Safety Protocols

Arrival and Dismissal

These are the overall expectations. Specific instructions by school level or individual buildings may be more specific and detailed, but will follow these guidelines.

ARRIVAL

• All traffic flow should be in one direction around schools.

• There should be no gathering of students outside the school doors or on school grounds.

• Students will have areas to go based on school-specific instructions.

Student process

• Proceed through student screening process.

• Come into school, wash hands, and proceed to designated classroom for breakfast.

Late arrival

• Students should go to the office for check in, screening processes and instructions.

During the Day

• We request parents to limit student appointments during school hours as much as possible

• Parents should wait in their vehicle and call the office, if possible, from the parking lot.

• Students will check out in the office before leaving the building. If needed, an adult will escort the student to the vehicle

DISMISSAL

• Schools will develop site-specific instructions for limiting gatherings and keeping traffic flowing efficiently.

• Checking out students

VISITORS

• Visitors will not be allowed in buildings unless scheduled. All visitors will go through a screening process - including a temperature check and answering of questions - and be required to wear face covering to enter.

• Classroom guests, speakers and others should opt for electronic options when possible.

• All service providers (HVAC, copier support, non-emergency health support) must follow all district procedures, including screenings and wearing face coverings.

DAILY MONITORING OF SYMPTOMS

Parents will be asked to screen their students daily before allowing them to attend school. All staff assigned to work onsite at an LGSD building should also self-monitor.

• Questions to use for screening/monitoring

  • Do I have any of the following that are new or I cannot explain:

Y/N Temp above 100 degrees

Y/N Sore throat

Y/N Shortness of breath

Y/N New loss of taste or smell

Y/N Cough

Y/N Congestion or runny nose

Y/N Chills

Y/N Nausea or vomiting

Y/N Muscle Pain

Y/N Diarrhea

Y/N Headache

• • Has a member of my household (or another family member for whom I am providing direct care) been diagnosed with COVID-19, or been directed to self-quarantine due to symptoms of COVID-19?

  • Temperature checks: If over 100 degrees do not send child to school.

Parent/Guardian Guidance if COVID 19 is suspected:

• • Always make contact with family doctor and reach out to Health Department.

  • If student has temperature over 100.0, keep student home until fever is gone for three days (72 hours) without the use of fever-reducing medications) and notify the school.

  • If in a COVID-19 situation (household member with symptoms or positive test), notify the principal. Determination will be made for quarantine expectations.

  • If diagnosed with COVID-19, quarantine for 14 days and notify the school. When in doubt, call your school nurse before coming to school.

Staff screening

• • All staff assigned to work onsite at an LGSD building will also self-monitor daily.

At School:
SCREENING PROCESS

Any screenings of students or visitors will include this process:

• Staff will conduct the screenings and ask the following questions:

  • Do you have any of the following that are new or cannot be explained:

  • Temperature above 100.0 degrees

  • Shortness of breath

  • Cough

  • New loss of taste or smell

  • Has a member of your household (or another family member for whom you are in frequent contact) been diagnosed with COVID-19, or been directed to self-quarantine due to symptoms of COVID-19?

  • Temperature checks for 100.0 or higher.

Student or visitor will not be allowed to enter general population if they do not pass the entire screening process.

• Student will either go home with parent or proceed to isolation room to await further instruction.

• Visitors will be instructed to leave.

How cloth face coverings work

Cloth face coverings may prevent the person wearing the mask from spreading respiratory droplets when talking, sneezing, or coughing. If everyone wears a cloth face covering when out in public, such as going to the grocery store, the risk of exposure to the virus can be reduced for the community. Since people may spread the virus before symptoms start, or even if people never have symptoms, wearing a cloth face covering may protect others around you. Face coverings worn by others may protect you from getting the virus from people carrying the virus.

FACE COVERINGS EXPECTATIONS

Face coverings are required by all staff and highly encouraged for students. Appropriate face coverings such as face shields or clear view masks may be utilized when needed.

• While in any LGSD facilities, everyone will wear a face covering that covers their mouth and nose.

  • • At the k-2 level we recognize wearing face coverings will take extra time for students to become used to this new expectation. LGSD staff will reteach these new life skills expectations until wearing face coverings becomes routine.

