Implementing Social Distancing Strategies

Emphasis at WSMS will be on the health, safety and well-being of both children and staff. As we test these new procedures there may be things that we need to modify, we will be sure to notify parents of any changes to the procedures as we come across them.     Our educational activities will be offered inside and out. This year playground use will be maximized and augmented with trips to the park or walk around the block. When we can’t go outside due to weather, the children will stay in their designated classrooms. Social distancing will be maintained by using small groups. Classes will include the same groups each day and the same WSMS staff should remain with the same group each day. We will be limiting the mixing of children for not only playground time, but special activities like art, music and other extracurricular activities. No special festivals, performances or graduations at this time. This may mean that grouping all of the primary, lower elementary and upper elementary in the same space at the beginning and end of each day will not be possible during pick up and drop off. As the fewer children each child is exposed to during the day the less chance for transmitting disease to the entire child care community.

In order to test out these new procedures, we will conducting a trial run, consisting of three half days at the beginning of the school year – Aug 18 & 19. Pick up will be from 12:30 – 1:30, after the children eat lunch. This will allow the staff to ease into our new procedures and discuss any needed changes.

Designated staff will escort the children at arrival and drop off times and deliver them to the classroom and parent vehicles. No visitors, parents or other adults will be admitted onto the school grounds, except designated staff. Staff will not be permitted to run errands, get lunch off site, etc. during breaks to avoid bringing outside germs back into the building.  Naptimes: Children’s naptime cots will be spaced out as much as possible, ideally 6 feet apart. We may need to place children head to toe in order to further reduce the potential for viral spread.

Parent Drop – Off and Pick – Up

Drop Off Procedure  Upon arrival parents will STAY IN THEIR CAR and wait until the designated greeter comes to them. This will be the same staff member daily and ideally the same parent should drop off and pick up the child every day.  The window will then be rolled down, allowing for the child’s temperature to be taken by a WSMS staff member without removing the child from the car. The staff member should also make a visual inspection of the child for signs of illness which could include flushed cheeks, rapid breathing or difficulty breathing, fatigue or extreme fussiness. WSMS staff member will record the temperature, ensuring both parent and staff member agree on the recorded temperature.If temperature is ok, the WSMS staff member will back away and allow the child to get out of the car. If the child has a temperature of 100.4 degrees or above or other signs of illness they will not be permitted onto the WSMS grounds. Please have child carry their own school supplies onto the school grounds. Designated staff member will then escort the child to the hand sanitizer or hand washing station, before entering the playground. Students will then play outside until they are invited into their classrooms. Before entering they will wash their hands again at the designated station.

Temperature will be taken and recorded again right before lunch. If needed the child will be isolated  and the parent will be called and will need to pick up their child immediately.

Parents will have until 8:45 am to drop off. If parents must arrive later, please call and we will keep an eye out for you to proceed with the above procedure.

Please prepare your child ahead of time by letting them know you will be staying in the car and that a teacher or staff member will be walking them in to the school grounds. Also prepare them for wearing their masks at school.

Pick Up ProcedureStaff will have students ready to go when you arrive at you appointed pick up time. Punctuality is important. Please do not get our of your car. Staff will watch for you and escort your child or release children to your car. If you have a question or want to pass on any information – please email your child’s teacher or the office.

Upon staff arrival, temperatures will be taken and recorded. Temperatures will be taken and recorded again before lunch. Staff will also be required to wear masks when in the building and when needed outdoors.

Parent Communication

Communication between parents and teachers is always important and will be even more now that our drop off and pick up procedures will be shortened. Teachers will be expected to send weekly updates to parents informing parents of daily ongoings in the classroom, as well as any necessary updates. We are hoping to have a photo stream to share of some kind available for parents to see what the children are working on. Please be patient as we figure out the details!

Clean and Disinfect

We are purchasing UV Air Purification System for our central air systems. please consider making a donation to defray the cost and visit www.apcouv.com for more information on the system.  Intensify cleaning and disinfecting efforts: Routinely clean, sanitize, and disinfect surfaces not ordinarily cleaned daily such as doorknobs, light switches, classroom sink handles, drinking fountains, countertops, nap pads, toilet seats and handles, desks, chairs, cubbies, playground equipment.  Laundry will be run at WSMS each evening, items included in the wash will be as follows: aprons, bedding, other washable classroom items such as sponges, drying cloths, etc.  Individual children’s masks and any other clothing items will be sent home daily with the child and will need to returned clean the school next day.  We recommend having multiple masks for your convenience.  Use all cleaning products according to the label and the CDC has a list of products to use against COVID-19. Make sure you don’t mix the cleaning products such as those with bleach and those with ammonia. Keep the cleaning materials out of reach from the children.  Cleaning products should not be used near the children and staff should insure that there is adequate ventilation when using these products to prevent children from inhaling toxic fumes.  Use gloves when cleaning surfaces and wash hands thoroughly after cleaning and removing gloves.

