HEALTH

As the virus evolves, policies and procedures are subject to change and will be updated on this website. KHDS will continuously monitor the latest health guidelines, state mandated policies, CDC and PBC Health Department recommendations to make all necessary adjustments to programming policies and procedures. Safety will always be the number one priority for our children, staff and families. We are committed to providing continuous communication and updating KHDS staff and families regarding any changes in the health policy at KHDS.

COVID TRAINING: All KHDS teachers/staff will undergo comprehensive training over the summer to ensure understanding of the symptoms, methods of transmission, strategies for prevention and mitigation of COVID 19. Refresher courses will be offered throughout the school year as more information becomes available and guidelines change.

TRAVEL POLICY (updated 1/4/21) Regardless of where one lives, the CDC has identified travel in any form as a risk factor regardless of your destination. It is the simple act of travel that involves additional risk, not the destination.

We are now allowing travel by car in-state. Air travel and out-of-state travel will continue to require a 10 day isolation period or the option to test on day 5, before students may return to school. We hope this allows families a bit more flexibility for Florida based trips over Chol Ha’moed while remaining responsible and healthy.

In an effort to reduce risk, and based on the CDC's recommendations regarding increased risk associated with travel, KHDS will require one of the following two options for students that have traveled outside of the state or via air travel:

1. A 10-day no-travel window prior to a student's re-entry to school. Anyone who has traveled outside of Florida or via air travel will need to wait 10 days before returning to school.

OR

2. Students may isolate for 5 days following return from travel, and subsequently get tested and present documentation of a negative PCR nasopharyngeal swab test from a reliable facility.

It is also well understood that certain travel plans are less risky and certain are more risky. But at this time, it is not possible for the school to start evaluating individual travel plans and for this reason the policy was made to avoid all travel. Though certain counties/states may have higher case counts than others, our policy was established in the beginning of the summer in an effort to give people as much advanced warning as possible. It would be impossible to predict where the next hot spot would be.

Any student who is unable to attend school for any reason will have the option to virtually access their classroom from home.

POINT PERSON: (updated 7/24/20) Robin Noble, LPN, our school nurse, will be the point person for COVID-19 protocol in conjunction with the Task Force.

TEMPERATURE SCREENING: All KHDS staff/students will be screened on a daily basis via infrared no-touch thermometers prior to entering any buildings on the campus. Anyone with a temperature greater than 100 degrees will not be permitted to enter.

SELF SYMPTOM REPORTING: A system will be put in place to request all staff to regularly report any symptoms such as fever, cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, body aches, sore throat, congestion, vomiting, diarrhea, loss of sense of smell/taste, or exposure to COVID. Staff with symptoms or exposure will be asked to refrain from returning to school as per the protocol initiated at the start of the school year. KHDS is currently evaluating a system to also encourage students and families to report symptoms and exposures.

FACE COVERINGS/MASKS (updated 7/24/20): All KHDS teachers, staff and students will be required to wear a face mask that covers the nose and mouth (and that stays in place with normal movements) at all times when indoors, except when eating lunch, which we will try to hold outside as much as possible. Students should come to school wearing a mask and bring in 2 extra masks to keep in their backpacks. The only exception to this rule will be for the students in the EC2 program, who will not be required to wear masks. Students will be given mask breaks when outdoors.

Neutral colors are suggested and school age appropriate designs (i.e. dots, stripes) will be permitted. Facial shields may be worn in addition to masks, but not as an alternative.

HAND WASHING: The campus will be equipped with additional hand sanitizer and hand washing stations with soap/water. Frequent hand washing will be incorporated into the daily schedules.

SOCIAL DISTANCING/SIGNAGE: (updated 7/24/20) KHDS is currently evaluating the utilization of space on the campus to determine how best to adhere to the maintenance of social distancing of at least 6 feet, especially when indoors. KHDS is committed to adjusting class sizes/schedules in order to attain this goal. Social distancing will be practiced during all times of the day, including when outdoors. Protocol, hygiene and social distance reminders will be posted on campus adhering to Florida Department of Health and Education guidelines. Directional signage on floors, hallways and stairways are in place to reduce physical contact.

