Health and Safety

Health Screenings and Safety Protocols

The COVID-19 landscape is fluid and changing rapidly; guidelines have evolved and will continue to evolve. Therefore, many of the plans listed in this section may be altered at any point during the school year.

ON CAMPUS

To support the well-being of our community, SVDP has made many adaptations to procedures on campus. In all situations, the School’s approach will be informed by city, county, state, and federal guidelines.

Cleaning and Disinfecting

The school will continue its already consistent practice of disinfecting all buildings and equipment prior to anyone returning to campus for the start of school. Once the year begins, frequent sanitization of soft and hard surfaces, electronics, and equipment will be required.

Cleaning will include:

  • Disinfecting frequently touched surfaces multiple times per day

  • Avoiding use of items that are not easily cleaned, sanitized, or disinfected

  • Ensuring safe and correct application of disinfectants

In addition, the School will maintain a reserve supply of soap, disinfectant spray, hand sanitizer, and paper products.

Social Distancing

Until a vaccine is widely administered, COVID-19 will continue to impact communities, requiring stringent physical distancing measures. Understanding that schools are not inherently designed for physical distancing, SVDP will operate with guidelines that support a safe learning environment.

According to the SFDPH guidance, these include:

• Students will stay at least 3-6 feet from other people.

• Students and staff will not gather in large groups (Mass and prayer services, announcements, Student Life events, and other on-campus moments will be reimagined).

• Furniture and seating spaces will be rearranged to ensure appropriate distance between students.

• Visual aids will be provided in lobbies, hallways, and stairwells to create one-way traffic flows on campus.

• Whenever possible, we will avoid communal supplies.

COVID-19 Testing

According to the County of San Francisco COVID-19 Response, testing needs to be performed by a laboratory certified for high-complexity testing. There are many testing sites throughout the county where families and students can get tested. Learn more about free testing sites on the resources page.

Testing for Staff

All staff members will be tested once a month by our designated provider One Medical.

The school requires staff to inform the school immediately (within one hour of learning the results) if they test positive or have an inconclusive test result and to provide documentation.

Testing for Students and Families

The school recommends that parents or guardians of elementary students have themselves and other adults in the student's household tested for COVID-19.

The school strongly recommends the parents or guardians of middle school students have those students tested for COVID-19 ideally within seven days, but no more than 14 days before first returning to school for in-person , on-site instruction.

The school requires parents or guardians to inform the school immediately (within one hour of learning the results) if their child and / or a member in their household tests positive or has an inconclusive test result and to provide documentation.

Hygiene

Reinforced through training and signs throughout campus, hygiene practices (coughing/sneezing etiquette, handwashing, wiping down tables, chairs, and equipment) will be promoted consistently throughout the day. Upon entering and exiting buildings on campus, students, faculty, and staff will be asked to utilize sanitizing stations provided by the School. In addition, when entering and exiting classrooms, students and faculty/staff members will be required to use hand sanitizer. After using the restroom students will be required to wash hands. Before and after eating and outside activities, all community members will be asked to wash/disinfect hands.

While members of the facilities team will deep clean spaces after hours as well as wipe down door handles and hard surfaces during the day, students will partner with faculty/staff to prioritize regular cleaning practices for desks, equipment, writing utensils, and other classroom materials.

Masks

Face coverings are an important way that we, as a community, can slow the spread of the coronavirus and protect each other. All faculty, staff and students are required to wear a mask to school every day when entering school and walking throughout the campus and inside classrooms. Teachers may augment their protection with face shields at any time.

Remember that face masks are not a fashion statement, but rather a health statement. If a face mask becomes a distraction, students will be required to remove it and another mask will be provided.

Hand-washing and Hand Sanitizer

A number of hand sanitation stations are available throughout campus buildings. Restroom sinks will be available to students during scheduled break times.

Travel Outside of San Francisco Bay Area

Upon returning from travel outside the Bay Area, you are strongly encouraged to quarantine for 10 days if you engaged any of the following activities that place you at a higher risk of contracting the virus that causes COVID-19:

· you interacted for more than 15 minutes within six feet of someone outside your household when you or the other people around you were not wearing a face covering at all times;

· you were indoors, including on a plane, train or bus, and either you or those around you were not wearing face coverings at all times;

· you interacted for more than 15 minutes within six feet of someone—either with or without a face covering—who was experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 or who began to experience symptoms of COVID-19 within 48 hours of your interaction with them.

Water Fountains and Water Bottles

Built-in water fountains will not be usable. Students are required to provide their own water bottle for each school day. Water bottles must be stored in the student's backpack. Water bottles must be clearly labeled with the student's name and must be brought home each day for cleaning.

Cell Phones and Personal Devices

We recommend that students and staff frequently clean their phones and personal devices as they are “high touch” products and can easily carry virus particles for a prolonged period of time.

