San Jose Sanchez Del Rio Catholic School Plan for Covid-19 Prevention and Mitigation for In-Person Learning 2020-2021 School Year
Overview
California schools have been closed for in-person instruction since mid-March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. School closures to in-person instruction were part of a broader set of recommendations intended to reduce transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
New evidence and data about COVID-19 transmission, including variations by age, and the effectiveness of disease control and mitigation strategies continues to emerge regularly.
California State In-Person Re-Opening Criteria
Schools and school districts may reopen for in-person instruction at any time if they are located in a local health jurisdiction (LHJ) that has not been on the county monitoring list within the prior 14 days. If the LHJ has been on the monitoring list within the last 14 days, the school must conduct distance learning only, until their LHJ has been off the monitoring list for at least 14 days. School districts in LHJs that are cities are considered to be included as part of the county if the county is on the monitoring list. A waiver of this criteria may be granted by the local health officer for elementary schools to open for in-person instruction.
In-Person Instruction Plan for the prevention or mitigation of the spread of Covid-19 at San Jose Sanchez Del Rio Catholic School (hereafter referred to as SJSDR)
The SJSDR School staff member in charge of monitoring the implementation of this plan is the School Directress.
The SJSDR School Directress shall consult with the Mendocino County Health Officer, in order to monitor and provide advice on local conditions.
The contact information for the Mendocino County Health Officer is:
Noemi Doohan, MD (Interim)
1120 South Dora Street Ukiah, CA 95482
doonahn@mendocinocounty.org
OFFICE (707) 472-2777
FAX (707) 472-2735
Surveillance Testing: SJSDR shall request staff to be tested periodically, as available community testing capacity permits and as practicable. A roster of approved back-up staff will be maintained in case a staff member needs to be sent home due to Covid-19 symptoms that develop during the school day or a positive test result from surveillance testing.
Measures to be taken when a student, family member, teacher or staff member has symptoms, is a contact of someone infected, or is diagnosed with COVID-19
Student, family member or Staff with:
1. COVID-19 Symptoms (e.g., fever, cough, loss of taste or smell, difficulty breathing) Symptom Screening: Per CA School Sector Specific Guidelines
Action
● Send home
● Recommend testing (If positive, see #3, if negative, see #4)
● School/classroom remain open
Communication
No Action needed
Student, family member or Staff with:
2. Close contact (closer than 6 ft.) with a confirmed COVID19 case
Action
● Send home
● Quarantine for 14 days from last exposure
● Recommend testing (but will not shorten 14- day quarantine)
● School/classroom remain open
Communication
Consider school community notification of a known contact
Student, family member or Staff with:
3. Confirmed COVID-19 case infection
Action
● Notify the local public health department
● Isolate case and exclude from school for 10 days from symptom onset or test date
● Identify contacts, quarantine & exclude exposed contacts (likely entire cohort) for 14 days after the last date the case was present at school while infectious
● Recommend testing of contacts, prioritize symptomatic contacts (but will not shorten 14- day quarantine)
● Disinfection and cleaning of classroom and primary spaces where case spent significant time
● School remains open
Communication
School community notification of a known case
Student, family member or Staff with:
4. Tests negative after symptoms
Action
● May return to school 3 days after symptoms resolve
● School/classroom remain open
Communication
Consider school community notification if prior awareness of testing.
If a student, family member or staff member begins to exhibit Covid-19 symptoms during the school day, while at school, he or she will be isolated in the school office until a parent/caregiver can be contacted and transportation home or to a health care facility can be 2 of 7 arranged for. He or she will be immediately required to wear a face mask if not already doing so.
● Fever
● Cough
● Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
● Chills
● Repeated shaking with chills
● Fatigue
● Muscle pain
● Headache
● Sore throat
● Congestion or runny nose
● Nausea or vomiting
● Diarrhea
● New loss of taste or smell
Once the student, family member or staff member has left the school grounds, the SJSDR staff member in charge will close off the classroom or office where the patient was based and any areas he or she may have used that day and prevent use of these areas until after cleaning and disinfection. Staff will wait at least 24 hours before cleaning and disinfecting. If 24 hours is not feasible, staff will wait for at least two hours or as long as possible.Additional areas of the school visited by the COVID-19 positive individual will also need to be cleaned and disinfected.
