COVID-19 Student Health Policy
The Academy has implemented this COVID-19 Student Health Policy to specifically address, respond to and limit the spread of COVID -19 in our school community. This Policy does not replace but is in addition to the school’s other policies. In the event there is a conflict between this and any other school policy, this policy controls.
Information about COVID-19 is constantly evolving, and federal, state and local guidelines on handling the pandemic change regularly in response to that information. The Academy has crafted this policy using the best information available at the time, but reserves the right to amend it as needed, based on the current science and circumstance. The Academy will promptly communicate any changes to this policy to our families via email and the website.
Daily screening for symptoms and history of exposure
COVID-19 is a highly infectious, potentially serious virus. It spreads mainly from person to person through respiratory droplets produced while coughing, sneezing or talking. Typical symptoms of the disease include fever, cough and shortness of breath. Sufferers are believed to be most contagious when they are most symptomatic.
The Academy’s first line of defense against COVID-19 is to prevent it from coming onto our campus. Parents and staff will conduct routine, daily health checks. The purpose of this surveillance is to identify students, teachers, and staff who may be ill or may have been exposed to COVID-19. Before any student is welcomed into one of our buildings, that child’s parent will have screened them for symptoms and possible exposure to COVID-19, then completed an on-line verification advising the school that the child is symptom and exposure free.
The Academy’s symptom screening will be based on current CDC research and state and local recommendations. This policy will be adapted as necessary during the 2020-21 academic year to reflect any revisions to those recommendations. Specifically, the CDC recommends the following set of Symptoms for Surveillance:
- Sore throat
- Cough
- Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
- Fever (100 degrees, measured or subjective)
- Chills
- Rigors
- Gastrointestinal issues (diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain)
- Myalgia (muscle aches)
- Headache
- New olfactory (smell) or taste disorder(s)
Any student exhibiting any one of these Symptoms for Surveillance may be suffering from COVID-19 and must be kept home until he or she has met the Guidelines for Return to School, below.
The first time any child exhibits potential symptoms of COVID-19, they should be evaluated by their physician, even children with similar seasonal symptoms that present every year. If the physician determines that there is an alternate cause for the child’s illness (i.e., allergies, chronic cough, asthma), the child may return to school when they have been fever-free for at least 72 hours without the use of fever-reducing medications. After the child has been fully evaluated by their physician, the Academy asks the parent of any student who has been diagnosed by their physician with a chronic illness or condition which causes any of the Symptoms for Surveillance (i.e., allergies, migraine, I.B.S.) to provide the Health Office with a note from their child’s physician identifying the child’s usual symptoms and clearance to be in school.
However, if the child’s symptoms either (1) persist unexpectedly or (2) change in any way, the child should be considered as exhibiting a NEW Symptom for Surveillance and must be kept home until he or she has met the Guidelines for Return to School, below.
In order to protect the health and safety of our entire community, no student will be admitted to school until their parent completes the Daily Screening Form verifying that they have not exhibited any of the Symptoms for Surveillance within the previous 72 hours.
Each day, school staff will verify that each student, whether they arrive by car or by bus, has a completed Daily Screening Form. Students who do not have a completed Daily Screening Form will not be admitted into school buildings.
· In the case of an unscreened student arriving by private car, the parent will be asked to complete their child’s Daily Screening Form before the child exits the car.
· In the case of an unscreened student arriving by bus, staff will discretely escort the student to an outdoor quarantine area, call the parent, and wait with the student outside the building until a parent completes the required Daily Screening Form.
We ask parents to be readily accessible by phone throughout the school day in the event there is a question about their child’s daily screening, or their child becomes ill at school.
Please note that individuals, including emergency contacts, who are self-quarantining or have been diagnosed with a confirmed or probable case of COVID-19 may not drop off or pick up children from school.
Measures intended to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 on campus
On July 1, 2020, the Governor of Pennsylvania issued a Universal Face Coverings Order requiring all individuals in Pennsylvania over the age of two to wear a face covering outside of their homes. This order will remain in effect until withdrawn by the Governor. Guidance from the Pennsylvania Department of Health and the Pennsylvania Department of Education have made it clear that this Order applies to both students and staff, in private schools as well as in public. In compliance with the Governor’s Order, the Academy must require:
- All staff to wear 2-ply minimum face masks at all times while on campus, except when eating or drinking;
- All students to wear 2-ply minimum face masks on campus, as directed by their teachers, staff members and coaches; and
- All other individuals on campus for any reason, including drop-off and pickup, to wear 2-ply minimum face masks.
Students or staff members with a medical or mental health condition, disability or chronic condition which precludes them from wearing a 2-ply minimum face mask in school are exempt from this requirement. Any parent who believes their child may have a medical or mental health condition, disability or chronic condition which might preclude them from wearing a 2-ply minimum face mask in school should contact the Academy’s Director for additional information and directions. Similarly, any parent who believes their child is medically fragile or at high-risk of contracting or suffering serious complications from COVID-19 should contact the Academy’s Director for additional information and directions.
Know that the Academy is committed to protecting the privacy of every member of our community to the fullest extent possible.
Students who become ill at school
Students who become ill at school may or may not be exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19. To address the health needs of all of our students, the Academy has created a Quarantine Area, separate from and in addition to the school Health Office, to isolate and care for students exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19. Any child who seems ill will be sent to the school nurse for evaluation. A child who exhibits any of the Symptoms for Surveillance will be evaluated by the school nurse who will determine whether the student’s situation should be addressed in the Health Office or whether the student should be monitored and cared for in the Quarantine Area. The Academy will promptly contact the parent of any student sent to the Quarantine Area asking them to pick up their child within an hour. School staff will provide parents with instructions about where to park and which door to use to pick up their child.
