West Sayville Christian School COVID-19 Plan

The head of the school conferred with stakeholders (administration, board members, & parents.) regarding the reopening of the school for the 2021-22 school year following guidelines from NYSED and the DOH.  Due to small class sizes and large classrooms, we discussed and approved a plan for 5 days of in-school instruction at normal school times.
 
Parents and legal guardians will receive communication of policies and protocols through website, mail, email, and texts, as well as written within policy handbooks.  
 
 
REOPENING OF SCHOOL

• All faculty and staff will be required to attend professional development days before the opening of school to communicate new COVID-19 policies and protocols to follow for reopening.  
• Faculty will be instructed on the early signs of COVID and send any child presenting symptoms to the nurse to be assessed and isolated prior to being picked up.
• Hand sanitizer will be available in every room and hallway and several classrooms have sinks for hand-washing. Students will be taught proper hand-washing procedures and respiratory hygiene.

Screening    

• All faculty and staff must wear a face covering.
• If a child presents with a temperature of 100 degrees or more, they must be kept home.   Parents will be informed to communicate to us if they have tested positive for COVID- 19 or have been in contact with anyone who has.

Social Distancing​ 

• Desks will be arranged 6 feet apart, allowing students to remove face coverings during instruction while they are seated. If they prefer, they may keep their face covering on.
• The rotation of middle and high school students will be minimal. For most of the day, students will remain in their homeroom classroom and teachers will rotate. All classes have windows which will be opened and fans will be utilized to increase air flow.
• Required school safety drills, such as fire drills and lockdowns will be conducted with modifications to ensure social distancing between persons. Face coverings will be required during drills.  

Bus Transportation

• All students utilizing bus transportation from district, will be required to comply with their school district guidelines.

Cleaning and Disinfection

• Facilities will be cleaned and sanitized daily by a janitor. Rooms will be disinfected with a chemical fogger at night.  Cleaning logs will be maintained.
• Frequently touched surfaces will be sanitized several times during the day. 
• Faculty and staff must wear gloves when using disinfectant wipes on desks, chairs and any other frequently touched surfaces if other cohorts use the room and at the end of school.  Cleaning logs will be maintained.

Containment

• Any student that presents with symptoms of illness or a temperature of 100 degrees or more while at school will be isolated and parent notified to pick up student. Instructions will be given to see a health care provider and be tested for COVID-19.  Anyone testing positive may not return to school until they are discharged from quarantine by local health department.
• WSCS will inform the state and local health department after receiving notification of a positive test result of any one in school.
• Anyone who has been exposed to COVID-19 must complete a 14-day quarantine and must have been discharge from quarantine by local health department.
• If someone is suspected or confirmed to have the virus, that classroom/area will be closed off and exposed students will resume instruction through alternative methods (live-stream classes, video instruction, google classroom, etc.).
• Individuals traveling out of NY state will need to quarantine according to state guidelines upon returning.
• All stakeholders will be notified if someone tests positive or has been exposed to COVID-19.
• Affected rooms and areas will be cleaned and disinfected after 24 hours.  Once the area has been cleaned and disinfected, it will be reopened for use.

Closure

• If deemed necessary or required by the state or local health department, stakeholders will be notified that the school will close and students will continue learning through on-line platforms, which was already put into place this past year. 
• Faculty members will meet with elementary students through Zoom daily for a designated time period. Middle school and high school students will meet with teachers on zoom daily during normal class schedule. Other platforms, such as YouTube videos and google classroom will also be used.
• In the event of a closure, faculty must take attendance daily and send the standard daily report to office secretary, as well as keep track of attendance in grade books.

Click here to download a PDF version of the above plan.