Health and Safety

We know that we will have students who become ill or have a fever during the day. This historically occurs each day within our schools. Your child will be brought to an Health Office for evaluation. Then, your child will wait in the Health Office Annex, with an adult present, and you will need to pick your child up immediately.

Per the CSDE’s Reopening Schools Plan we must maximize social distancing if feasible. Classroom set-up will include only desks/chairs and essential materials for teaching and learning to maximize social distancing. All students will be expected to bring their one-to-one chromebooks to school fully charged each day to eliminate any sharing of technology equipment. Recently, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommended 3-6 feet social distancing specifically related to the return to school.

We have purchased a variety of materials to prepare for the start of the school year that includes but not is limited to:

• Face shields
• Face masks
• Transparent masks (speech services and specialized programs)
• Transparent student desks shields (elementary as needed)
• Transparent teacher desk shields (secondary as needed)
• Plexiglass barriers for offices (as needed)
• Folding tables/chairs for outside seating
• Cleaning and disinfecting supplies and materials
• Signage for classrooms, hallways and throughout the school
• Desks for kindergarten (replacing tables for maximizing social distancing)

An appointment only protocol is currently in place. We will engage in virtual parent meetings and PPT’s to the greatest extent possible.

• Katie Saunders, RN, saundersk@fpsct.org
• Chandra Chipman, RN, chipmanc@fpsct.org

• Karen Edgar, RN, edgark@fpsct.org

• Monika Liberda, RN, liberdam@fpsct.org
• Chandra Chipman, RN, chipmanc@fpsct.org

• Erica Wisniewski, RN, wisniewskie@fpsct.org

• Laura Molusis, RN, molusisl@fpsct.org

• Kristin Paye-Baker, RN, payebakerk@fpsct.org

• Lauren Foote, RN, footel@fpsct.org

• Katie Saunders, RN saundersk@fpsct.org
• Chandra Chipman, RN, chipmanc@fpsct.org

We will not disclose names of individuals who are sick. We are obligated to keep all health information about all individuals within our school district private at all times.

No, under the direction of the FVHD and DPH, due to the high likelihood of potential false positive and false negative results, schools will not do temperature screenings each day. However, temperature monitoring will be available in the school under the supervision of the school nurse. We will ask school staff to monitor students’ throughout the day aligned to state and local health guidance. Any student who appears ill will be immediately sent to the school nurse. Any necessary follow-up temperature checks will be done with no-touch thermometers (to ensure temperature is under 100.0 degrees Fahrenheit). Students and/or parents/guardians may be asked about COVID-19 symptoms within the last 24 hours and whether anyone in their home has had COVID-19 symptoms or a positive test.

Under the direction of DPH, this is not feasible or advised by health experts since a negative test only represents a moment in time.

Students that travel out of state to a location noted on the State of CT Travel Advisory are required to quarantine for 14 days. If a parent travels out of state, the student is not required to quarantine.

Yes, we ask that all families check temperatures and symptom checks each morning prior to boarding the bus or entering the school (if your child is driven to school). Also, please closely monitor your child’s health and any symptoms they may be experiencing. Do not send your child to school if your child is having symptoms of illness.

No, the school district will not administer COVID-19 tests. Our website provides testing sites in the area for your convenience.

Please keep your child HOME if your child is feeling sick. If your child is feeling sick:

• Call the school nurse
• Call your child’s physician for guidance

With the guidance and assistance of the FVHD, we have developed protocols for communicating to our school communities if we experience a positive case of COVID-19. Please immediately contact the school nurse if your child has been exposed to an individual who has tested positive or if your child has tested positive for COVID-19. In the case that we are notified that a student, faculty or staff member tests positive for COVID-19 who have been in a school prior to testing positive, we will identify those members of a class/classes or cohort who have had close contact with the individual who has tested positive. Close contact is defined as being within 6 feet of an individual for more than 15 minutes. In some limited circumstances, we may implement a short-term closure (ex. 1-3 days) if needed in consultation with the FVHD. This would only be needed if additional time is required for the FVHD to engage in contact tracing. Please remember, students impacted by a short term closure or quarantine due to a positive COVID-19 case will engage in Interactive Learning to ensure continuity of instruction. Here are the steps we will take if a student, faculty or staff member tests positive for COVID-19:

• If an individual tests positive for COVID-19, we will engage the Farmington Valley Health Department (FVHD) in contact tracing and quarantine individuals as necessary;
• We will notify members of the school community if an individual within the school community tests positive; and
• We will not release the name of any individual who tests positive. We will, as noted above, work with the health department in making determinations about who must be quarantined if necessary.

Our nurses have illness tracking protocols in place including a separate space to quarantine individuals who are not feeling well at any time during the day. In collaboration with the FVHD, the school district will provide families with guidance about when students should remain home due to illness or when students experience close contact with an individual who has COVID-19 on a case-by-case basis. Again, we will need families to immediately communicate with us when students or family members have been exposed to or contracted COVID-19. In all communications, we will focus on HIPAA confidentiality and privacy requirements in consultation with the FVHD. As highlighted in Farmington’s Return to School plan, please make emergency back up plans for your family as we may need to quickly shift from one learning model to another at any point during the coming school year due to positive COVID-19 cases within a classroom, cohort or school and/or COVID-19 health trends.

Yes, protocols are developed to clean surfaces between classes.

Yes, the school district follows requirements from the FVHD, DPH and the CDC on cleaning schools. We will continue enhanced cleaning and disinfecting of frequently touched surfaces and school spaces during the day with deep cleaning after school hours. Throughout the summer, we have been purchasing additional cleaning materials and supplies to be prepared for the coming school year.

Yes, protocols for regular handwashing and hand sanitizing will be in place for all students, faculty and staff.