• All face coverings must follow LGSD dress code policy. Apparel must comply with the health and safety codes and not interfere with the educational process.

• We will not allow intimidating, hostile or offensive messages on face coverings. Any question concerning appropriate apparel shall be handled on an individual basis by the immediate supervisor, teacher or building administrator.

• If an individual is not around others (i.e. one individual teacher in a classroom, individual in office alone with the door closed) the face covering may be removed until such time as others enter the space.

• Individuals are encouraged to wash their hands or use hand sanitizer after putting on, touching, or removing cloth face coverings.

• Face coverings may only be removed for meals or at the request of a staff member.

• Staff will support students in monitoring and education about the use of face coverings in the classroom/ buildings.

For more information, go to:

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/how-to-make-cloth-face-covering.html

Will incorporate a practical but science-based approach to social distancing. The current best practice to combat COVID-19 call for maintaining 6ft. distance between individuals.

• Social distancing will be in place wherever possible.

• Social distancing standards will be enforced.

Classroom design expectations

• Arranging of desks: Comply with social distancing and sq. ft. requirements

• Student personal items from home: Limit to only needed items; water bottle allowed. Computer in a computer bag is acceptable.

• Shared items: Limit and clean immediately with cleaning wipe.

Staff gatherings

• Staff will practice social distancing by utilizing virtual meetings when possible and avoiding gathering in lounges and break rooms.

La Grande School District will implement stable cohorts with fidelity within all school district buildings. Where feasible, stable cohorts: groups should be no larger than can be accommodated by the space available to provide 35 square feet per person, including staff. Students cannot be a part of any single cohort, or part of multiple cohorts that exceed a total of 100 people with the educational week.

Focus of cohorting guidelines:

• Cohort students as often as possible to minimize exposure and allow for contact tracing

• Cohorting will be more difficult in grades 7-12 as they have 4 period block schedule (4 transitions)

Stable Cohorts:

• Stable cohorts are defined as: a group of students that does not change location and population regularly throughout the day with individually identified students accessing same space and resources within a given day.

  • Students will be visually screened upon entry of school facilities.

  • Students will immediately go to their assigned classroom.

  • Teachers will log all adult contacts with the stable cohort daily.

  • Breakfast and lunch will be provided in classrooms to prevent mixing of stable cohort groups.

  • Teachers and staff will access students in stable cohorts as needed to provide services, meals, specials, etc. throughout the day.

  • Contact tracing logs will be shared via Google Docs with the school nurse, head secretary, and school administration to support contact tracing.

• Staff will maintain contact tracing log regarding access to assigned classrooms daily.

• Upon request, school administration will provide Local Public Health (LPHA) access to contact tracing logs.

• School administration will provide LPHA directory access to all data systems to support identification, contact tracing, investigation, or response to COVID-19.

• School administration will provide student records to LPHA with support of parents or legal guardian.

• LPHA and school administration will work collaboratively to determine the best format to share/access records in accordance with state law.

• Cleaning and disinfecting is everyone’s responsibility.

• The LGSD custodian crew has many years of experience and knowledge with continual training on cleaning and disinfecting procedures.

• The district will provide training as well as complete disinfecting and cleaning chemicals and other supplies. The district has new cleaning equipment to quickly and effectively take care of entire buildings.

• Routine and high-touch areas will be cleaned and disinfected often.

• Personal items will be cleaned and disinfected immediately after use by the user

The school district will not provide communal supplies for students to share. School supplies that are brought to school will be stored in individual containers for each student. Things like pencils, markers, scissors, tissue boxes etc. should not be shared among students.

• An area will be designated in each building to isolate students with COVID-19 symptoms until the student can be picked up.

• Parents of student identified for isolation based on health screening and temperature check will be contact immediately.

• The School Nurse will monitor students in isolation and be a resource when parents arrive.

• Parents are encouraged to respond quickly to minimize student’s time in the isolation room.

• Schools work collaboratively with local public health to contact trace COVID19 cases.

• Contact tracing will begin by LPHA based on presumptive results of initial COVID-19 test.

• If staff test indicates they a positive for virus, LPHA will refer staff to medical provider, issue quarantine orders, and start contact tracing for all staff and students that were in contact with impacted staff.

• Administration and school nurse will support LPHA by contacting parents of students identified for testing via contact tracing.

