Family Health & Safety Update

Here are a few highlights that I want to emphasize:

• Masks: All scholars and staff are required to wear a mask while indoors.  Masks are no longer required outdoors.  Scholars will be provided with a starter set of masks, but are welcome to wear any mask that fits correctly and is comfortable for them. Disposable masks will be available if a scholar forgets their mask at home.

• Distancing: Classrooms will be set up to optimize spacing between scholars as much as possible. However, in order to accommodate a full in-person return, we recognize that full 3-6 feet spacing will not always be possible in all classrooms and common areas.

• Vaccination: All eligible staff and scholars (who are able) are strongly encouraged to take advantage of the COVID-19 vaccine, in order to protect their own health and that of their family and community members.

• Hand hygiene: All schools will have daily hand hygiene routines and adequate supplies of hand sanitizer for all classrooms and common areas.

• Health screening: All families and staff will be expected to conduct daily at-home health screenings.  We have set up a COVID hotline that staff and families can call with any questions about symptoms or potential COVID-19 exposure.

• Cleaning and disinfecting: High-touch surfaces will be disinfected daily in addition to our normal daily cleaning protocols.

• Ventilation: We will be opening windows in classrooms and installing air purifiers in high-traffic shared spaces.

I would also like to take this opportunity to introduce you to Dr. Vanessa Maier, who serves as our Medical Director through a partnership with MetroHealth.  Dr. Maier is an expert in school health at MetroHealth and a professor at Case Western Reserve University.  She is also actively involved with the ABC Science Collaborative, an initiative of Duke University focused on the most current data around COVID-19 and proven strategies for keeping staff and scholars safe at school.  Dr. Maier has been a critical resource for us over the past 18 months as we have developed and continued to evolve our health and safety protocols.  She is also often our first call when responding to positive cases or exposures and making contact tracing and quarantine decisions.  If you would like to ask Dr. Maier a question about COVID-19 and the return to in-person learning, please submit it using the button below. We’ll share the questions and answers back out with all families over the next few weeks.