Bayside’s Plan to Safely Reopen Campus
As we prepare to reopen our campus this fall, we do so slowly, safely and carefully. In conjunction with the CDPH/CalOSHA’S COVID-19 Industry Guidance for Schools and School-Based Programs, we’ve incorporated the following protocols in order to protect the health and safety of the staff, students and families of Bayside Adventist Christian School.
Our plan demonstrates our commitment to implementing the following practices to help prevent the spread of COVID-19:
Cleaning, Disinfection and Ventilation
Elementary staff have been trained on the following cleaning and disinfecting procedures. To the extent possible, students will also be instructed in these precautionary steps:
Cohorting
The purpose of establishing cohorts is to limit the mixing of students and staff so that if anyone develops an infection, the number of exposures is reduced.
Students will remain with their same classmates and teacher(s) for the entire day. Cohorts will also remain in their own separate classroom/work areas throughout the day.
Arrival and departure, movement through hallways and common areas, and outside play will be coordinated to ensure that cohorts don’t mix.
Cohort groups will continue to be no larger than 14 students. Our Kindergarten – 2nd Grade classroom currently has eight students. This group has two classrooms in which they work with a teacher and an instructional aide. These spaces are not used by any other cohort in the school. Students will remain with the same classmates and staff during the day. We will maximize the distance between student work/desk areas within the classroom by providing physical distancing between each desk/student. Plexiglass/partitions will be used when six feet of distancing cannot be maintained.
Our third - eighth grade classroom will have no more than 14 students (seventh and eighth grade will be working virtually from home). They have classroom spaces that are reserved just for them. They will utilize a large multipurpose room where all of them can meet for class meetings, project work, etc. Their tables are spaced to allow 6-foot social distancing. They will also use the math/computer lab/classroom work areas as they are divided into smaller pods during the day. These classroom areas are not shared with any other cohort during the school day. They will also work with the same two teachers all day.
These classrooms and cohorts will remain stable throughout the year.
Families have been provided an option as to whether they want their student in the onsite cohort or working virtually from home.
In addition, we have nearly 20,000 sq. feet of outdoor space that will be will be utilized on a daily basis. Outdoor “work areas” have been planned to keep students distanced from each other and with limited contact with equipment. Teachers will also work at tables outdoors as they meet with small groups for instruction. Lunch and recess schedules have been staggered to provide physical distancing. Picnic tables are provided for eating lunch outdoors. On inclement days, students will eat inside their classrooms.
Physical Distancing
Classrooms will be considered family units and students will remain with their class throughout the day; classes, or groups of students outside the homeroom class will not mix. Teachers will be conducting many classes outside in an effort to maximize space as much as possible, weather permitting.
In the Kindergarten – second grade classroom, tables have plexiglass barriers and clearly identified workspaces to allow for distancing. The procedures of staying within their workspace will be explicitly taught and practiced. Additional tables will be added to allow for further spacing.
Specific language and redirection techniques will be utilized by the staff to ensure that space is being maximized throughout the day.
Students in our K-2 classroom have their own individual hook for hanging their jackets, a reserved place for their backpack and a separate personal cubby/totes for keeping their needed workbooks and supplies.
Desks are spaced six feet apart in the grade three - eight classroom; students will not be seated facing one another to minimize exposure and maximize space.
Students in our grade 3-8 classroom all have a personal locker to keep their supplies. Personal belongings are taken home every day.
These areas will be disinfected daily after school is dismissed.
Each student will have his or her own personal set of supplies to avoid sharing with others. Supplies and equipment that are shared will be cleaned and disinfected before another student uses the resources.
Students will be assigned their own personal computer or Chromebook.
As far as practicable, students will avoid sharing books, games, manipulatives and toys. Individual bins and supply boxes will be provided with most supplies for each student.
Throughout the school day, access to campus will be limited to staff members, students, and essential visitors. Parents are expected to conduct all school business over the phone or via text messages.
