COVID Protocol

Facial Coverings 

  1. All teachers and staff are required to wear a face covering, at all times while on campus except while eating and drinking. A face covering with a clear window may be worn during phonological instruction to enable students to see the teacher’s mouth. 
  2.  All students are required to wear cloth face coverings: while arriving and departing from the school campus;  in any area outside of the classroom (except when eating, drinking, or engaging in physical activity).
  3.  Facial Coverings are to be taken home and laundered daily. 
  4. Students and staff excluded from face covering requirements include (1) anyone who has trouble breathing or is unconscious, incapacitated, or otherwise unable to remove the covering without assistance and (2) students with special needs who are unable to tolerate a face covering. Staff who are exempt will not be assigned to duties that require close contact
  5. Our school Administration will help with the arrival of students and staff and walk the campus intermittently to ensure that cloth facial coverings are enforced. 

Drop off and Pick up 

  1.  Signs will be posted at all entrances instructing students, staff, and visitors not to enter the campus if they have any COVID-19 symptoms. COVID-19 symptoms include fever, chills, cough, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, recent loss of taste or smell, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea.  
  2. All parents or caregivers and students are required to wear a facial covering when dropping off and picking up.  
  3. For drop off, we will instruct drivers to remain in vehicles, to the extent possible. CCS staff will approach the vehicle, greet the driver and then take the child’s temperature. From there the child will sanitize their hands and walk to their classroom. 
  4. All students and staff temperatures will be taken with a contactless thermometer and will be screened for symptoms each day. Parents will be required to answer a series of three health screening questions asking if their child, anyone in their household, or any close contact has experienced any COVID-19 symptoms upon arrival each day. 
  5.  For pick up, elementary teachers will wait with students in classrooms. Drivers will remain in vehicles, to the extent possible. CCS staff will radio the classrooms for students to come to their vehicle. The students’ teacher will remain with all students until all their students are picked up.

Social and Physical Distancing 

  1. Post signage reminding students and staff about physical distancing throughout the campus. 
  2.  Allow parents, visitors, and volunteers on campus only when necessary and limit the number of students and staff who come into contact with them. 
  3. Class sizes are not to exceed the staff:child ratio required space. 
  4. Developmentally appropriate activities for smaller groups will be arranged to maintain 6 feet separation, when possible.
  5. Carpet squares, mats, or other visuals for spacing will be used.
  6. Frequent verbal reminders to children will be given. 

In the Classroom and on the Playground 

  1. Students and staff will remain in the same cohort by keeping the same students and teacher or staff together for the entire school day, including drop off, recess, and pick up.
  2. We do not anticipate any mixing of the cohorts. We will have a schedule in place to make certain that mixing of cohorts will not occur. 
  3. Students will eat snacks and lunch outside in their own cohorts. 
  4. Windows and doors will be opened to ventilate our facility. 

→ Our opening staff are instructed to open all windows and doors at the beginning of the day.
→ Teachers and staff are instructed to keep windows and doors open throughout the day.
→ Students will be outside for recess, Physical Education, snacks, and lunch. 

  1.  Each student will have their own supplies to use during the day. Supplies include pencils, markers, glue, etc. 
  2. As much as is possible, Staff and students’ desks will be 6 feet away from each other. 
  3. Students seating arrangements will remain the same to ensure that close contacts within classrooms are minimized. 
  4. Only one cohort will be on the playground at a time.  
  5.  All students are required to bring a refillable water bottle which is to be taken home and cleaned daily.
  6. Personal toys are to be kept at home.

Cleaning and Disinfection 

  1. We will clean and disinfect frequently touched hard surfaces (using products from the N-list from EPA) such as tables, desks, chairs, door handles, light switches, phones, copy/fax machines, bathroom surfaces (toilets, countertops, faucets), toys, games, art supplies, and books pursuant to CDC Guidance. 
  2. Most shared items have been removed from the classroom. Shared items left in the classroom will be used under teacher supervision to ensure these items are used one child at a time and disinfected in between each use. Students will be instructed to wash hands after use of shared items. 
  3.  All classrooms and the playground will be disinfected after each cohort. Ten minutes between playground activity is arranged to allow for the disinfection of equipment and to help avoid contact between cohorts. 

 Hand Washing and Hygiene Measures 

  1. Post signage to remind students and staff of proper hand washing techniques and covering of coughs and sneezes and other preventative measures. 
  2. Children and staff will wash their hands upon entering the campus, before entering any classroom, after each recess and before returning to their desks, before eating, and anytime they use the restroom. 
  3. If soap and water are not available, children and staff will use hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol. 
  4.  We will remind children to wash hands for 20 seconds and use paper towels to dry hands thoroughly. 
  5. We will disinfect the sink and toilet handles before and after each cohort’s use.

 Staff Training and Family Education

  1.  All staff at the start of the school year or when hired, whichever is most recent, will receive training on procedures and guidelines for COVID-19 located in the staff handbook.
  2. We have reviewed these COVID-19 Guidelines and our school plan with our staff on September 3rd, 2020. There was a teaching time as well as questions and answers with discussion. All of our staff have been fully informed and are in agreement with our COVID-19 Guidelines. 
  3. We provide adequate training and PPE to protect our facility and staff. 

Non-Classroom Setting 

  1.  Outside tables have been provided for eating/dining. We continue to always maintain the 6 feet social distance, while outdoors. 
  2. Our staff maintains the 6 feet distance between one another.

Suspected COVID-19 Case(s): 

  1. Anyone who exhibits COVID-19 symptoms during the school day will be isolated in a specified room until picked up. 
  2. For students exhibiting symptoms, the teacher will notify the office and one of the office staff will pick up the child to be in the specified room until the parent arrives. 
  3. Any student or staff member will not be admitted back to school until 72 hours after symptoms have ended with a doctor’s note stating COVID-19 testing is not required OR the results from the COVID-19 test have come back negative. 
  4. Any student or staff member exhibiting symptoms will immediately be required to wear a face covering and wait in the isolated room until they can be transported home or to a healthcare facility, as soon as practicable. For serious illness, we will call 9-1-1. 

Confirmed COVID-19 Case(s): 

  1. Our school Administration will notify the County of Santa Clara Public Health Department immediately of any positive COVID-19 case. 
  2. Our school Administration will notify all staff and families with a recorded message sent to phone, text, and email, for any student within a cohort that test positive with COVID-19. We will maintain confidentiality as required by state and federal laws. 
  3.  We will close off areas used by any sick person until cleaned and disinfected. We will ensure a safe and correct application of disinfectants using personal protective equipment and ventilation. 
  4. All students and staff in the classroom cohort will be instructed to get tested for COVID-19 and remain quarantined at home for 14 days. Online distance learning will then be put in place. 
  5. A full school closure of 14 days will take place if multiple cases in multiple cohorts test positive.
  6. No actions need to be taken for persons who have not had direct contact with a confirmed COVID-19 case, and instead have had close contact with persons who were in direct contact. 
  7.  In lieu of a negative test result, we will allow students and staff to return to work with a medical note by a physician that provides alternative explanation for symptoms and reason for not ordering COVID-19 testing.