Mackintosh Academy contracts with Children’s Hospital on a yearly basis. The Nurse Consultant assigned to the campus meets monthly with the campus Nurse Delegate(s) to provide protocols.
Mackintosh will abide by health department mandates regarding masking
We are an allergen-aware school, not an allergen-free school. We work closely with our Nurse Consultant and parents to support individual student needs to the best of our ability. Parents must clearly identify food sensitivities and allergies in FACTS, so that our teachers are aware of individual needs.
Students with a severe or life-threatening allergy must have a Severe Allergy Plan submitted prior to the start of each academic year. (See Student Medication Policy)
Sick children are not to come to school under any circumstances. Students absent from school due to a fever (100.4) or illness accompanied by a fever may not return to class until the student has been fever-free without medication for a minimum of 24-hours. Prolonged absences should be discussed with the student’s teacher so that the Academy can make arrangements to provide a means of support to continue the student’s progress (see Absences).
Parents will be notified of illnesses in their child’s classroom according to State guidelines. These include notification if two or more students in their child’s classroom have a confirmed communicable disease such as streptococcus or enterovirus or if a pattern of illness across classrooms involving four or more students is identified. Notice will not be given for regular illnesses such as the common cold unless these are particularly severe or prevalent across a large portion of the student body. All student illnesses are tracked and reported to the Nurse Consultant for identification of trends and necessary Department of Health reporting. Please note that according to State Law certain illnesses must be reported directly to the Department of Health.
Mackintosh will refer to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) most current guidance, tools, and checklists for monitoring of symptoms and decision making regarding Isolation and Quarantine. We also will consult with our Nurse Consultant from Children's Hospital.
If you bring your child to school, you are stating that your child is well to the best of your knowledge.
If any student/staff presents with any new symptoms or a change in usual symptoms, they should stay home. Students/staff should not be kept home for usual symptoms they experience due to a chronic condition unless they are worse than usual.
Students/staff whose symptoms do not resolve in 24 hours are required to take an at-home COVID test.
Students/staff who test positive for COVID-19 must isolate at home for a minimum of five days from symptom onset.
Students may return to school on day six and are required to wear a well fitting mask on days six through ten. If a child tests negative during this time, they will no longer be required to wear a mask. Parents may instead choose to keep the child at home until such time as they test negative. Such days will be considered excused absences.
At Home COVID-19 Symptom Screening Tool For Parents and Staff
Colorado law requires each student to provide a “Certificate of Immunization” prior to attending an institution of learning. In addition, Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten students must have a medical examination prior to enrollment and must provide documentation of the examination to the school.
In April 2015, the Colorado Board of Health amended The Infant Immunization Program and Immunization of Students Attending School rule. The amendments require parents to submit non-medical exemptions more frequently. Non-medical exemptions include religious or personal belief exemptions.
Starting in July 2016, parents or guardians seeking non-medical exemptions for:
Pre-kindergarten children will submit exemption forms at each age when vaccines are due.
Kindergarten through 12th grade students will submit exemption forms each year.
Medical exemptions only need to be submitted once. New medical and non-medical exemption forms will be available online on the Vaccine Exemptions webpage, Vaccine exemptions | Department of Public Health and Environment.
When a child turns five or twelve, he or she will need new documentation of updated immunizations within six weeks of his/her birthday. Students without proper documentation, as noted in this section, will not be allowed to attend class until the forms are received by the front office.
State law permits school employees who have completed a training module to access state immunization records for children under the age of 18. Mackintosh may access such records for our reporting purposes. Individual information about vaccination status is kept confidential.
The school urges all individuals to receive Covid-19 vaccinations and boosters.
COVID-19 vaccination status and records may be requested in order to abide by Department of Health guidelines.
Student Emergency Information must be submitted and updated through FACTS during online re-enrollment process. Pre-K families will also be asked to provide paper copies included in Back-To-School packets. Students without updated, complete information will not be allowed to attend school until the information has been received.
Emergency information sheets will be generated through FACTS and distributed to teaching staff for use on Field Trips. Student emergency health and contact information will be placed in a closed envelope and carried by supervising parent volunteer drivers and staff for all off-campus activities and events.
Mackintosh Academy is not a medical facility, and the staff is not trained beyond simple first aid. The Academy cannot provide medical care for our students; however, with a written request and instructions from the student’s physician, authorized staff will administer special medications during the school day. All prescription and nonprescription medication given in the school setting requires a written authorization from the student’s health care provider as well as parental written consent. This is a licensing requirement. Medication Authorization Forms, one completed for each medication, are available from the main office and on the FACTS resource page.
Parents of students requiring Epi-Pens for allergic reactions or inhalers for asthma are required to complete a Colorado Asthma Care Plan and/or An Allergy and Anaphylaxis Action Plan. These forms are available from the front office or from your healthcare provider. The forms must be completed before the first day of school in order for us to safely meet your child’s needs. If an Epi-pen is brought to the school without the proper instructions and signed forms, staff members are not authorized to administer it and will be instructed to call 911 in the event of a reaction until the completed authorization forms are received by the school.
Instructions from the student’s health care provider must include the following:
Information regarding the medication;
The reason for the medication;
The specific time of administration; and
The length of time the medication will be given.
All medications must be brought in the original labeled container. Each medication, including all over-the-counter medication, must be accompanied by a separate permission form, signed by the parent(s) and the child’s physician.
Homeopathic medication and herbal preparations are not included in medical administration training; therefore, no school personnel may administer these medications. These medications will not be permitted on campus without written approval from the Nurse Consultant.
Authorized medical staff persons are not certified to determine when an “as needed” medication is to be given. Specific instructions are necessary. For children with chronic health conditions, the “as needed” instructions can be determined in collaboration with the consulting registered nurse.
Absent instruction to the contrary, Mackintosh will administer Band-Aids for simple cuts and abrasions.
A Registered Nurse Consultant (Nurse Consultant) from Children’s Hospital (hired by the school) will delegate and supervise the task of medication administration only to those staff members who have completed and passed the state approved Medication Administration Training class. The Nurse Consultant will be available once a month for parent and staff consultation at Mackintosh Academy.
We are committed to following the most current guidelines provided by the Colorado Department of Human Services, Colorado Department of Public Health, and the Colorado State Board of Nursing to ensure the safe and accurate administration of routine medications to the students at Mackintosh Academy. We appreciate your support with these requirements.
Student injuries will be attended to by the supervising staff member. Mackintosh staff have specific injury protocols for dealing with student injuries occurring at school. Parents will be informed by email, phone call or personal message according to the severity of the injury. A written incident report will also be prepared and may require a parent signature in the case of severe injuries.
Mackintosh Academy follows specific protocols for all injuries involving the head or reasonably believed to have involved the head. Students will be observed by a school nurse delegate for a specific period of time and will continue to be observed in the classroom for the remainder of the day, or sent home at the discretion of the Nurse Delegate. Parents will be notified and a form sent home detailing appropriate ongoing monitoring of the child.
Parents are required to notify the Academy of any diagnosed concussion in order for the Academy to follow appropriate concussion protocols. These may include a reduction in workload, increased breaks, removal from physical activities and elimination of testing as indicated by the child’s physician. Parents must provide a written release signed by the student’s doctor in order for the student to resume regular activities.
Parents are required to notify the Academy if a child has a history of one or more concussions, including the dates and severity of these injuries, as these students will be monitored more closely in the case of a head injury on campus.