ENTRANCE, EGRESS, AND MOVEMENT WITHIN THE SCHOOL
The start and end times for our daily schedule will remain the same; Monday - Thursday: 8:00 am - 3:30 pm, Friday: 8:00 am – 12:00 pm. With only twenty three students in our school, and providing two separate entrances, there is currently no need for staggering arrival and departure times. Students will leave school the same way they arrived. In the mornings, the students will enter campus at two separate locations: grades K-2 will enter through our pedestrian gate while students in grades 3-8 will enter through the main lobby of the church. After arrival at school, temperature and health checks will be administered. Students will use hand sanitizer before entering the classroom.
Entrance and exit routes are clearly marked for vehicles accessing our campus.
To the greatest extent possible, drivers will remain in their vehicles and must wear face coverings while in the parking lot. Drivers are not to leave until their child(ren) have had their daily health screening.
Our classrooms are in two separate buildings and use separate entrances. Each classroom has access to their own bathrooms. There is very little chance that the two cohorts will pass each other during the day.
Our grades 3 - 8 students will remain with their homeroom cohort for the entire school day, broken into two separate pods during part of the day. For one period a day, the pods will work in the math/computer lab and return to their homeroom. This area is only used by the students in the grades 3 – 8 cohort. As students transition, there will be directional paths for the students to take to maximize spacing. High contact areas (desks, door handles, tables, etc.) will be disinfected between classes. Students will use hand sanitizer as they enter and leave the classroom.
FACE COVERINGS AND OTHER ESSENTIAL PROTECTIVE GEAR
Face coverings will be required of all students and staff to reduce the risk of transmission. Signage will be placed in highly visible areas to remind students and staff of when and where face coverings are required and the appropriate use of face coverings.
Students and staff will be educated on the proper use, cleaning, storage, and rationale of face coverings. Face coverings, and gloves (if needed) will be provided for students and staff members who lose or forget to bring their protective gear to school.
Staff Members
All staff members are required to wear a face covering at all times while on campus, except while eating or drinking. Staff members who are unable to wear a face covering for medical reasons or are excluded from this requirement according to Cal/OSHA standards will not be assigned responsibilities that require close contact with students.
Staff members may consider using face shields in combination with face coverings to further reduce the risk of transmission. In addition, teachers may consider using face coverings with clear windows or face shields with a drape during phonics instruction or other situations where it is important for students to see the teacher’s mouth and hear the teacher clearly and distinctly.
Students
All students are required to wear face coverings while arriving to and departing from the campus, while indoors, and while in any area outside the classroom that contains members of cohorts other than their own.
Students who have trouble breathing or are unconscious, incapacitated, or otherwise unable to remove coverings without assistance and students with special needs who are unable to tolerate face coverings may be excluded from the face covering requirements. In these cases, social distancing and cohort measures will be strictly followed.
Students will have multiple outdoor structured breaks with their stable cohort throughout the school day. At these times, teachers will strictly monitor social distancing, and students will have an opportunity to take a break from wearing their face coverings.
Face coverings must be worn during indoor physical activities.
All families are encouraged to keep a supply of clean face coverings in a resealable bag in their child’s backpack. Disposable face coverings will be available for students if they were to forget theirs at home, or if something happens to their face covering while on campus. Students will not need to wear a face covering while eating or while outside for recess/outdoor classroom.
HEALTH SCREENINGS FOR STUDENTS AND STAFF
Daily Health Screening
Staff and parents should conduct symptom screening at home each day prior to arrival at school by using the provided COVID-19 screening questionnaire. Parents will not administer and staff will not take medication that masks COVID-19 symptoms.
Staff temperatures will be screened at the beginning of each day using an infrared thermometer. As students are dropped off, their temperature will be screened using an infrared thermometer. temperature checks taken. If either student or staff has a temperature of 100.4o F or higher they will be sent home.
Symptomatic individuals will be safely isolated and required to wear face coverings until they can be picked up and taken home.
Daily COVID-19 Screening Questionnaire
Staff and parents should be able to answer these questions each day:
If the answer is yes to any of the above questions, the student or staff member will not be allowed entry to school and will be required to get tested as soon as possible.
Parents and staff members will notify the campus administrator immediately if they test positive for COVID-19 or if one of their household members or non-household close contacts tested positive for COVID-19.
Symptomatic students or staff who test negative for COVID-19 should remain home until at least 72 hours after resolution of fever (if any) and improvement in other symptoms.