• Staff will maintain contact tracing log regarding access to assigned classrooms per period.

• Upon request, school administration will provide LPHA access to contact tracing logs.

• School administration will provide LPHA directory access to all data systems to support identification, contact tracing, investigation, or response to COVID-19.

• School administration will provide student records to LPHA with support of parents or legal guardian.

• LPHA and school administration will work collaboratively to determine the best format to share/access records in accordance with state law.

• Contact tracing logs will be shared via Google Docs with the school nurse, head secretary, and school administration to support contact tracing.

Protocol for supporting contact tracing and investigations of LPHA

Required components of daily contact tracing logs include:

• Child’s name

• Drop off/pick up time

• Parent/guardian name and emergency contact information

• All staff (including itinerant staff, substitutes, and guest teachers) names and phone numbers who interact with a stable cohort or individual student

Note: contact tracing investigations and quarantine may be inappropriate and abandoned as a strategy if there are multiple pandemic cases in multiple classrooms

COVID-19 symptoms detected:

If the school nurse and/or administration determines a student presents with signs or symptoms of COVID-19 and needs to be tested, school staff will:

• Place student in isolation room

• Contact parents/guardians

• Send student home per pandemic response guidelines;

• AND school nurse will contact report information to public health as needed

COVID-19 positive with symptoms or presumed positive

Symptom-based strategy

• Exclude from school until:

  • 10 days or until a negative COVID-19 test result.

  • AND 1 day of improvement in symptoms (e.g., cough, shortness of breath fever)

COVID-19 positive with NO symptoms

Time-based strategy

• Exclude from school until:

  • 10 days have passed since the date of their first positive COVID-19 diagnostic test without symptoms.

If COVID-19 is ruled out by testing or the student has an alternate diagnosis (e.g., tested positive for influenza), response team’s criteria for return to school could be based on that diagnosis.

Practical Application

What would likely happen when a student or staff member tests positive for COVID-19?

1. First, the definition of a “close contact” according to the CDC is “anyone who was within 6 feet of an infected person for at least 15 minutes starting from 48 hours before the person began feeling sick until the time the patient was isolated.

2. It is essential that all students and staff wear required face coverings and maintain 6ft spacing to minimize the number of students and staff who will be considered a “close contact” during contact tracing.

3. It is absolutely imperative that specialists, para-educators, and other staff that have access to all student and staff maintain 6 ft distancing and wear face coverings.

On Sept 10 (Wednesday) at 8:00am, Johnny entered Greenwood Elementary with a mask covering his face. He was welcomed and visually screened by Principal Westenskow but did not appear sick at the time. He walked and talked with his buddies Eric (Grade 3, Gray) and Sam (Grade 4, Webb) on the way to Mrs. Barnett’s third grade class and took his assigned seat. After a socially distanced morning meeting and math lesson (about 9:30am) Mrs. Barnett notices that Johnny is sweating, coughing, and appears sick. She immediately calls Principal Westenskow and lets him know that Johnny appears sick. Principal Westenskow thanks Mrs. Barnett and immediately calls the School Nurse and requests that she come to Greenwood. Principal Westenskow goes to Mrs. Barnett’s classroom and asks Johnny to come with him. He and Johnny have a good conversation about Transformers on the way to the school isolation room. Once in the isolation room, Principal Westenskow asks Johnny how he is feeling and takes his temperature. While they wait for the School Nurse, Principal Westenskow observes Johnny coughed multiple times and is sweating. He asks Johnny how he is feeling and Johnny indicates that he felt sick when he went to bed but felt better when he woke up. He tells Principal Westenskow that in the last twenty minutes he has started to feel like he did the night before and that he really doesn’t feel well. The School Nurse arrives and Principal Westenskow shares all information he has collected. The school nurse observes Johnny, questions him about his symptoms, and double-checks his temperature (which is still high – above 100 degrees) and recommends that Principal Westenskow call Johnny’s parents to come get him.

Johnny’s parents arrive and agree that Johnny is sick. The School Nurse recommends that Johnny be tested for COVID-19 and refers his parents to CHD and that Johnny can return to school when he is symptom free for 72 hours. Principal Westenskow reaffirms the request to get tested for COVID-19 and indicates to parents that Johnny will not be allowed to attend school until 10 days have past or until test results can be made available according the District Communicable Disease Plan and ODE guidelines. Johnny’s parents indicate they will take Johnny to get tested and leave the school. Principal Westenskow sanitizes the isolation room and the School Nurse calls CHD to let them know of the referral for testing.

