District Protocols and Practices 

2021-2022

• Students benefit from in-person learning, and safely returning to in-person instruction in the fall 2021 is a priority.

• Layered strategies to prevent the spread of the virus and keep our school safe will be used such as screening/testing, ventilation, handwashing and respiratory etiquette, staying home when sick, contact tracing in combination with quarantine and isolation, and cleaning and disinfection.

Vaccination

• Vaccination is currently the leading public health prevention strategy to end the COVID-19 pandemic.  Promoting vaccination can help schools safely return to in-person learning as well as extracurricular activities and sports.

• The District can serve as a vaccination site and coordinate a clinic if enough people are interested.  Please notify the school nurse if interested.   

Consistent and Correct Mask Use 

• If Jefferson County is in the substantial or high transmission zones, Masks should be worn indoors by all individuals (age 2 and older) regardless of vaccination status. Consistent and correct mask use is especially important indoors and in crowded settings, when physical distancing cannot be maintained.  If Jefferson County is in the low or moderate transmission zones, masks will be required for only unvaccinated staff, students, and visitors.     

  • Cloth masks with the Patriots logo have been purchased for all students and employees.  Disposable masks will be available for those students or staff who forget their cloth face covering.   

  • Students must wear a face covering on school transportation, in the bathroom, in our hallways, and working in small groups.    

  • Some spaces have been set up so that students are 6ft+ apart.  In these locations, students may remove their masks while seated.

• Masks do not need to be word outdoors.  Though, CDC recommends that people who are not fully vaccinated wear a mask in crowded outdoor settings or during activities that involve sustained close contact with other people  Fully vaccinated people might choose to wear a mask in crowded outdoor settings if they or someone in their household is immunocompromised.  

Physical Distancing 

• In general, it is recommended that people how are not fully vaccinated maintain physical distance of at least 6 feet from mother people who are not in their household.  

• Less than 6-feet can be permitted safely if layered with other prevention strategies such as mask wearing.  

• CDC recommends schools maintain at least 3 feet of physical distance between students within classrooms, combined with indoor mask wearing by people who are not fully vaccinated, to reduce transmission risk. When it is not possible to maintain a physical distance of at least 3 feet, such as when schools cannot fully re-open while maintaining these distances, it is especially important to layer multiple other prevention strategies, such as indoor masking.

• A distance of 6-feet is recommended between students and teachers/staff and between teachers/staff who are not fully vaccinated.  

• Mask use by all students, teachers, staff, and visitors is particularly important with physical distance cannot be maintained.  

Daily Self- and/or Parental Health Screening 

• The District strongly encourages faculty, staff, and parents/guardians to self-screen or screen their child/ren daily.  Temperatures should be taken and symptoms should be discussed to determine that one is healthy to report to the school.  The school community will not be required to submit daily or weekly screening.   

• The District may institute a daily screening protocol if rates increase within the district.   

• Students, teachers, and staff should stay home when they have signs of any infectious illness and be referred to their healthcare provider for testing and care.

• Any student or staff member with a temperature of 100°F or higher must remain at home.  If one arrives at school and then discovers a temperature of 100°F or higher, the school nurse will be contacted to conduct an evaluation in the Isolation Room and that person will be sent home with guidance provided by our school nurse.   

   Symptoms of COVID-19:

• Faculty, staff, students, and parents/caregivers will be provided with information/training about the symptoms of COVID-19.

• Parents are asked to keep their child at home if the child exhibits any of the symptoms listed below.

• COVID-19 symptoms include:

  • new onset cough

  • shortness of breath or difficulty breathing

  • fatigue

  • fever (100°F or higher)

  • chills

  • muscle or body aches

  • headaches

  • congestion or runny nose

  • sore throat

  • loss of smell and taste

  • gastrointestinal symptoms of diarrhea, vomiting, or nausea 

District Actions if a Student or Staff Presents Themselves with Potential COVID-19 Symptoms:

• Students, teachers, and staff who have symptoms of infectious illness should stay home and be referred to their healthcare provider for testing and care, regardless of vaccination status.  

• If a faculty member, staff member, or student exhibits one of the symptoms, they may be dismissed after evaluation of the school nurse in the isolation room.  

• Sackets Harbor CSD will be partnering with Jefferson County Public Health so that we can serve as a testing site.  This is contingent upon NYS-approval and the County is still waiting.  

INSERT GRAPHIC - RICK HELP!!!