Asymptomatic students and staff members with close contacts to a COVID-19 case will remain at home for a total of 14 consecutive days from the date of last exposure, even if they test negative.
Documentation of negative test results or a clearance to return to work/school must be provided to school administration. In lieu of a negative test result, symptomatic students and staff may be granted approval to return to work/school with a medical note by a physician that provides alternative explanation for symptoms and reason for not ordering COVID-19 testing.
HEALTHY HYGIENE PRACTICES
All persons entering a campus building must wash their hands or use hand sanitizer.
Frequent hand washing with soap, water, and vigorous rubbing for at least 20 seconds will be enforced.
Hands will be washed before meals and snacks, before and after outdoor play, after using the bathroom, prior to going home, after blowing nose or assisting a child with blowing nose, or after coughing or sneezing.
If soap and water are not available, hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol will be used, with appropriate adult supervision.
Students and staff will be educated on proper hand washing technique; avoiding contact with one’s eyes, nose, and mouth; and covering coughs and sneezes.
Signage will be posted in high-visibility areas to remind students and staff of proper techniques for hand washing, covering of coughs and sneezes, and other prevention measures.
Hands-free trashcans have been provided for all classrooms.
Drinking fountains have been turned off and are no longer available for students or staff to use. Each staff and student should bring a personal water bottle to school every day. Water coolers are available in each classroom for students to refill their bottles throughout the day. Drinking cups will not be provided.
Families are encouraged to send their child’s lunch in a disposable paper bag. If a traditional lunch pail is used, it is expected that it will be cleaned and disinfected each day before bringing it back to school.
Until further notice, the microwaves will not be used to heat up lunch food at school.
Hand sanitizer will be available in every classroom and throughout the campus.
Shared playground equipment will be limited. Equipment that is used will be disinfected after each use.
Students will have their own personal supplies of math, ELA, writing and related supplies. When an item is shared, it will be disinfected in between uses. A “Yuck Bucket” will be in each classroom. Students will be trained to place into that bucket any item that needs disinfecting. The disinfecting will be done later in the day by staff.
During the school day, classroom doors and/or windows will be kept open during the day to provide proper ventilation in the classroom areas during the school day and while cleaning.
IDENTIFICATION AND TRACING OF CONTACTS
If a student or staff member has a confirmed case of COVID-19, contacts will be identified. Exposed contacts are to self-quarantine at home for 14 days and for a minimum of 72 hours after resolution of fever (if any) and improvement in other symptoms. They will also be excluded from school for 14 days.
Symptomatic staff members and students will be safely isolated and required to wear a face covering until they can leave the campus. For serious illness, 9-1-1 will be immediately called.
All symptomatic students or staff members will be required to get tested immediately.
Symptomatic students or staff who test negative for COVID-19 will remain at home for a minimum of 72 hours after resolution of fever (if any) and improvement in other symptoms.
Documentation of negative test results must be provided to school administration. In lieu of a negative test result, symptomatic students and staff may be granted approval to return to work/school with a medical note by a physician that provides alternative explanation for symptoms and reason for not ordering COVID-19 testing.
Mr. Robinson and Mrs. Watkins are the two individuals at Bayside who will be responsible for such tasks as the creation and submission of lists of exposed students and staff to the local health department and notification of exposed persons. Mr. Robinson, the principal, is the designee for the local health department to contact about COVID-19.
Campus Response to Confirmed COVID-19 Case
The principal will notify the County of Alameda Public Health Department immediately of any positive COVID-19 cases. Within 4 hours of notification, the principal will provide information regarding close contacts for the confirmed case to the County of Alameda Public Health Department via a confidential email.
The area occupied by the sick staff member or student will be closed off until the area can be properly cleaned and disinfected. A 24-hour waiting period will be observed prior to cleaning to reduce the risk of exposure. All disinfectants will be used according to the provided guidelines. The proper use of personal protective equipment and ventilation during the cleaning process will be ensured.
All students and staff within the same classroom cohort as the confirmed COVID-19 case, along with siblings or other students or staff who live with those in that classroom, will be instructed to get COVID-19 testing around 7 days after the last exposure to the case and remain quarantined at home for a minimum of 14 days.
