shared or swapped.
      • Masks should be clearly identified.  
      • Extra masks should be stored in a space separate from other people’s masks when not being worn.
      • Reusable masks should be washed after every day of use, or more frequently if visibly soiled.
      • A supply of backup disposable masks will be maintained at school. 
      • Play involving direct and sustained contact is not permitted. (Tagging games are permitted provided there is no sustained contact.)

      Handwashing/hygiene/cleaning

      • The school will provide supplies to support healthy hygiene, including hand sanitizer throughout the building and disinfectant wipes.
      • Students, staff and visitors are encouraged to sneeze into their elbows or cover sneezes with a tissue. Used tissues should be thrown in the trash and hands washed immediately with soap and water for at least 20 seconds after using them.
      • Students, staff and visitors are discouraged from touching their eyes, noses, or mouths with unwashed hands.
      • Hands must be washed:
        • before and after eating
        • after using the restroom
        • after blowing one’s nose, coughing, or sneezing
        • after handling one’s mask
        • after touching with bare hands any object that has been handled by others
        • When one’s hands are visibly dirty
        • upon returning to campus 
      • High-touch surfaces (e.g., door handles, school phones) will be cleaned three times per school day.
      • Bathrooms will be cleaned daily. 

      Shared Items

      • School dishes, plates, and utensils will be available for personal use, but not used again until they have been sanitized with hot water and dish soap. Single-use equivalents will not be available, and School Meeting Members are encouraged to bring their own reusable items from home, including a labeled water bottle. 
      • Social distancing applies to all food delivery and sales. Food sales are limited to packaged items purchased from stores. 

      Building Modifications

      • Doors will be kept open as much as possible. 
      • The HVAC filter near the Room 2 back door will be replaced on a monthly basis. 
      • Personal items should be stored in a backpack or other bag and hung on a hook in the hallway between Rooms 2 and 3.

      Limits on gatherings/visitors/outings

      • No visitors will be allowed this semester, including former students, without a 3/4 vote at School Meeting. 
        • People in the admissions process are exempt from this policy.
      • Tours, interviews, and parent conferences will be by appointment only for the 2021-22 school year to limit exposure to current families. 
      • Whenever possible, School Meeting and Judicial Committee will meet outside. 
      • School Meeting members are encouraged to be outdoors more often than usual. To support this, tables and chairs will be made available for carrying out to the front or back yards. 
      • Students wishing to go on Open Campus must be recertified (or initially certified) first.

      Hours/attendance policies

      • For the time being, pandemic-related absences will not count against a student’s minimum attendance requirement.

      When someone develops COVID-19 symptoms or there is a confirmed case

      • Students and staff displaying symptoms will be immediately sent home by the Health and Safety Clerk and kept isolated until their departure.
      • Areas used for at least 15 minutes by the person who is sick will be off limits until the Health and Safety Clerk determines that they have been sufficiently disinfected.
        • Outside doors will be opened and fans used to increase ventilation.
        • All areas used by the person who is sick will be cleaned and disinfected.
        • If needed, the space will also be vacuumed.
      • When there is a confirmed case among School Meeting members, the Health and Safety Clerk will 
        • call Austin Public Health at 512-972-5560
        • determine to the best of her ability when the person with a positive COVID-19 test was last on campus.

      Close contacts

      • A close contact is any person who was within 6 feet of a COVID-19 infected person for at least 15 minutes during the period starting 48 hours before the person began feeling sick, and ending when they began isolation. You’re still considered a close contact even if you were wearing a mask near the infected person. (See the Austin Public Health definition of close contacts on page 35 of the document linked at the end of this document.)
      • Close contacts should stay home for one school week after their last contact with an infected person, provided no symptoms appear.

      Returning to school After a COVID-related absence

      • Current CDC guidance does not support schools requiring test results as a part of return-to-school policies. When an individual has been sent home for COVID-19-like symptoms, Clearview will use the following decision tree for return-to-campus decisions:
        • Individuals who tested positive for COVID-19 or were clinically diagnosed with COVID-19 and have symptoms should isolate until all the following conditions have been met: 
          • at least 5 days have passed since symptoms first appeared,
          • they have been fever-free for at least 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication, 
          • symptoms are gone
        • Individuals who tested positive for COVID-19 but have no symptoms should isolate until 5 days have passed since their test.
        • Individuals who tested negative for COVID-19 and have symptoms should stay home until:
          • symptoms are gone, and
          • they have been fever-free for at least 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication
        • Individuals with symptoms who were not clinically evaluated and are isolating should stay home until all the following conditions have been met: 
          • at least 5 days have passed since symptoms first appeared,
          • they have been fever-free for at least 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication,
          • symptoms are gone.
        • Close contacts should complete a 5-day quarantine, symptom-free, from the date of last contact with a person who has COVID-19 before returning to campus.

      Closing and reopening school

      • Schools Meeting may vote to temporarily close parts of campus or cancel school for up to one calendar week if a student or staff member attended school before being confirmed as having COVID-19. A short-term dismissal would allow time to gain a better understanding of the COVID-19 situation at the school and for cleaning and disinfecting.
      • During times when school is closed, the Executive Committee will assume the functions of School Meeting. 

      Policy review/adjustment

      • The Health  and Safety Clerk may, as he or she sees fit, direct that these policies be suspended, expanded, or modified until the following School Meeting.
      • School Meeting may revise these policies at any time. 

      These policies were informed by the following sources: