The Preschool Squad

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COVID-19 POLICIES

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June 01, 2022

 

RE: COVID-19 POLICIES

 

Dear preschool families,

 

The health and safety of all of our students continues to be our first priority. Please note that the guidelines and policies below have been compiled directly from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and we will always strive to give you the most accurate information.

 

We are writing today to let you know all the ways we are trying to protect your child’s health. Please refer to the “What you need to know about COVID-19” paper for information on how to protect your family from the illness.

 

At school, we follow the following procedures to eliminate germs and minimize sickness:

• Students and staff wash hands for 20 seconds when they arrive, before they eat, after they use the restroom, and before they go home. We also use handwashing at regular intervals and especially after times of coughing, sneezing, etc.

• We use other non-contact methods of greeting like waving and smiling instead of handshaking, hugs, or high-fives.

• We disinfect high-touch surfaces like doorknobs, tables, desks, and handrails after each class and sanitize toys daily after class.  

• We increase ventilation by opening windows or adjusting air conditioning.

• We teach the students to try not to touch their faces and to cough/sneeze into their elbows.

• We do not allow food sharing.

• We do not allow anyone to attend school if:

  • They are sick. If students have fever, vomiting, or diarrhea, they must stay home until they have been clear of these symptoms for 24 hours without fever-reducing medication.

  • They have a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 (see below for clarification)

  • A family member has a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 (see below for clarification)

 

Mask Usage:

• Our staff & students are not required to wear masks.

 

If you or a family member is feeling sick:

If you suspect you or a family member has COVID-19, please contact your local doctor’s office immediately for instructions on what to do next, and whether or not you need to come in for testing. Do not show up without calling first; they will need to prepare for your arrival and may suggest you go to the hospital instead. Most people can recover at home under self quarantine with mild to moderate symptoms; if symptoms become an emergency you should call the hospital to let them know you are coming.

 

If you or a family member has a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19:

If a preschool family has a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19, they are required to notify the Preschool so we can take appropriate measures as seen below. 

We realize that the measures below may seem drastic to those who are not infected with COVID-19, but the safety of our students and their families are our utmost concern and therefore we will remain vigilant to keep the illness out of our school to protect your family. We appreciate your patience and support as we all work together to get through this. Together, we remain strong!

 

POLICIES REGARDING THE FAMILY WITH A CONFIRMED DIAGNOSIS (Again,
these come directly from the CDC:)

• If a preschooler has a confirmed diagnosis:

  • An infected preschooler can return after meeting all 3 requirements:

    • Free from fever without use of fever-reducing medicines

    • No longer showing symptoms (including cough)

    • Has tested negative on at least 2 consecutive respiratory specimens collected at least 24 hours apart

• If a member of a preschooler’s family has a confirmed diagnosis:

  • A non-infected preschooler of an infected family member can return to school after meeting these 3 requirements:

    • The most recently sick family member is no longer contagious (they must meet the 3 requirements above)

    • AND the family has self quarantined for 10 days AFTER the most recently sick family member was cleared by a medical professional as meeting all 3 requirements

    • AND the child, after 10 days of self quarantine, has no symptoms and the family has been cleared by their medical professional

 

POLICIES REGARDING THE SCHOOL IF THERE IS A CONFIRMED DIAGNOSIS OF A PRESCHOOLER FAMILY

• If the child was never present at school during the 10-day incubation period and had no symptoms while at school at any time:

  • AKA: The child went on a 3-week trip to the beach, and when they returned home, a family member got sick and never took the child back to school. In that situation, the child was out of school for 10+ days, and therefore the illness could not be in the school. 

  • The family’s information will be kept confidential from preschool parents and only the Director, owner, and staff will know the family’s name in order to support that family during the illness.

  • We will follow the protocol above for allowing the child to return to school after they meet the requirements above.

  • All school parents will be notified that there was a confirmed case of COVID-19 with one of our preschooler families but that the child was not at the school during any of the incubation period and did not have any symptoms.

  • School will not be cancelled.

• If the child was present at school during any incubation period (including the incubation period of a family member who had COVID-19) and/or had symptoms while at school:

  • AKA: The child attended school Monday. His mom was diagnosed on Friday with COVID-19. Because he had attended school during the 14-day incubation period before his mom’s diagnosis, the child now cannot attend school.

  • The family’s information will be kept confidential from preschool parents and only the Director, owner, and staff will know the family’s name in order to support that family during the illness.

  • We will follow the protocol above for allowing the child to return to school after they meet the requirements above.

  • All school parents will be notified that there was a confirmed case of COVID-19 with one of our preschooler families who attended preschool during the incubation period.

  • School will be closed if we noticed a wide spread of positive Covid amongst each classroom and will continue classes via virtually.  Class will return in session after 10 days to help stop the spread.

 

POLICIES REGARDING TUITION:

• When our school remains open, tuition is expected regardless of if your child attends or not. We are still paying our teachers and we look forward to teaching your child every day.

• If our school closes due to a self-chosen closure (as in the case above) or due to a required closure, here is how we will handle tuition:

  • We do not refund tuition.

  • Please remember that per our Policies & Procedures Handbook, we require a 30-day notice (with tuition paid during those 30 days) if you decide to withdraw your child.

 

POLICIES REGARDING FIELD TRIPS:

• For field trips, events, or school gatherings, we will notify you as soon as we make a determination if we are still moving forward with it or not. Please know that as soon as we know if something has changed, we will notify you. If we haven’t notified you yet, nothing has changed.

 

POLICIES REGARDING REQUIRED SCHOOL CLOSURE:

• If the school district closes, WE WILL NOT CLOSE.

• If daycares are required to only be open for essential workers, we will move to online preschool (see policy below), as we are not a daycare.

• If our preschool has to close for a 10-day quarantine period, we will move to online preschool (see policy below).

 

POLICIES REGARDING REQUIRED SCHOOL CLOSURE:

If we close our local preschool (due to the government shutting down daycares with the exception to stay open for essential workers), we will immediately begin online preschool in place of local preschool. By incorporating online preschool into our policies, we can be “open” and continue teaching regardless of outside factors. That way, we can seamlessly move from local to online and back to local without any disruption in your child’s daily routine or a delay in their education.

Online preschool will be a “moment in time” and we will resume local preschool as soon as we are able. Please keep in mind that in order to keep your spot in our local preschool when the school district opens back up, you will need to continue paying preschool tuition.

For online preschool, we will meet virtually (all instructions will be given at that time) and craft products will be provided.

 

A few notes:

• If you decide to withdraw your child at any time during our program, we do not give refunds. Also, you’ll lose your child’s spot when we start up local preschool again.

• If our preschool was “closed” on our school calendar (for holidays, school breaks, conferences, etc.) we will still be closed; online preschool will not occur on the days we were normally going to be closed.

• Your child will need to have access to the internet and either a computer, iPad, or phone to participate in our online preschool classes.

 

Finally, we are so grateful for your decision to choose our preschool. We look forward to a wonderful preschool year ahead of us. Please remember, this is a moment in time, and we will get through it together. As we all work together to keep our preschool family healthy and safe, we will come out on the other side of this stronger, more unified, and a closer PRESCHOOL FAMILY than ever. Thank you so much for your continued support.

 

As always, if you have ANY questions or concerns at all, please contact us so we can help you.

 

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Sincerely,

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Sarah Goggins

The Preschool Squad