All staff and families in the campus community will be notified of any positive COVID-19 case while maintaining confidentiality as required by state and federal laws.
Returning to Campus After Testing: Positive Test Results
Symptomatic individuals who test positive for COVID-19 can return when at least 14 days have elapsed since symptoms first appeared and after a minimum of 72 hours with no fever and improvement in other symptoms.
Returning to Campus After Testing: Negative Test Results
Symptomatic individuals who are not close contacts to confirmed COVID-19 cases and who test negative for COVID-19 can return 72 hours after resolution of fever (if any) and improvement in symptoms.
Individuals who are close contacts to confirmed COVID-19 cases, who test negative at least 7 days after exposure, and remain asymptomatic, can return 14 days after the date of last exposure to the case. If a close contact continues to be exposed to a case during their isolation (e.g. household member), quarantine ends 14 days after the case’s isolation period ends.
Documentation of negative test results must be provided to school administration. In lieu of a negative test result, symptomatic students and staff may be granted approval to return to work/school with a medical note by a physician that provides alternative explanation for symptoms and reason for not ordering COVID-19 testing.
Plan for When a Staff Member or Student Becomes Sick
If a student becomes sick while at school, that student will be isolated in the elementary office away from the other students and staff. This will ensure they are being supervised while still being isolated from the main group.
A staff member will call the parent to pick them up. The student will need to remain home until his/her symptoms are gone for a minimum of 72 hours without the aid of medication.
STAFF TRAINING AND FAMILY EDUCATION
At the beginning of the school year, and periodically throughout the school year, Bayside staff will go through specific training in areas such as: enhanced sanitation procedures, correct and consistent use of face coverings, morning health screenings, physical distancing guidelines, how COVID-19 is spread, COVID-19 symptoms, and procedures to follow when a student or adult becomes sick at school. A virtual orientation of these same practices and protocols were provided to our families at our Back-to-School Orientation Night on July 30, 2020. This reopening plan will be shared with parents again before on-site instruction begins. It will also be updated as needed and available on our website.
Students will also be intentionally taught healthy hygiene habits to practice throughout the day school and when at home. Teachers will present the expectations to students and uphold the requirements within the classroom, on the playground, and throughout the campus.
During teacher workshops, campus staff will receive thorough instructions on how to effectively and consistently implement the aforementioned strategies.
TESTING OF STAFF
Staff who exhibit COVID-19 symptoms or who have been exposed to someone who has tested positive, will be required to get tested for COVID-19. A staff member who exhibits symptoms will be expected to stay at home until at least 14 days have elapsed since symptoms first appeared and after a minimum of 72 hours with no fever and improvement in other symptoms. A staff member who has been exposed to COVID-19 will remain at home until there is a negative test result and that staff member is cleared to return to work.
As recommended by the CDPH, 50% of the staff will be tested every month to rotate the testing of all staff over time. It is our intention to use the COVID-19 testing services available through our local CVS.
TRIGGERS FOR SWITCHING TO DISTANCE LEARNING
The criteria the school or district leadership will use to determine when to physically close the school and prohibit in-person instruction.
On-site instruction will close if there are multiple cases in multiple classes or when at least ten percent of the total number of teachers/student/staff in our school test positive within a 14-day period.
Our school intends to work with Alameda County public health officials to determine triggers for switching to distance learning and will be following the recommended measures outlined in the COVID- 19 and Reopening In-Person Learning Framework for K-12 Schools in California, 2020- 2021 School Year.
Bayside will follow state and county guidelines and orders. The school will comply if instructed to close the school and in-person learning and switch to online learning.
COMMUNICATION PLANS
School administrators will notify local health officials and other applicable agencies of any positive case of COVID-19. Trained staff will coordinate with local health officials to perform contact tracing. Affected staff and families in our school community will be notified of exposure to COVID-19, while maintaining confidentiality as required by state and federal laws.
In the event of an isolation, quarantine, or school closure that disrupts on-campus learning, distance learning alternatives will be implemented.
Our plans will be updated as conditions change and will be available to families via email and on our website.
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