People who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 have reported symptoms that may appear in as few as 2 days or as long as 14 days after exposure to the virus. Symptoms include

• Cough

• Fever (Temperature greater than 100.4 degrees F/38 degrees C)

• Shortness of Breath or Difficulty Breathing

• Chills

• Fatigue

• Muscle and Body Aches

• Headache

• Sore Throat

• New Loss of Taste or Smell

• Congestion or Runny Nose

• Nausea

• Vomiting

• Diarrhea

You can reduce your risk for by taking simple steps, including the following.

• Cover your coughs and sneezes with a sleeve or a tissue.

• Wash your hands often with soap and water for 20 seconds.

• Wear a mask.

• Practice social distancing.

• Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces.

• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.

• Stay home when you are sick.

• Avoid close contact with people who are sick.

If you have symptoms like cough, fever, or other respiratory problems, call your primary care doctor first. Do not go to the emergency room. Emergency rooms need to be able to serve those with the most critical needs. If you have difficulty breathing, it doesn’t mean you have COVID-19, but you should call 9-1-1.

If you are over 60 and you have underlying conditions like diabetes, heart disease and lung disease, come up with a plan with your doctor to identify your health risks for COVID-19 and how to manage symptoms. Contact your doctor right away if you do have symptoms.

Any individual who tests positive for COVID-19 or who shows any signs or symptoms of illness of COVID-19 listed above should stay home. Any student or employee who begins to exhibit a high fever associated with COVID-19 like symptoms must report to the school nurse. Any individual who exhibits those symptoms at school will be held in an isolated waiting room until they can be picked up.

People who have had close contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19 must isolate at home and monitor symptoms for 14 days. Close contact is defined as “any individual who has been closer than 6 feet for more than 15 minutes.”

As much as you can, give them time to practice wearing their mask. Try a few different options, either homemade or store bought, to see which are most comfortable to them. We’ve also seen some families encouraging their kids to decorate their masks to put their personal touch on it. And of course, modeling is always a helpful tool. With the recent mask mandate, people of all ages are wearing masks out in public. If you haven’t yet, it is also beneficial to explain why people are wearing masks to help them understand that wearing face coverings can prevent the spread of germs. The Vermont Department of Health recently put together a fact sheet with more information about Face Coverings for Children for those that are interested. The CDC also has a visual storyboard for how to wear facial covering properly.

You can find more about masks on the Health page.

The State of Vermont created a cross state travel map that shows what locations you can travel to without needing to quarantine upon your return to Vermont. The map is updated weekly on Tuesdays and is populated with raw data from Johns Hopkins University. The Governor and VT Department of Health have suspended the use of this map and are discouraging travel of any kind.

Please be aware that if a CVSD student or employee travels to an area that requires quarantine, they will need to follow the State’s guidelines prior to returning to our school buildings. Read more about quarantining at the Vermont Department of Health website.

Any student who becomes ill while at school with COVID symptoms will be sent home immediately. Each school has created an “isolation space” where any sick person will stay until a parent can come pick up. These rooms are separate from the Health Office with a dedicated entrance/exit, bathroom and HVAC system to maintain negative pressure and exhaust air directly outdoors.

CVSD will work directly with the VT Department of Health (DOH) and follow those recommendations when a positive case is identified. Currently, the DOH recommendation will most likely be to close the potentially affected classroom(s) for in-person instruction and exclude students and staff in the affected classrooms/cohorts/ pods for a minimum of 24 hours while contact tracing is conducted. The DOH will gather the facts about the situation, convene a rapid response team with the school and will initiate contact tracing. Based on this information, the DOH will make further recommendations regarding further closure for in-person instruction and other infection control measures.

The Department of Health would determine a close contact based on their contact tracing. Currently a close contact is defined as “being within 6 feet for more than 15 minutes with a person with COVID-19 while they were contagious.” (AOE Guidance, pg 32)

Your role is to comply with the Department of Health’s recommendations for contact tracing. You will be contacted by the DOH if you are identified as a close contact. The district will have a method of documenting the students and adults that each staff person has contact with, to be provided to the DOH when needed. Staff should be maintaining personal logs of contacts. Please answer your phone!