Clean and Sanitize Materials

• Materials that cannot be cleaned and sanitized should not be used.  • Materials that children have placed in mouths or that are otherwise contaminated by body secretions or excretions should be set aside until they are cleaned by hand by a person wearing gloves. Clean with water and detergent, rinse, sanitize with an EPAregistered disinfectant, rinse again, and air-dry.  • Set aside materials that need to be cleaned. Place in a dish pan with soapy water or put in a separate container marked.  • Children’s books, like other paper-based materials such as mail or envelopes, are not considered a high risk for transmission and do not need additional cleaning or disinfection procedures.  • Use bedding (sheets, pillows, blankets, sleeping bags) that can be washed. Keep each child’s bedding separate, and consider storing in individually labeled bins, cubbies, or bags. Cots and mats should be labeled for each child. Bedding that touches a child’s skin should be cleaned weekly (or possibly daily) or before use by another child.  • Keep each child’s belongings separated and in individually labeled storage containers, cubbies or taken home each day and cleaned.  • Ensure adequate supplies to minimize sharing of high touch materials to the extent possible (art supplies, equipment, etc.) or limit use of supplies and equipment by one group of children at a time and clean and disinfect between use.  • Take out cloth napkins and use paper towels

Handwashing

All children, staff, and volunteers should engage in hand hygiene at the following times  • Arrival to the facility and after breaks  • Before and after preparing food or drinks  • Before and after eating or handling food, or feeding children  • After using the toilet or helping a child use the bathroom  • After coming in contact with bodily fluid, i.e. nose blowing, after hands have been noticed in mouth, etc.  • After handling animals or cleaning up animal waste  • After playing outdoors

Wash hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If hands are not visibly dirty, alcohol-based hand sanitizers with at least 60% alcohol can be used if soap and water are not readily available. Supervise children when they use hand sanitizer to prevent ingestion.  Assist children with handwashing, including infants who cannot wash hands alone. After assisting children with handwashing, staff should also wash their hands.  Place posters describing handwashing steps near sinks. Developmentally appropriate posters in multiple languages are available from CDC.

Food Preparation & Meal Service

• Children will eat in their own classrooms or social distanced outside.  • When seating for meals; both snack and lunch, children will be social distanced.  • Children will not be permitted to the set the table for lunch. • Children will not be involved in food preparation, but the children will be allowed to assist with safe kitchen duties such as harvesting vegetables from the garden.  • Children will not be serving themselves. Gaby or another adult staff member will be plating food.  • Sinks used for food preparation should not be used for any other purposes.  • Compostable and disposable plates, utensils and cups will be used when possible.  • WSMS staff should ensure children wash hands prior to and immediately after eating. • WSMS staff should wash their hands before preparing food and after helping children to eat.  • All tables will be sanitized at the end of meal. • Facilities should follow all other applicable federal, state, and local regulations and related to safe preparation of food and any person serving food must have their food handlers license. City of Columbia is offering online renewal. All staff need to do so and will be reimbursed by WSMS.

Summary

Teachers at WSMS are some of the most creative individuals on the planet. Every single a day they produce a play with multiple acts with a cast that doesn’t usually know their lines, or where to stand or even how to act. Yet they come back and they do it again the next day. This whole experience has been a strain on teachers and staff throughout the U.S. and the world. Thank goodness we have this amazing creative energy of our Educators in charge of our classrooms and children!

Please Note

These plans are subject to change if when implementing we discover more efficient or reliable procedures to use.

FAQs 

WHAT RESOURCES DOES CDC HAVE AVAILABLE TO SHARE WITH STAFF, STUDENTS, AND PARENTS?

• CDC’s health communication resourceshttps://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/communication/index.html • CDC information on stigma and COVID-19 https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/reducing-stigma.html• CDC information on COVID-19 and children https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/faq.html• CDC offers several free handwashing resources that include health promotion materials, information on proper handwashing techniques, and tips for families to help children develop good handwashing habits. • Other health and education professional organizations may also have helpful resources your school can use or share, such as the  American Academy of Pediatrics • CDC’s information on helping children cope with emergencies https://www.cdc.gov/childrenindisasters/helping-children-cope.html

PARENTS

WHAT ARE SCHOOLS DOING TO PREPARE FOR COVID-19?

Schools are advised to ensure adequate supplies are available to support healthy hygiene practices, and to routinely clean and disinfect objects and surfaces that are frequently touched. They are also working closely with local health officials to review and update their school emergency operation plans, and to determine if or when to dismiss schools.

ARE CHILDREN MORE AT-RISK?

Information about COVID-19 in children is somewhat limited, but the information that is available suggests that healthy children generally have mild symptoms. However, a small percentage of children have been reported to have more severe illness.Children and adults with serious chronic medical conditions are believed to be at higher risk, as well as older adults. To protect those at higher risk, it’s important that everyone practices healthy hygiene behaviors.

WHAT SHOULD PARENTS BE DOING NOW TO PREPARE CHILD?