On Sept. 12 (Friday) at 11am, Principal Westenskow and the School Nurse are notified that Johnny has tested positive for COVID-19 and that he will be monitored and quarantined for 10 days. They also request all contact tracing logs documenting Johnny’s “close contacts” for the previous three days. They indicate that contact tracers will be arriving at student and staff homes to conduct investigations. Principal Westenskow then notifies district administration and school nurse that CHD has contacted him and notified him of a confirmed case. A district and public health team meets to review logs and identify all students and staff that have been exposed, and develop a plan based on the level of exposure. However, because Mrs. Barnett’s classroom was a stable cohort, it was determined that only Mrs. Barnett’s classroom would be required to go home for 10 days or until the contact investigation was completed. While Johnny did talk to friends, engage with other educational staff, etc. it was determined that he did not engage with any of these people for more than 15 minutes within 6ft and would not make them a “close contact” and impact their ability to stay at school. Principal Westenskow then calls Mrs. Barnett and lets her know:

1. That Johnny was positive and that her classroom will move to distance learning for the next ten days.

2. That all students and she need to remain in the classroom until parents can pick them up.

3. That if students need to use the bathroom or get a drink of water that she needs to call him so he can clear these areas to eliminate further contact.

4. That he and others will be working with staff to contact families quickly and let them know they need to come get their child.

5. To continue learning and activities as normal to minimize the negative impact on students.

6. That once students have left, she and Principal Westenskow will have a virtual conference to discuss next steps.

Throughout the day parents arrive and students are released to them with a notification letter regarding next steps with contacts and resources. Parents are informed that because of the situation contact investigators will be contacting them, and determining, with them, if their student should be tested for COVID-19. Contact investigators are the appropriate people to help families access resources or testing and make these decisions.

At the end of the school day, Mrs. Barnett and Principal Westenskow meet virtually and discuss the next ten days of distance learning, student needs, her needs, and cleaning that will occur in her classroom. At the end of the conversation, Mrs. Barnett sends a brief email to her students and their parents letting them know she is excited to see them tomorrow online and provides an introduction for parents to Google Classroom and other distance learning tools before exiting campus.

Over the next ten days, Mrs. Barnett engages and instructs her students daily through Google Classroom and Google Meet with all other student services provided to students per their individualized plans. She was contacted by CHD and investigator came to her home and they determined that Mrs. Barnett should be tested even though she had done a fantastic job of maintaining 6ft spacing, wearing a mask or face shield daily, and following all other safety protocols.

Mrs. Barnett works with Principal Westenskow, district administration, the School Nurse, and CHD to develop a plan for re-entry based on the results of contact tracing. The team determines after ten days that Mrs. Barnett will be able to return to Greenwood Elementary and that on-site classes will resume. She contacts her students and their parents and lets them know that class will be resuming at Greenwood. Students who were contact investigated, tested, and found to be positive will remain home and then rejoin Mrs. Barnett’s class in-person once they are cleared by the local public health authority (CHD).

There are multiple variations to this social story, but we hope this gives a framework to understand the protocols and processes we will use should students or staff be exposed to COVID-19.

Post-Outbreak Follow-up

La Grande School District and the local public health authority (CHD) will continue to communicate regarding the outbreak and impact to school programming. Information will be released regularly on the district’s website and Facebook pages to keep students, staff, and families updated. Parents or staff are welcome to contact CHD if they are ever concerned that their child may be exposed to COVID-19. More information can be found regarding our COVID-19 plan and response at our website at lagrandesd.org.

“Reopening schools is a priority for children, families, and our community. Evidence from studies suggest that we can do it safely for all involved. The best way to achieve this goal is to be especially vigilant and proactive in wearing masks, hand hygiene, and social distancing as well as minimizing nonessential close contact and travel. Make these things a part of your routine and make it fun for kids. We expect changes as the school year progresses, but remain confident in our community’s ability to get through this by working together. If you have questions, please contact your child’s doctor – we are always here to help!”

– Dr. Zach at Grande Ronde Hospital