COVID-19 TESTING AND CONTACT TRACING

ILLNESS AT SCHOOL

Monitoring illness -- screening and reporting -- is essential to our ability to mitigate, contain, and respond to the possible spread of COVID-19 at Saint Vincent de Paul School. We will implement daily screenings to determine the health and exposure of students, faculty/staff, and anyone entering campus. As recommended, this will involve daily self-screenings at home, campus screenings, temperature checks and symptom checks.

If a student falls ill at school, the front office will check their symptoms, isolate them if appropriate, and contact their family for pick-up.

It will be important for the School to know if anyone who comes to campus has tested positive for COVID-19, resides with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, and/or has come in direct contact within a 14-day period with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19. Tracking diagnosed cases within our community allows us to better understand health conditions on our campus and mitigate the spread of infection.

If a student or faculty/staff member is diagnosed with COVID-19, SVDP will adhere to SFDPH procedures (the procedures below are a result of SFDPH guidelines as of July 8, 2020):

  • Potentially close the school campus for a minimum of 2-5 days.

  • Notify local health officials, staff, and families immediately of any possible case of COVID-19 while maintaining privacy and confidentiality.

  • Close off areas used by any sick person and do not use them until they have been disinfected.

  • Advise infected students and/or staff members not to return until they have met SFDPH criteria to discontinue home isolation.

  • Inform anyone exposed to a person diagnosed with COVID-19 to stay home (for up to 10 days) and monitor for symptoms, and to follow CDC guidance if symptoms develop.


Volunteering and Visitors

In order to minimize risk and maintain a healthy environment for our students and teachers, we will begin the school year by strictly limiting access to campus buildings to students, teachers and essential personnel.

AT HOME

The changes Saint Vincent de Paul School is making on campus are only one aspect of supporting a healthy campus environment. Keeping our campus healthy is a collective effort, one we are asking everyone in our community to support.

Health and Wellness Pledge: A Family Commitment

All families must commit to supporting SVDP’s health, wellness, and safety protocols and must agree to keep children home when they are not feeling well, have COVID-like symptoms, or have potentially been exposed. The “Return to Campus Agreement” for our families, will be included in your registration packet to be completed by August 14th. Signing this agreement along with the other medical documents is required before your student can attend class - whether virtually or in-person.

Self-Screening at Home

During the school year, families and staff will be required to perform daily at-home self-checks for common COVID-19 symptoms using an app provided by the School. The app will record current health conditions and generate an admission ticket that will be reviewed when students arrive at school. This “bill of clean health” will be required for any student or staff member to enter campus. The School may practice additional health screening measures at other times of day, including temperature and symptom checks.

Illness at Home

More than ever, it is important for families to follow school guidelines for keeping students home when they are ill. Any student who develops COVID-19-like symptoms and tests negative may return to campus after three days free of symptoms and fever without medication. Any student who tests positive for COVID-19 should notify the School immediately and coordinate their return to campus with the School, following CDC recommendations and SFDPH guidelines. Our stay-at-home policies may change over time. We will provide updates to our community as needed.

Parents should exercise caution about sending students to school with any other type of illness.

As mentioned above, it will be important for the School to have knowledge of the COVID-19 status of anyone in our student, faculty, or family community. Please work with us by sharing information and following all of our protocols regarding illness.

Quick Guide for Schools - August 10, 2020

Suspected or Confirmed COVID-19 case Protocol

Agreement to Abide by Covid-19 Protocols

Risk Acknowledgment by Parent/Legal Guardian

COVID-19 Non-Discrimination Policy

Saint Vincent de Paul School recognizes the sensitivity of any and all health information, particularly with respect to any diagnosis or symptoms related to COVID-19. To the extent we are not otherwise required to disclose health information related to COVID-19, Saint Vincent de Paul School will keep all such information confidential. Moreover, other than complying with isolation, quarantine, and/or similar requirements under federal, state and/or local guidelines, Saint Vincent de Paul School will not discriminate against any student, parent family, or school employee who tests positive for COVID-19, has COVID-like symptoms, or is otherwise believed to have been exposed to COVID-19. Similarly, Saint Vincent de Paul School will not allow any student, parent, family or school employee to discriminate against any other community member with respect to any COVID-19- related health concerns. Should we become aware of such discrimination, the school will follow appropriate disciplinary measures as set forth in the SVDP Community Handbook.

SOCIAL, EMOTIONAL, AND MENTAL HEALTH

The social and emotional health of our students, faculty, staff, and community is one of our highest priorities during this unprecedented time.

As we learned in the spring, a daily school routine connecting with others can positively impact the wellbeing of students who are otherwise experiencing stress and uncertainty due to the pandemic. We recognize that over the summer, students and staff members have been at home for an extended period of time while having less than normal social interaction; we are all looking forward to being on campus.

Understanding that our community has already been under stress for some time and that we may experience a return to shelter-at-home at any point, our Student Success Teams, composed of grade band teachers and staff, will be ready to provide support when students return to class. We ask that families let us know if we can help in any way.

Please be advised that all guidance and protocols are subject to change.