School Health Policy
Dear St. Andrew’s Families,
The purpose of this communication is to re-iterate the student and staff wellness policy that we’ve been operating under since school began in August. As surrounding schools open to in-person/ hybrid learning, we know that they will have their own policies and regulations governing student and staff wellness. We respect that all organizations needs to consider the unique needs of their families and students when creating policy, and because of these unique needs, policies might differ greatly between schools. Here is the current protocol for students and families that attend St. Andrew’s Preschool & Kindergarten.
When Should My Child Come to School?
- Your child is welcome at our school when she is not sick. Not sick means the following:
- No fever within the last 24 hours without the use of a fever reducer
- No digestive health issues (diarrhea or vomiting) within the last 24 hours without the use of medication.
- No new cough that hasn’t been seen by a doctor.
- Children with seasonal allergies should have documentation from a doctor
- No mucus discharge that isn’t clear
- A clear runny nose is permissible so long as the child has known allergies
- No complaints of discomfort or not generally feeling well.
- Body aches or headaches should be investigated by parents
- This includes rashes that are not eczema.
- Your child is welcome at our school when nobody in the child’s household is sick. See the above guidelines for what we consider sickness.
- Your child is welcome at our school if they have not had contact* with anyone that has tested positive for COVID-19.
- If your child has had contact with someone that has tested positive for COVID-19, your child must stay home from school for fourteen days after the initial contact, so long as your child does not develop symptoms.
- To have your child return to school prior to the fourteen days at home policy, your child must receive a negative COVID-19 test, and that documentation must be submitted to the school.
- *Contact qualifies as being within 6 feet of the positive case for a TOTAL of 15 minutes. Please note this is a change from 15 minutes straight. The CDC now calculates total time with or without interruptions.
- To have your child return to school prior to the fourteen days at home policy, your child must receive a negative COVID-19 test, and that documentation must be submitted to the school.
- If your child has had contact with someone that has tested positive for COVID-19, your child must stay home from school for fourteen days after the initial contact, so long as your child does not develop symptoms.
What If My Child Gets Sent Home? When Can He Return to School?
- Your child is welcome to return to school once he is no longer sick. See the above section for not sick in the previous section.
What Do the Light Notifications Mean Again?
- A green light means that there has not been any communicable illnesses reported among your child’s classmates within the last 24 hours of them being in your child’s classroom. A green light means that based on the information we’ve received from families, we believe all of the students in that classroom to be in good health.
- A yellow light means that we’ve received communication that a communicable illness has been reported in your child’s class, and the infected student(s) will not be attending school. This illness has not been reported as being COVID-19. We will include the type of illness in the Remind notification. For example: Yellow Light-Fever.
- A red light means that we’ve received communication about a possible COVID-19 exposure or a positive COVID-19 case that affects your child’s classroom. Do not come to school until you’ve received follow-up information from the school.
When Should I Report a Concern about My Child’s Health? Who Do I Report to?
- As soon as you realize that your child does not meet the not sick protocol, please contact your child’s teacher and our administrative assistant, Robin Miller. You can email Robin at rmiller@sapctucson.org. We prefer an email as it is the fastest way to ensure that we receive information.
- After you’ve reported an illness, you will receive an email with a form to fill out to help us better track and report your child’s illness. This form is also located on the school website.
- Any health information that you share will be shared anonymously. We will never name a specific family or child.
Transparency
- We take transparency seriously. We want our families to have as much information as possible before they choose to send a child to our school each day. We will always strive to communicate swiftly and accurately any potential concern regarding the health of your child’s classroom and our school as a whole.
We’re In This Together
- It’s a phrase that has been thrown around a lot lately, but it really matters. The safety of our community relies on every single one of us, from families to staff, making sure to provide accurate health information. Please continue to be vigilant when accessing the health of your child and family, as well as reporting it to us, and we will continue to do the same as a staff.