Covid-19 Safety Guidelines for the 21-22 school year

We are committed to a great learning and community experience for students throughout the year and understand that health and safety come first. Here are the key points that all members of our community are expected to follow.

Learning Spaces

Each classroom follows recommendations for physical distancing, and we expect all windows and doors to be open as much as possible with the HVAC system running.

While in the learning spaces, students will:

  • Sanitize their hands before entering the classroom

  • Sit three feet apart to the extent possible

  • Clean their table or desk at the end of each class

Lunch

Because masks cannot be worn while students and staff are eating and drinking, certain procedures must be followed to ensure safety:

  • Students will be assigned an area for a short lunch immediately following their B module classes, and teachers will monitor the lunch areas to be sure proper distance and sanitation are maintained

  • Lunch will be spent outdoors whenever possible

  • After eating, students should resume wearing a mask but can move throughout the campus and socialize outdoors when possible.

Essential Time

During Essential Time students will continue to wear masks indoors and outdoors unless they are engaged in an outdoor, teacher-supervised physical activity such as Frisbee or soccer.

Maintaining a Healthy Environment

There will be adjustments on campus to ensure a healthy environment. Some of these adjustments include:

  • An abundance of hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes will be easily accessible to students and staff throughout the school

  • No open water fountains, except for the bottle-filling station in the gym

  • Windows and doors consistently open, so students should dress appropriately and bring extra layers, and classes will be held outside to the extent possible.

Health Monitoring & Safety Protocol

Parents and guardians must sign the Parent Health Screening Commitment form before we will allow their child to attend in-person instruction. As written in our Distance Learning Addendum to our Student & Parent and Faculty Handbooks:

Students and staff must individually assess their health each day before coming to school. Anyone experiencing symptoms of infectious disease must stay at home. Please refer to the Parent/Guardian Health Screening Commitment Form for more information.

Any time students are on campus, we will adhere closely to established safety protocols based on science and in line with state and local guidance. We will require staff and students to wear masks, wash hands frequently, use hand sanitizer when entering indoor spaces, and to maintain a three-foot distance from other people to the extent possible. All classrooms and common areas of the school will be cleaned and sanitized at the end of each day, and we will sanitize surfaces, to the extent possible, throughout the day.

To ensure safety, the following is required:

  • Students must have updated forms on file with the school, specifically the Liability/Release form, Health Information form, and Student Information form.

  • In addition to the immunizations required by the Virginia Department of Health for all students in a school, students (and parents/guardians/teachers) participating in in-person instruction are expected to have the annual influenza vaccination.

  • If a student becomes sick, parents/guardians or designated persons agree to pick up the student as soon as they are notified. Students will be isolated until they can be picked up. ▪ A student who does not follow social distancing expectations or abide by other safety measures will not be permitted to return to campus for a to-be-determined period of time.

Maintaining Physical Distance

Whenever students are on campus, we will maintain social distancing through the following measures:

  • Arranging chairs, tables, desks, or workstations three feet apart indoors.

  • Designating bathrooms for students and staff according to the closest learning spaces, and allowing students to go one at a time so no lines form

  • Having adult monitors on campus enforcing social distance rules

Closure Decisions

Closure decisions will be made on a case-by-case basis if a student or staff member who has been on campus tests positive for COVID. However, given our safety mitigations, we do not expect to have to close the school. In the event that the school must close, instruction will be virtual and follow the same schedule as on-campus instruction. The identities of infected persons will always be kept confidential.