Return to School or Work after Illness or Diagnosis of COVID-19:

• The District will utilize the What to Do if a Student Becomes Sick or Reports a New COVID-19 Diagnosis at School to direct our response plan.  

• The District will work collaboratively with Public Health to monitor infection spread in our local area and make determinations about a reduction in in-person education or closing the school.  

Sackets Harbor CSD's Testing Plan

• Screening testing identifies infected people, including those with or without symptoms who may be contagious, so that measures can be taken to prevent further transmission and the District can remain open to in-person learning.  

• In school, screening testing can help promptly identify and isolate cases, quarantine those who may have been exposed to COVID-19 and are not fully vaccinated, and identify clusters to reduce the risk to in-person education.  

• Screening may be implemented, in conjunction with Jefferson County Public Health, during periods of substantial or high community transmission levels to be able to monitor local transmission to remain open to in-person learning.  This will only be done with parental permission.  

• Screening testing will be done in a way to ensure the ability to maintain confidentiality of results and protect student, teacher, and staff privacy.  

• Persons who are fully vaccinated do not need to participate in screening testing and do not need to quarantine if they do not have symptoms.  

Sackets Harbor CSD's Contract Tracing Plan 

• The District will work collaboratively with the local public health office to chart who has been in contact with the infected person, whether a student, staff member or parent, and determining who else needs to be tested and isolated. 

• Local health department and school coordination is an integral part of mitigating Covid-19.  Both are committed to coordinating all activities necessary to ensure the health of students, staff, and the community. Jefferson County Public Health Service (JCPHS) will conduct case investigation of individuals with confirmed diagnosis of Covid-19.  Contact tracing follows case investigation and is a process to identify, monitor, and support individuals who may have been exposed to a person with COVID-19.  

• Staff of the school will play an important role in supporting the health department efforts to obtain needed information. Similar collaboration occurs routinely for case and contact investigations of other communicable diseases and would be expected to continue seamlessly for COVID-19 investigations. When a COVID-19 case is identified, JCPHS will request assistance from the school to identify potential contacts.  

• Case investigators and contact tracers will:

  • Identify potential contacts through interview of the person (or parent/guardian for children) with COVID-19 and school personnel.

  • The positive person (or parent/guardian for children) is interviewed by JCPHS staff, who elicit information about the person’s illness, determine when they may have become infectious and determine other people who might have been exposed. Those potentially exposed individuals (or parent/guardian) are then interviewed; persons who are determined to be close contacts are referred for testing and advised to quarantine for 14 days from the date of last exposure. For both cases and close contacts, public health staff will monitor their health status and compliance with disease control measures and connect them to local resources as necessary.

  • JCPHS staff will need information about different areas within the school and who was in the area at a given time or locating information for identified children or staff associated with the facility. JCPHS may need to interview teachers, school staff, bus drivers, students etc…

  • Alert contacts of their exposure, assess their symptoms and risk, and provide instructions for next steps. The named contacts will be told of their potential exposure to COVID-19, but the person to whom they were exposed will not be named.

  • Link those with symptoms to testing and care.

  • Fully vaccinated close contacts should be referred for COVID-19 testing.  If asymptomatic, fully vaccinated close contacts do not need to quarantine at home following an exposure.  They can continue to attend school in-person and participate in other activities. 

  • Close contacts who are not fully vaccinated should be referred for COVID-19 testing.  Regardless of test result, they should quarantine at home for 14 days after exposure.  Options to shorten quarantine provide acceptable alternatives of a 10-day quarantine or a 7 day quarantine cobined with testing and a negative test. 

Additional Health and Safety Protocols 

• COVID-19 prevention strategies remain critical to protect people, including students, teachers, and staff, who are not fully vaccinated, especially in areas of moderate-to-high community transmission levels.

  • The District will promote frequent and thorough hand washing, encourage students and staff to stay home if they are sick, and discourage students and staff from using other person's phones, desks, offices, computers, devices, etc...

  • Parents, students and staff will be trained in recognizing signs of illness and will be expected to contact the school nurse if symptomatic during the school day.  An informational flier will be shared with parents.

  • Barriers have be set up in strategic locations (i.e., serving line, offices, special education classrooms, etc..).

  • Windows and doors will be left open if safe and appropriate to do so.

  • Cleaning supplies will be available in every occupied space in our school and will be inventoried regularly.  