IMMUNIZATIONS: KHDS will continue to enforce its current policy requiring all routine vaccinations to be up to date prior to the start of the school year. Influenza vaccination will also be strongly encouraged as the co-existence of influenza and coronavirus in the fall will increase the burden of disease on the KHDS community. If and when a COVID vaccine becomes available, the task force will evaluate its availability and development of a formal policy.

SANITATION: The maintenance and cleaning policies have been updated to include vigorous disinfection on a routine basis. Modifications are being made to the campus to ensure we maintain the highest standards of hygiene. Further details can be found under the “facilities” section of the website.

SICK POLICY: KHDS is dedicated to the well-being and health of our students/staff. For this reason the sick policy has become more stringent this year. If a child becomes symptomatic during the school day, the student will be immediately brought to the nurse’s office and isolated. A parent will be required to pick up the child within a reasonable amount of time. All children will be required to be 48 hours* symptom-free (without the use of fever reducing medicines) before returning to school. If a child is sick for more than 2 days, a doctor’s note will be required for them to be permitted to return to school*. If a positive COVID case is identified in school, internal contact tracing will be initiated and KHDS will work with the local DOH and adhere to CDC guidelines regarding the need for initiating quarantines or temporarily closing. Affected students/staff will be notified immediately if they have been in contact with a COVID positive person. The remote learning platform will be active throughout the year, thereby making certain that any child who is ill, recovering from illness, or quarantined will not experience any disruption in learning. (*specifics of this policy are currently under review)

RESTROOM POLICY: (updated 7/24/20) Only one student will be allowed in the bathroom at a time.

VISITORS ON CAMPUS: No visitors will be allowed on campus. Parents will not be permitted to walk their children into any buildings on the campus. Parents must remain in their vehicles during drop off and pick up.

(updated 9/2/20) Our task force has determined that we can allow private therapists back on campus to work with our students, beginning after the high holidays. There are, as you might expect, many safety rules that still need to be followed, but we are excited to be able to offer this for our students once again.

• Therapists will be seeing students outside the building only. We will have four stations (tables and chairs) set up around campus that they may use. They should plan to wipe the tables and chairs down before and after use.

• Therapists and students must both be in masks and working 6 feet apart - with the following exception:

• Speech therapists may bring their own plexiglass separation to put on the table so that sessions can happen without masks. They should still try to keep distance between them.

• Therapists will need to fill out the same checklists that we fill out for our students every day, and they will need to have their temperatures checked when they arrive on campus.

• Therapists still need to fill out the attached background information form - which asks for contact information and proof of a background check. You can email completed forms back to me at pdorfman@hilleldayschool.org. Please note that a new form is required each school year. Click here to download the form.

If this is something you would like to coordinate for your child, please email Dr. Dorfman at pdorfman@hilleldayschool.org, and cc: your child's teacher. There will be set times for each class (working around their class schedules) and 4 stations means only 4 therapists at a time. We are doing our best to find spots that are shady, but of course, weather is a factor. Please keep that in mind and plan to be flexible if a session needs to be cancelled due to inclement weather.

ARE WE AWARE OF AND OR CONCERNED ABOUT THE NEW "KAWASAKI-LIKE DISEASE" (MPIS) AFFECTING CHILDREN? We are. The negative outcomes per research indicates complications are due to children having the symptoms go untreated for a week to ten days. It is believed to be a reaction to a virus (not always Covid 19) that causes an over-reaction in children’s immune systems. It is highly detectable with signs being: rash on hands and or feet, fever, gastrointestinal issues, among others. Finally, and very reassuring, it is not communicable. Children do not give it to other children.