Having passed the 14 day mark for monitoring symptoms, we can now report that we fully managed through two cases of known COVID-19 patients in our Elementary programs and had NO COMMUNITY SPREAD! Our systems proved to be protective in these recent cases. Specifically we credit:
- Families keeping children home when there are symptoms or concerns of exposure
- Our facilities upgraded ventilation system and air filters
- Our consistent masking inside
- Prioritizing eating outside and spending more time outside
It has been brought to my attention that we had more communication last year around the family responsibility and commitment that has led to our successes. As the number of cases in our surrounding community continues to be high, raising the probability of another case in our school community, we realize there is a need to revisit the “Shared Responsibility Agreement” that we had all families sign last year. We have revised the agreement to reflect the current guidelines and our school requirements. This year’s agreement is included here and a hard copy will be sent home to each family to be signed and returned to the Front Desk by October 6th.
While we do not feel the need to invest in the extra staffing and parent time required for daily morning health check-ins, it is important to remind families of the requirements around keeping people with symptoms, or COVID-19 exposure (especially if unvaccinated) out of school. We will be providing dashboard cards that can stay in your car and be available as a daily reminder of the requirements for coming to school.
We will also be providing hard copies of the Vermont Department of Health COVID-19 Pediatric Return to School FlowChart that we all must follow to keep our community safe.
Tamara Mount
Head of School