  • The appropriate PPE for students and staff, including the school nurse, will be available and inventoried regularly.

  • Water fountains will be used only to fill water bottles. 

  • The District purchased additional electrostatic sprayers.  These disinfecting devices will be used consistently throughout the school day on buses and in occupied spaces.

  • A supervised isolation room has been established to separate ill children and staff from others.

  • Students and staff who are at high-risk will be identified.  The District will work to identify those students and staff who live with a high risk individual.  Appropriate accommodations will be provided on a case-by-case basis with the approval of the Superintendent of Schools and District Medical Director.   

• Localities should monitor community transmission, vaccination coverage, screening testing, and occurrence of outbreaks to guide decisions on the level of layered prevention strategies (e.g., physical distancing, screening testing). 

• Jennifer Gaffney is the District's COVID-19 Safety Coordinator.  She can be reached at 315-646-3575 or at jgaffney@sacketspatriots.org.  

• The District will adhere to all CDC guidance relating to cleaning and disinfecting practices.  

• All required safety and security drills will be carried out in the 2021-2022 school year.  Appropriate social distancing and face covering expectations will be adhered to. 

2020-2021

• As the state is gradually reopening, COVID-19 remains a concern. We expect it will continue to be a concern until widespread vaccination with an effective vaccine has taken place. Therefore, this is a public health reminder that the district and all staff must adhere to the same judicious precautions of safety and hygiene for yourself and others as this pandemic continues to pose a threat to everyone. 

• Jennifer Gaffney is the District's COVID-19 Safety Coordinator.  She can be reached at 315-646-3575 or at jgaffney@sacketspatriots.org.  

• A face covering must be worn at all times.  Frequent mask breaks will be provided. Cloth masks with the Patriots logo have been purchased for all students and employees.  Disposable masks will be available for those students or staff who forget their cloth face covering.   

• Students must wear a face covering on school transportation, in the bathroom, in our hallways, and working in small groups.     

• The District will promote frequent and thorough hand washing, encourage students and staff to stay home if they are sick, and discourage students and staff from using other person's phones, desks, offices, computers, devices, etc...

• Parents, students and staff will be trained in recognizing signs of illness and will be expected to contact the school nurse if symptomatic during the school day.  An informational flier will be shared with parents.

• Barriers will be set up in strategic locations (i.e., serving line, offices, special education classrooms, etc..). 

• Windows and doors will be left open if safe and appropriate to do so.

• Cleaning supplies will be available in every occupied space in our school and will be inventoried regularly.  

• The appropriate PPE for students and staff, including the school nurse, will be available and inventoried regularly.

• The District will adhere to all CDC guidance relating to cleaning and disinfecting practices.  

• Water fountains will be used only to fill water bottles. 

• The District purchased additional electrostatic sprayers.  These disinfecting devices will be used consistently throughout the school day on buses and in occupied spaces.

• A supervised isolation room has been established to separate ill children and staff from others.

• No unauthorized persons will be permitted to visit SHCSD.  All visitors must call ahead and when granted entry must wear a mask and be screened.

• Students and staff who are at high-risk will be identified.  The District will work to identify those students and staff who live with a high risk individual.  Appropriate accommodations will be provided on a case-by-case basis with the approval of the Superintendent of Schools and District Medical Director.   

• All required safety and security drills will be carried out in the 2020-2021 school year.  Appropriate social distancing and face covering expectations will be adhered to. 

Daily Health Screenings of all Students and Staff will be Required:

• Infrared thermometers have been purchased to take student and staff temperatures without requiring contact. 

• A web-based application (Parent Square) will be used for daily temperature-taking and completion of the health questionnaire:

  • Students' and staffs' temperatures will be required daily.

  • The District will take the temperature of all students before they board the school bus or before they enter the school building.  

  • Staff may take their own temperature at home and submit via Parent Square.

  • All students and staff who did not have temperatures taken on the bus or at home will be screened upon entry into the school building. 

  • Any student or staff member with a temperature of 100°F or higher must remain at home.  If one arrives at school and then discovers a temperature of 100°F or higher, the school nurse will be contacted to conduct an evaluation in the Isolation Room and that person will be sent home with guidance provided by our school nurse.   

• Completion of the health screening questionnaire will be required daily from staff.  This can be submitted via Parent Square and will ask the following questions 1. Are you currently experiencing any symptoms? 2.  Have you had any close contact within the last 14 days with anyone who has had a positive diagnosis of COVID-19?  