Staff will call 9-1-1 without delay, if COVID-19 symptoms become severe, including persistent pain or pressure in the chest, confusion, or bluish lips or face. Staff will also notify local health officials immediately of any positive case of COVID19, and exposed staff and families as relevant while maintaining confidentiality as required by state and federal laws.
Sick staff members, students and family members will be advised not to return until they have met CDC criteria to discontinue home isolation, including at least 3 days with no fever, symptoms have improved and at least 10 days have passed since symptoms first appeared.
SJSDR Cathlic School Closure Criteria
Based on the number of cases, the percentage of the teacher/students/staff that are positive for COVID-19, and following consultation with the Local Health Officer, school closure may be appropriate if 5 percent of the total number of teachers/student/staff are cases within a 14-day period. The Local Health Officer may also determine school closure is warranted for other reasons, including results from public health investigation or other local epidemiological data.
If SJSDR closes for in-person learning, it may typically reopen after 14 days and the following have occurred:
● Cleaning and disinfection
● Consultation with the local public health department
If SJSDR closes for in-person learning, staff will take measures to implement distance learning for all students until it is safe to reopen for in-person learning.
SJSDR Catholic School Cohorts
SJSDR is an extremely small school. Total school enrollment and staff include just 17 students, one full time teacher and one part-time classroom aide. Until danger from the Covid-19 Pandemic has abated and public health officials have removed necessary restrictions on activities normally associated with extracurricular school activities, SJSDR Catholic School plans not to offer extra curricular or after-school activities for children not part of the existing cohort of 17 students and 2 staff members. This will allow SJSDR to maintain a single, small, stable cohort and to regularly monitor Covid-19 symptoms and exposure of members of the cohort. SJSDR has no sports teams or other extra curricular clubs for its students at this time. In addition, distance learning options will be available to all students under any circumstances, should they opt not to attend, for any reason, for in-person instruction, when in-person instruction is available.
● Staff will limit use and sharing of objects and equipment, such as toys, games, art supplies and playground equipment to the extent practicable. When shared use is allowed, objects and equipment will be cleaned and disinfected between uses.
● Staff will clean and disinfect frequently-touched surfaces at school at least daily and, as practicable, these surfaces will be cleaned and disinfected frequently throughout the day by trained staff. Frequently touched surfaces in the school include, but are not limited to:
○ Door handles
○ Light switches
○ Sink handles
○ Bathroom surfaces
○ Tables, Student Desks and Chairs
● Disinfecting products to be used will be those approved for use against COVID-19 on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)- approved list “N” and staff will follow product instructions.
● All those who clean and disinfect the school site will be equipped with proper protective equipment, including gloves, eye protection, respiratory protection, and other appropriate protective equipment as required by the product instructions.
● A cleaning and disinfecting schedule will be established in order to avoid both underand over-use of cleaning products and to ensure safe and correct application of disinfectant. Cleaning products are to be kept in a locked storage area in order to keep products away from students.
● When cleaning classrooms and the school office, rooms are to be aired out before children arrive; thorough cleaning will be done when children are not present.
● In order to increase the quantity of outside air and ventilation in the SJSDR classrooms and office, windows are to remain open to allow for constant air flow and/or portable fans are to be placed near exterior doors, and these doors to remain open to facilitate the exchange of outside air.
● All drinking fountains are to remain off-limits until further notice. Students will be required to drink from personal water bottles only.
Entrance, egress, and movement within the school
One-way traffic flow for movement in and out of the SJSDR school building, in order to enable all students, family members and staff to maintain proper social distancing, shall be demarcated with signs. Separate doors shall be designated for entering and for exiting the classrooms and office. No hallways exist in the SJSDR school building; all rooms open out individually onto a common school yard. This helps eliminate locations where students, family members or staff might otherwise momentarily congregate when moving throughout the building. In addition, markings shall be used to help students and staff maintain proper social distancing in the classroom when sitting at their desks and work patterns will be developed to minimize contact between students and staff throughout the room. All staff, students and their family members will be trained on the necessity for social distancing in preventing spread of disease.