Staff and students should stay home if they have tested positive for or are showing symptoms of COVID-19. Per the Health and Safety Guidance, staff/student (parents) will be asked every day to attest that they are symptom-free before returning to school.

• Students and staff can return to school after they have been sick with COVID-19 when they are no longer considered contagious

• Student or staff with a fever of more than 100.4°F, but no specific diagnosis may return to school after they have had no fever for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medicine

• Students or staff who have had close contact with a person with COVID-19 may return to school after they have completed any Vermont Department of Health-mandated quarantine. The DOH will advise on any quarantine requirements for students and staff exposed at school.

Yes. CVSD is utilizing an application that allows all adults to conduct the health screening before they come to work each day.

Yes, temperature checks will occur for all students prior to entering the building.

We ask that staff and families refrain from non-essential travel out of state to locations that require them to quarantine upon their return (see Cross-State Travel Information).

The research and literature in Vermont continues to support the safe reopening of schools.

• Our low positivity rate has maintained even while we slowly reopen our economy and activity

• Countries with similar positivity rates to ours have opened schools successfully.

• Schools who have opened with large outbreaks are in communities where community spread was much more widespread (positivity rates above 20%)

• Vermont has a significantly greater availability of testing and a much more robust contact tracing system. Widespread outbreaks have not occurred even when positive cases occurred with camp counselors and childcare providers

Yes. Governor Scott announced on July 17, that Vermont schools will return to school with enhanced safety protocols. CVSD plans to resume with hybrid instruction in our schools with safety protocols outlined by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Vermont Department of Health, Vermont's Agency of Education, and the Centers for Disease Control. View information about options for CVSD families on the Learning Options page.

No; any testing would be conducted through the Department of Health based on existing recommendations. Testing will provide only a “point-in-time” answer as to the existence of COVID19. Since children are not seen as the vectors of infection, it is unlikely to be helpful to conduct widespread testing in school.

November: The VT Department of Health is implementing surveillance testing for adults working in our schools. This is on a voluntary basis.

The CVSD plan is based on the information we have available at this time from public health officials, as well as the Vermont Agency of Education. It will possibly be adjusted as new guidance is offered or as necessary to best support the health and safety of our students and staff.

Should Vermont need to move back to a stay-at-home phase due to a resurgence of the virus, it is possible the governor will direct all Vermont schools to move to remote learning for all students for a period of time. We are committed to keeping you informed every step of the way.

CVSD has created a team to help identify and coordinate options for families. We are working with our community partners and our Part 2 program to see how we might help families connect with childcare options. We are exploring a regional solution to this as well.

Face masks will be mandatory for all students, employees and visitors, unless a medical contraindication is verified by a physician, the individual is having difficulty breathing, or the individual is unable to remove the mask without assistance.

Masks are required while indoors in all classes. Some exceptions may be made. We will outline those on this site when more plans are in place.

Masks may be removed if classes move outside and if 6 feet of distance is maintained at all times. Students will be allowed to remove masks when eating or drinking.

See more information about masks on the Health page.

How to Wear a Mask in School (video)

We do request and strongly suggest that families make their decision with the understanding that students will stick with the chosen model for 6-8 weeks. This allows for continuity for the student(s). It also enables the district and schools to work out systems like transportation, class size, and other factors to keep everyone safe and healthy.

For those choosing the fully-remote option for grades 9-12: VT-VLC, our partner for the fully-remote option, has an expectation that students will participate for a full semester. That will enable students to complete their courses in full.

No, the professional development time that has been used on Tuesday afternoons will be incorporated into Wednesdays. Tuesdays will be the same length of time as Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays for in-person school.

Yes. Classroom seating will be configured with the maximum allowable space between students and all desks facing the same direction. No classes will have more than the state guidance in one room.

Employees will modify instructional plans to reduce student contact, sharing of materials or equipment and maintain appropriate social distancing to the greatest extent possible.