Again, we ask parents to be readily accessible by phone throughout the school day in the event their child becomes ill. We also ask parents to carefully review and update their Emergency Contact Form so that, in the event a parent is not readily accessible, an emergency contact can pick the child up from school within an hour.
Again, please note that individuals, including emergency contacts, who are self-quarantining or have been diagnosed with a confirmed or probable case of COVID-19 may not drop off or pick up children from school.
Pennsylvania Department of Health and Montgomery County Office of Public Health
The Pennsylvania Department of Health (DOH) and the Montgomery County Office of Public Health (MCOPH) are responsible for tracking and mitigating the spread of communicable diseases, including COVID-19, through the Commonwealth and the county. In the event of an outbreak of COVID-19 in our area, DOH or MCOPH will inform the Academy if a person with a confirmed or probable case of COVID-19 was present at the school or a school event while infectious. The DOH or MCOPH will then advise the school regarding next steps. It is the responsibility of the DOH or MCOPH staff to contact the student or staff member with COVID-19, inform close contacts of their possible exposure, and give instructions to those involved, including siblings and other household members, regarding self-quarantine and exclusions. The DOH or MCOPH will not identify individuals involved to the school community at large. The Academy will take every measure possible to maintain the confidentiality of the affected person disclosed to the Academy for purposes of contact tracing.
The Academy is obliged to notify the DOH or MCOPH if and when it learns of a potential exposure to COVID-19 by a student, staff member, or school visitor. The DOH or MCOPH will guide the Academy as to appropriate next steps, which may include closing the school for a short or extended period of time or asking children and staff who have come in close contact (defined as greater than 10 minutes of interaction from less than 6 feet away) with an infected individual to quarantine at home for 14 days. Anyone who develops symptoms during that time should contact their health care provider and follow the Academy’s Return to School policy.
Again, the Academy will take every measure possible to maintain the confidentiality of the affected person or persons.
Guidelines for Return to School
Unless advised to do otherwise by the DOH or MCOPH, the Academy will not allow any child who has exhibited any of the Symptoms for Surveillance, whether at home or at school, to return to school unless the following criteria have been met. All referenced testing must be PCR Testing. The Academy does not accept Rapid Testing results.
1) A SYMPTOMATIC child who has tested POSITIVE for COVID-19 may not return to school until their symptoms (if any) have resolved AND at least 10 days have passed from the day their symptoms began AND they have been fever-free for at least 72 hours without the use of fever-reducing medications. Having tested positive for COVID-19, the student may not return to school until each of these criteria is met; a negative test obtained prior to the end of this quarantine does not clear the student for return to school. Once all three criteria are met, the COVID-19 positive individual does NOT need a repeat COVID test or a doctor’s note in order to return to school.
2) A SYMPTOMATIC child who has NOT BEEN TESTED for COVID-19 may not return to school until their symptoms (if any) have resolved AND at least 10 days have passed from the day their symptoms began AND they have been fever-free for at least 72 hours without the use of fever-reducing medications.
3) A SYMPTOMATIC child who has tested NEGATIVE for COVID-19 may not return to school until their symptoms (if any) have resolved AND they have been fever-free for at least 72 hours without the use of fever-reducing medications. A child who is still symptomatic after 72 hours should quarantine at home for 14 days. Consider retesting in 3-5 days if symptoms persist.
4) A SYMPTOMATIC child determined to have an alternative cause for their illness by their primary medical care provider may not return to school until their symptoms have resolved AND they have been fever-free for at least 72 hours without the use of fever-reducing medications.
5) An ASYMPTOMATIC child with a KNOWN or PRESUMED EXPOSURE to COVID-19 may not return to school until at least 14 days have passed since their last known or presumed exposure AND they have been cleared to return to school by DOH or MCOPH. The entire quarantine period must be completed; a negative test obtained prior to the end of the quarantine does not clear the student for return to school. If a previously asymptomatic child develops any of the Symptoms for Surveillance, they should contact their health care provider. They may not return to school until they meet the criteria for (1) or (2), above.
Healthy, vaccinated individuals are better protected from contracting and/or becoming seriously ill from COVID-19. The Academy joins the DOH and MCOPH in urging all students, staff, faculty and their families to ensure that their routine vaccinations are up to date and to get an annual flu shot.
Confidentiality statement
We consider information about students’ health to be extremely confidential. Given the highly contagious nature of COVID-19, however, the Academy may have an obligation to communicate information about known or suspected exposures to COVID-19 to DOH, MCOPH, or other members of our community. Know that any such communications will be handled in as confidential a manner as possible and that no employee or other member of our community will be penalized in any way for informing the school about his or her exposure to or experience with COVID-19.
We recognize that some members of our school community may be more vulnerable to COVID-19 than others. Parents of children with non-COVID-19 health concerns, such as pre-existing conditions which might make them particularly vulnerable to the disease, should discuss those concerns with the Director. Any such discussions will, of course, be strictly confidential.
The Academy recognizes that these are anxious times. Worry or speculation about potential exposures on campus only increases that anxiety. The Academy commits to promptly and appropriately informing our community if and when COVID-19 touches us. We ask you to trust us with that. We also ask you to allow the school, through formal channels, to communicate any COVID-19 exposures or potential exposures to our students and families.
Effective: 07/21/2020 Revised: 01/25/2021