• Completion of the health screening questionnaire for each student will be required weekly from families.  This can be submitted via Parent Square each Monday and will ask the following questions 1. Are you currently experiencing any symptoms? 2.  Have you had any close contact within the last 14 days with anyone who has had a positive diagnosis of COVID-19?  

Symptoms of COVID-19:

• Faculty, staff, students, and parents/caregivers will be provided with information/training about the symptoms of COVID-19.

• Parents are asked to keep their child at home if the child exhibits any of the symptoms listed below.

• COVID-19 symptoms include:

  • new onset cough

  • shortness of breath or difficulty breathing

  • fatigue

  • fever (100°F or higher)

  • chills

  • muscle or body aches

  • headaches

  • congestion or runny nose

  • sore throat

  • loss of smell and taste

  • gastrointestinal symptoms of diarrhea, vomiting, or nausea 

Sackets Harbor CSD's Testing Plan

• The District will work collaboratively with the local public health office to test symptomatic or exposed individuals that includes timely delivery of results and any ensuing testing of additional individuals.

• The decision of whether a test may need to be conducted will be determined by the student or staff member’s physician, the school physician, or the local county department of health.

• In the event that a large-scale testing may need to be conducted at the school, the district administration will consult with the School Physician or the county health department, working with New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) to identify potential provider(s) and to develop testing protocols and/or procedures.

Sackets Harbor CSD's Contract Tracing Plan 

• The District will work collaboratively with the local public health office to chart who has been in contact with the infected person, whether a student, staff member or parent, and determining who else needs to be tested and isolated. 

• Local health department and school coordination is an integral part of mitigating Covid-19.  Both are committed to coordinating all activities necessary to ensure the health of students, staff, and the community. Jefferson County Public Health Service (JCPHS) will conduct case investigation of individuals with confirmed diagnosis of Covid-19.  Contact tracing follows case investigation and is a process to identify, monitor, and support individuals who may have been exposed to a person with COVID-19.  

• Staff of the school will play an important role in supporting the health department efforts to obtain needed information. Similar collaboration occurs routinely for case and contact investigations of other communicable diseases and would be expected to continue seamlessly for COVID-19 investigations. When a COVID-19 case is identified, JCPHS will request assistance from the school to identify potential contacts.  

• Case investigators and contact tracers will:

  • Identify potential contacts through interview of the person (or parent/guardian for children) with COVID-19 and school personnel.

  • The positive person (or parent/guardian for children) is interviewed by JCPHS staff, who elicit information about the person’s illness, determine when they may have become infectious and determine other people who might have been exposed. Those potentially exposed individuals (or parent/guardian) are then interviewed; persons who are determined to be close contacts are referred for testing and advised to quarantine for 14 days from the date of last exposure. For both cases and close contacts, public health staff will monitor their health status and compliance with disease control measures and connect them to local resources as necessary.

  • JCPHS staff will need information about different areas within the school and who was in the area at a given time or locating information for identified children or staff associated with the facility. JCPHS may need to interview teachers, school staff, bus drivers, students etc…

  • Alert contacts of their exposure, assess their symptoms and risk, and provide instructions for next steps. The named contacts will be told of their potential exposure to COVID-19, but the person to whom they were exposed will not be named.

  • Link those with symptoms to testing and care.

District Actions if a Student or Staff Presents Themselves with Potential COVID-19 Symptoms:

• If a faculty member, staff member, or student exhibit one of the symptoms, they will be denied entry or dismissed after evaluation of the school nurse in the isolation room. 

• The District will utilize the School Protocol for Symptomatic or Positive COVID-19 Student or Staff (located below) to direct our response plan.  This process was developed in collaboration with Public Health and the Sackets Harbor Central School District Medical Director and adheres to all CDC and DOH guidance.      

• Parents/caregivers will be required to provide the District with the COVID-19 Return-to-School form to be completed by the child's health care provider.  LINK

• Positive cases must be tracked through established contact tracing protocols and in coordination with the local health department.   

Return to School or Work after Illness or Diagnosis of COVID-19:

• The District will utilize the School Protocol for Symptomatic or Positive COVID-19 Student or Staff  to direct our response plan.  

• Refer to the Discontinuation of Isolation for Persons with COVID-19 Not in Healthcare Settings

• The District will work collaboratively with Public Health to monitor infection spread in our local area and make determinations about a reduction in in-person education or closing the school.  