Prepare child for the fact that parents will not be getting out of the cars are drop off and WSMS staff will be escorting them to the school grounds  Instruct children on proper handwashing.  Prepare children to wear masks at school.  Parents will need to provide hand sanitizer, disinfecting wipes, hand wipes, individual mask for child, laundry bag, sunscreen, and water bottle.  Water fountains will be closed.

Gaby’s COVID – 19 Kitchen Procedure

After lots of thought and discussion With our health inspector, the following procedure seems to be the most concrete and effective practice for our school: – We will be following normal wash, rinse, and sanitizer procedures, the kids will be safe to use reusable plates, cups, utensils and napkins. We will make absolutely certain they aren’t sharing anything while eating. This would not only reduce our food costs, but also allow us to maintain our sustainability practices. – We will continue to serve food in the same fashion we are used to; sending kids down into the kitchen for food (entirely served by me.) We will space serving times for each classroom to limit interactions in the hallway. – We will implement a “no-seconds” standard while we’re in “pandemic” mode to limit the number of children running back down while others are perhaps going down to clear their plates. The timing would make it difficult to arrange seconds. To avoid having hungry kids, I will focus on individualized servings and work with kids on listening to their bodies to make sure they get plenty of food. – Just as described above, kids will need to be spaced out when bringing their dirty dishes down to the designated buckets. – Teachers will be carrying a food handlers card in order to serve the milk in each classroom. Offering and encouraging more milk can help with extra calories for kids who’d want seconds. Each classroom will get their own supplies for teachers to serve the milk. – Kids cannot handle or touch clean dishes or cups or utensils. They may help carry them to the  classrooms in the tubs while wearing gloves and their mask. Teachers will retrieve the items from the tub and into their designated area and send the kid back down with the empty tub. A change to the lunch time for each class: Upper Elementary – 11:00 amLower Elementary – 11:30 amLittle Green – 12:00 -This is the plan for now, but as all other procedures it is subject to change if we think of improvements.

Childcare Scenarios with Action Steps for COVID-19

Definitions for terms used below:
Confirmed Case – An individual who has tested positive for COVID-19.
Symptomatic Pending Results – An individual that is symptomatic of COVID-19, but waiting on test results.
Close Contact – An individual that had direct contact (within 6 feet for at least 15 minutes) to an individual who is a
confirmed case of COVID-19.

Child is confirmed or symptomatic pending results or a close contact.

A child within childcare facility is confirmed to have COVID-19.

a. The child and all siblings of the child are immediately excluded.
i. The confirmed positive child must be excluded until they are symptom free for 72 hours and are
at least 7 days past symptom onset.
ii. Siblings who are close contacts are excluded at least 14 days after their last date of close contact
to a known case.

A child within the childcare facility is symptomatic and pending lab result for COVID-19.

a. The child is excluded until results of the test are negative, due to existing exclusion requirements. If
positive, see scenario 1, if negative the child must be symptom free for 24 hours prior to returning to care.
b. Siblings, classmates, and teachers of pending case should be monitored for symptoms while waiting for
test results.

A child within the childcare facility is a close contact to a known COVID-19 case.

a. The child is excluded for 14 days.
b. Siblings, classmates, and teachers of child should be monitored for symptoms.

Parent of a child in care is confirmed or symptomatic pending results or a close contact.

Parent of a child within the childcare facility has been confirmed to have COVID-19.

a. Children who are close contacts of the parent are excluded for 14 days after the last date of close contact
with a known case.

Parent of a child within the childcare facility is symptomatic, pending results, and has had close contact with a
known case.

a. Children who are close contacts of the parent are excluded until test results are in. If parent is positive,
see scenario 1. If parent is negative children can return to care.

Parent of a child within the childcare facility has had close contact to a known case of COVID-19.

a. Children can remain in care, but should be monitored. If COVID -19 symptoms develop in the parent,
children should be excluded, and treated as if parent was symptomatic and pending results as described
above.

Provider/Staff Member is confirmed or symptomatic pending results or a close contact.

Provider/staff member within childcare facility has been confirmed to have COVID-19.

a. Provider/staff member must be excluded until they are symptom free for 72 hours and are at least 7 days
past symptom onset.
b. Children and other staff members that are defined as close contacts with the provider/staff member are
excluded for 14 days after the last know close contact to a known case.

Provider/staff member within the childcare facility is symptomatic pending lab results.

a. Provider is excluded until test results are in, if positive see scenario 1, if negative provider/staff member
may return to once symptom free for 24 hours.
b. Children and other staff that that were a close contact with provider/staff member should be monitored for
symptoms until results are available.

Provider/staff member is a close contact to a known case of COVID-19, outside of the child care facility.

a. Provider is excluded for 14 days or longer if diagnosed with COVID-19.
b. Children and Teachers in direct contact with provider/staff member should be monitored for symptoms.
Based on current guidance on 4/2/20.