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Campus Life: Healthy at School



Healthy at School
 

Welcome to the HEALTHY AT SCHOOL resource page. This page presents you with our most up-to-date plans for the 2021-2022 school year. Please understand that plans can change and we will stay current through this so you can always stay up to date on our Healthy at School action plans. Please bookmark this page and revisit it periodically for the most up-to-date information.

The purpose of this page is to share our action plans and also what we need for action items from our families. The health, well-being and safety of our Chance family of students, faculty, staff, and parents remain our highest priority.

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On-Campus Learning Protocols: 

We are currently on-campus and in-person, we have developed contingency plans to employ if the situation changes. Throughout the rest of this year, we are monitoring the health and safety of both the VCS community and the greater Louisville community, making adjustments as information continues to develop. 
 
Below are some of the COVID-Specific Health and Safety Procedures that are in place to help us welcome your children back into the classroom safely. 
 
The information included in this dashboard reflects the number of active positive cases among VCS students, faculty, and staff and active Test-To-Stay due to exposure at VCS. This list is updated daily:
 
Student Positive Staff Positive Classes in Test-To-Stay
17 2 7
 

We will offer test-to-stay each morning from 8:00-9:45 in the Funroom, with arrival times staggered by grade. Students in participating classes will enter through the lobby of the new building to check-in for school each day during test-to-stay. People who have had a recent COVID-19 infection within the last 90 days, as confirmed through a professionally administered viral test, are exempt from participating in test-to-stay so long as they do not newly demonstrate symptoms after their recovery. For this exemption, please send your test results and the date of your initial symptom onset to health@chanceschool.org.

All people—students, faculty, staff, or visitors—coming onto the VCS campus will complete a health questionnaire upon arrival, either during carpool or when otherwise entering the building. Recent experience with COVID-19 symptoms and household quarantine status will also be assessed.
 
At the school's discretion, a student suspected of having an illness that presents like covid after being dropped off in carpool will be taken directly to the morning test-to-stay for a rapid test as a precaution to prevent any further spread. 
At this time we continue to follow a practice of universal masking. This best practice is recommended by the CDC and KDPH as part of an effective test-to-stay program. At this time, our expectation is to transition to a mask-optional policy once at least 80% of individuals on campus are fully vaccinated (and boosted as eligible) and the Jefferson County incidence rate is less than 25.0/100,000. Once we make and notify you of this transition, both criteria will be reviewed and communicated on campus daily. Even if both criteria are met, we will revert to required masking if there is clear transmission of COVID-19 at VCS or as otherwise directed by local public health professionals.
 
Elementary Student & Adults: All elementary students and adults on campus are required to wear a mask when indoors regardless of vaccination status. Masks are not required when outside except when in close contact with others; close contact is defined as within arm's length for more than a minute. Any mask that is made of at least two layers of tightly-woven fabric is permitted, but we encourage the use of the highest grade mask available (e.g., N95, KN95, KF94). You can also tighten the fit of surgical and cloth masks with mask fitters or by placing a cloth mask over a surgical mask.  Most importantly, the best mask is one that you can wear correctly for extended periods.  
 
Preschool Student: Masks are optional for our preschool students, and they are strongly encouraged when the community incidence rate in Jefferson County is above 25.0/100,000 ("in the red"). Any mask that is made of at least two layers of tightly-woven fabric and that the student can put on and take off independently is permitted, but we encourage the use of the highest grade mask available and tolerable by the student. 
Our cohorting adjusts based on the community incidence rate. We will be starting the '21-22 school year with classroom-level cohorting. See the Matrix below for details.

Any VCS household member wanting a COVID-19 test may participate in our community surveillance testing on Thursdays afternoons from 1:00-4:00 in Room 7. Please see our E-News each week for more information and to sign-up.

Parents need to complete the two PDFs below and bring them to the testing. You do not need to complete the insurance info part as this is at no charge.

Students, faculty, and staff will wash their hands throughout the day, including upon arrival, before and after eating, after using the restroom, after being outdoors, and before leaving school. The school has also invested in a nightly professional cleaning service to make sure our spaces are cleaned and sanitized. Teachers will follow cleaning protocols in the classroom during the day.
Over two years, we have replaced and upgraded all of our HVAC units, 20 in total! All units now also have hospital-grade air scrubbers. This comprehensive HVAC system overhaul was a significant investment in the health and wellbeing of our children and adults at Chance School. In the pursuit of being an exemplary steward of your investment in Virginia Chance School, we always ask ourselves: "What's best for children" in all we do, even facility management.
 
FDA-Cleared Class II Medical Device- The Air Scrubber by Aerus was installed on all our HVAC systems to remove surface and airborne contaminants. Its ActivePure® Technology uses light waves and a catalytic process to produce scrubber ions and hydroperoxides that destroy contaminants on surfaces and in the air. ActivePure® Technology has been tested in independent labs and proven effective on bacteria, viruses, mold, and fungi on surfaces and in the air.
 
Visitors: will be limited to when there are a clear need and a clear plan for the visit. Special visits, such as coming in for birthdays, class parties, book reads, will be creatively restructured and reimagined to align with current Health and Safety Protocols. Late arrivals and early dismissals will happen at the front door with entrance to the building permitted only for the student. No parent walk-ups to the classrooms will be allowed; they will be chaperoned through the building by staff warmly and lovingly as we know this will be a new transition for some students.
 
Volunteers: In line with current guidance and policies, all adults visiting campus in the presence of students need to be fully vaccinated and boosted as eligible and wear a well-fitting mask throughout their visit. If you are interested in volunteering, please send your updated vaccine record to health@chanceschool.org if you have not already done so.
Snacks will no longer be communally provided, but rather all students will provide their own snacks daily. Lunches will need to be packed to be shelf-stable with ice packs or thermoses as we will no longer use refrigerators and microwaves communally for health and safety precautions. All students will bring their own utensils. Please check the School Supply List for specific recommendations.

As of September 16, 2021, we have changed the travel quarantine policy from a requirement to a recommendation.  The health and safety of your children and the community is our number one goal. Over the last 18 months, this particular restriction served us well, but now it has been deemed less effective. We are continuously reviewing our health and safety policies and will make changes as needed to maintain a safe/manageable process.  

Specifically, this change means that if your family plans to travel in Kentucky, to another state, or internationally, we recommend the following:

  • Avoid large gatherings
  • Wear a mask
  • Maintain physical distancing
  • Maintain best safety practices that you would follow if at home
  • Participate in weekly onsite testing before and after travel

If you are following these recommendations, then you may choose to return to school after your travels. If you are not following these recommendations, then we would recommend a 10-day quarantine for any unvaccinated family members. 

Virginia Chance School strongly encourages all eligible individuals to be vaccinated and boosted. If your child is fully vaccinated and we have received the vaccination card at health@chanceschool.org, your child will not be required to participate in the test-to-stay program except on Day 5 of the exposure (or the next school day following it). You can find vaccination locations for adults and children at vaccines.gov. Children ages 5 and above are eligible for the Pfizer vaccine, and children ages 12 and above are eligible to receive a booster five months after their initial vaccination series. Information on booster timelines for adults can be found here or in the test-to-stay summary chart above.