As much as possible, weather permitting, students and staff will use outdoor space for both instruction and activities including lunch and breaks.
At drop-off and pick-up time families will be encouraged to follow the same social distancing protocol that students and staff use throughout the day, and non-essential visitors (visitors who are not picking up or dropping off students, or not directly involved in the daily business of the school) will be discouraged from coming onto campus. The school yard is fenced which also enables SJSDR staff to limit non-essential visitors from entering the school building.
Face coverings and other essential protective gear
All students, family members and staff will be required to wear face masks at all times and when applicable gloves and protective eye equipment.
Health screenings for students and staff
SJSDR School staff shall keep a daily log every morning upon arrival of all students, family members and staff and whether or not they have experienced any of the COVID-19 Symptoms (e.g., fever, cough, loss of taste or smell, difficulty breathing) in the past 3 days. Anyone arriving at school at any time, and answering in the affirmative to any of the symptoms will be asked to return home and recommended to be tested for COVID-19 before being allowed to return to school. In addition, upon arrival at school, temperatures will be taken with a non-contact thermometer for all students, staff, and families. See “Measures to be taken when a student, teacher or staff member has symptoms, is a contact of someone infected, or is diagnosed with COVID-19” above.
Healthy hygiene practices
In order to teach and maintain healthy hygiene practices to students, staff and families, SJSDR staff will:
● conduct visual wellness checks of all students throughout the school day and educate on and establish procedures for parents to monitor at home
● periodically check temperatures, using a no-touch thermometer, including first thing upon arrival at school
● make available and encourage use of hand-washing stations or hand sanitizer
● educate students, staff and families on proper handling and use of face masks and gloves In order to create routines of health and hygiene practices, SJSDR staff will:
● develop and maintain routines enabling students and staff to frequently wash their hands at staggered intervals throughout the day
● teach and reinforce washing hands, avoiding contact with one's eyes, nose, and mouth, and covering coughs and sneezes among students and staff
● teach students and remind staff to use tissue to wipe their nose and to cough/sneeze inside a tissue or their elbow
● ensure everyone washes his or her hands before and after eating; after coughing or sneezing; after classes where they handle shared items, such as recess or p.e., art; and before and after using the restroom
● teach the importance of washing your hands for 20 seconds with soap, rubbing thoroughly after application. Soap products marketed as “antimicrobial” are not necessary or recommended.
Staff will also ensure adequate supplies to support healthy hygiene behaviors, including soap, tissues, no-touch trash cans, face coverings, and hand sanitizers with at least 60 percent ethyl alcohol for staff and children who can safely use hand sanitizer.
Staff training and family education
SJSDR will train all staff, students and families (in a developmentally appropriate manner and in both Spanish and English as necessary) and provide educational materials in Spanish and English to families in the following safety actions:
➢ Enhanced sanitation practices
➢ Physical distancing guidelines and their importance
➢ Proper use, removal, and washing of face coverings
➢ Screening practices
➢ How COVID-19 is spread
➢ COVID-19 specific symptom identification
➢ Preventing the spread of COVID-19 if you are sick, including the importance of not coming to school if you have symptoms, or if you or someone you live with has been diagnosed with COVID19.
➢ For staff:
○ COVID-19 specific symptom identification and when to seek medical attention
○ SJSDR’s plan and procedures to follow when children or adults become sick at school.
○ SJSDR’s plan and procedures to protect staff from COVID19 illness.
Communication plans
SJSDR staff will document/track incidents of possible exposure and notify local health officials, staff and families immediately of any exposure to a positive case of COVID-19 at school while maintaining confidentiality.
If a student or staff member has a fever of 100.4 degrees or higher, cough or other COVID-19 symptoms, staff will communicate with the parent/caregiver immediately and the student/staff member will be sent home.
Students and families will not be penalized for missing class due to needing to deal with Covid-19 related issues. SJSDR can provide independent study work or distance learning for any student needing to miss class due to Covid-19 related issues.