2021-2022

• Parents/legal guardians are strongly encouraged to drop off or walk students to school to reduce density on buses.  

• School bus drivers and students must wear acceptable face coverings at all times on the school buses (e.g., entering, exiting, and seated).

• Physical distancing should be maximized in accordance with ridership. 

• Seating charts will be required.  

• A parent/caregiver must accompany any child under the age of 12 to the school bus.

• Bus seats and high contact spots will be wiped down and disinfected after each bus run.  

• Buses will be equipped with disposable masks and gloves.  Hand sanitizer on the school bus is not permitted.  

• Windows will be kept open when possible/reasonable. 

2020-2021

• Parents/legal guardians are strongly encouraged to drop off or walk students to school to reduce density on buses.  

• School bus drivers and students must wear acceptable face coverings at all times on the school buses (e.g., entering, exiting, and seated).

• Students should maintain appropriate social distancing, unless they are members of the same household. 

• Students will be screened before they board the school bus using a mounted touchless thermometer.  Any student with a temperature of 100°F or higher will not be permitted to board the school bus.  

• A parent/caregiver must accompany any child under the age of 12 to the school bus.

• As long as siblings do not exhibit any symptoms, they will not be excluded from attending school.  

• Students shall be loaded in sequential route order (i.e., first student on the bus sits in the back).

• Bus seats and high contact spots will be wiped down and disinfected after each bus run.  

• Buses will be equipped with disposable masks and gloves.  Hand sanitizer on the school bus is not permitted.  

• Windows will be kept open when possible/reasonable. 

• The District has added one run in the morning and afternoon to reduce density on school buses.  

2020-2021 & 2021-2022

• The District will complete the ENL identification process within 30 school days of the start of the school year for all students who enrolled during the COVID-19 school closure.

• All ENL students will receive the required instructional Units of Study based on their English language proficiency.  

• The District will communicate regularly with parents/guardians of ENLs to ensure that they are engaged in their children's education during the reopening process and provide all communications for parents/guardians of ENLs in their preferred language.  

2021-2022

• Interscholastic athletics have been approved and the District is moving forward with plans for all three seasons.  

• Extracurricular activities will be planned for the 2021-2022 school year.  

• All extracurricular activities and external community organizations that use school facilities must follow State and local health and safety protocols.

• Outside groups or organizations, who request use of school facilities, will need to provide assurances that all health and safety protocols will be adhered to. 

• The District will monitor local rates and may restrict interscholastic athletics or extracurricular activities if needed. 

• There will be an afterschool program offered to students in Grades 3-12.  More information about this program is forthcoming.  

2020-2021

• Interscholastic athletics have been approved and the winter, fall sports 2, and spring seasons have been planned.

• Some extracurricular activities may be allowed if NYS Department of Health Guidelines can be met.  Club advisors and administration will evaluate club activities to determine if they can move forward given social distancing, PPE, as well as cleaning and disinfection mandates.  Advisors will be communicating this information after the start of the school year.    

• The use of school facilities by outside groups or organizations will be limited.  

• All extracurricular activities and external community organizations that use school facilities must follow State and local health and safety protocols.

• School Aged Child Care (SACC) will continue to be offered after school on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Fridays.  Additionally, we may be offering childcare here at SHCS on Wednesdays if enough children register.  The YMCA will adhere to all required State and local health and safety protocols.  

• There will be no late bus offering until further notice.  We will reevaluate at the end of the first quarter.  

COVID Task Force Meeting PR 071620 FINAL.pdf

2020-2021

• Interscholastic athletics have been approved and the winter, fall sports 2, and spring seasons have been planned.

• Some extracurricular activities may be allowed if NYS Department of Health Guidelines can be met.  Club advisors and administration will evaluate club activities to determine if they can move forward given social distancing, PPE, as well as cleaning and disinfection mandates.  Advisors will be communicating this information after the start of the school year.    

• The use of school facilities by outside groups or organizations will be limited.  

• All extracurricular activities and external community organizations that use school facilities must follow State and local health and safety protocols.

• School Aged Child Care (SACC) will continue to be offered after school on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Fridays.  Additionally, we may be offering childcare here at SHCS on Wednesdays if enough children register.  The YMCA will adhere to all required State and local health and safety protocols.  

• There will be no late bus offering until further notice.  We will reevaluate at the end of the first quarter.