Elementary and middle school schedules will be developed in a way that will limit student movement throughout the day. Limits will be placed on the number of students allowed in a hallway at one time. Restroom procedures will be established at each school to limit the number of students in the hallway and restrooms.

Yes. CVSD will comply with state guidance around the number of students and the spacing of student on a bus. Please note that students will be required to wear a mask while riding the bus.

Parents should keep children home if they have any symptoms.

Students will eat lunch in their classrooms.

Students will have outdoor recess as weather permits. Student groups, or cohorts, will stay together and will not mix with other cohorts. Students will wash their hands before and after outdoor recess.

We are still developing plans for Curriculum nights, open houses and back-to-school events; they will likely be facilitated virtually instead of in person.

CVSD will close its facilities to outside groups this year, with the exception of the before- and after-school care programs.

CVSD is following guidance from the Vermont Principal's Association prior to determining next steps regarding interscholastic sports at the middle and high school level this fall.

CVSD Schools will implement the following requirements for Volunteers, Visitors and Field Trips:

• No outside visitors and volunteers may enter our buildings except for employees or contracted service providers for the purpose of special education or required support services, as authorized by the school or district.

• Field trips are only allowed if the program is able to maintain all health guidance, as well as guidance from the Agency of Commerce and Community Development, as it relates to public outdoor spaces.

• Parent/family visits must be pre-arranged and approved.

Over the summer, all CVSD facilities had an extensive deep cleaning in accordance with CDC and OSHA guidelines. CVSD will increase its daily cleaning protocols at all buildings, with an emphasis on repeated cleaning of high-traffic areas and high-touch areas (such as desks, tables, light switches, doorknobs, banisters, drinking fountains and sinks).

Disinfectant has been provided to ALL staff so that cleaning can occur throughout the day. Objects and equipment will be cleaned and sanitized before and after use. Any area used by a sick person will be closed until proper cleaning and disinfection have been completed.

Please refer to the Symptomatic & Positive Cases Guide for detailed information.

Students who have chronic medical conditions will have their individual situation assessed by the school nurse. Health Care Plans, Individual Education Plans (IEPs), 504 Plans and any other relevant documentation will be reviewed. Schools will contact the student’s parents/guardians as well as the student’s physician, if needed. For students with IEPs, the child’s IEP team will meet to determine the nature, extent, and service delivery model.

CVSD employees working with students who require instruction or related services that involve hands-on work or other intervention in close proximity will wear personal protective equipment (PPE) in order to keep themselves and the students safe. This includes gloves, masks and/or face shields.

Students will also be required to wear face masks unless documentation is provided by a physician that it poses a health risk to the student. Adapted face coverings, assistive technology and other supports will be provided, as determined necessary by the IEP team, in order to ensure the proper ability to communicate and receive services.

Evaluations that were unable to be completed due to the need for in-person testing will be completed as quickly as possible once school resumes.

IEP meetings may continue to be held virtually based on the ability of the school to provide space that ensures appropriate social distancing requirements are met

As adults, it’s important we remain calm with our actions and words, and share factual information. Sharing accurate information during a time of heightened concern is critical. One of the ways we can protect our community from illness is to keep rumors and misinformation from spreading.

Here are some resources you may use to talk about COVID-19 with children:

• CDC: Talking with Children About Coronavirus

• National Association of School Psychologists Parent Resource – Talking to Children About COVID-19

• Tips for Helping Kids Wear Masks

• How to Wear a Mask in School (video)

We are taking a four-pronged approach to help reduce airborne transmission of the Coronavirus:

• All systems are being evaluated by an HVAC professional to ensure they are working at maximum design efficiency.

• We will be increasing outdoor air ventilation as much as possible while balancing for optimal temperature and humidity parameters

• We will be extending our ventilation systems schedules to "flush" the buildings both before and after school.

• We are upgrading our filters to the ASHRAE recommended level, a MERV 13, on our systems that can handle the additional filtration. When not possible to meet recommendations we are bringing in consultants to help us maximize filtration in other ways.