Health and Safety

Where safety meets care - for every student, every day.

At Virginia Chance School, the health, safety, and well‑being of every student, faculty, and family is our highest priority. Our guiding principle is that we learn and grow best when we are safe — physically, emotionally, and socially. That’s why we maintain thoughtful, evidence‑based practices and protocols designed to protect our community and support uninterrupted learning.

Because school is a shared environment, each family’s decisions and behaviors outside campus directly influence our collective safety. We invite you to partner with us by following health guidelines, communicating openly, and helping keep our campus as safe as possible for everyone.

Below, you’ll find our protocols for communicable illness, injury response, allergy and medication procedures, campus security systems, emergency plans, and more — all designed with care, clarity, and the best available public health guidance.

Health and Sickness Procedures

Protecting the Virginia Chance School community's health and safety is the highest priority. The following strategies and procedures have been implemented to ensure our health and safety while we learn and grow together on campus.

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Health and Sickness Procedures

Each individual’s and each family’s choices and actions taken off-campus impact and have the potential to influence our school community directly. Your choices demonstrate your interest in keeping yourself and your family healthy and safe and the VCS family healthy and safe together. We hope that you will join us in choosing to act in the best interest of our students, faculty, staff, and families.

Communicable Diseases
We seek to minimize the spread of communicable diseases, while never entirely avoidable in a school setting, to maximize students’ time at school. We want students at school learning and growing academically, socially, and emotionally.

For the School’s purposes, communicable diseases include but are not limited to chickenpox, conjunctivitis (“pink eye”), COVID-19, Hand Foot and Mouth disease, influenza, lice, RSV, and strep.

Most importantly, if your student has contracted a communicable disease, please notify the school by emailing [email protected]. The return-to-school timeline and requirements differ for each particular disease and are based on, and subject to change due to, expert medical and public health guidance.

Students need to stay home if experiencing any of the following symptoms in the prior 24 hours:
● a temperature of ≥100.4°F;
● vomiting or diarrhea;
● a newly onset cold, cough, or sore throat;
● a new loss of sense of taste or smell;
● any discharge from or crustiness, redness, itchiness, or puffiness of the eyes;
● headaches, body aches, or earaches; or
● uncharacteristically lethargic behavior.

The School needs to be notified of the illness-related absence by emailing the student’s classroom teachers, [email protected] and [email protected]. Please include all of these in the notification. For confidential medical information, you may choose only to notify [email protected].

Students who have been ill may return to school either:
● when they are fever-free for 24 hours without the use of over-the-counter medication, or
● their symptoms improve with medication, and a medical provider determines they are not contagious.

Specific guidance for returning after a particular illness may be provided based on advice or directive from expert medical and public health professionals (e.g., a student with chickenpox may return once all pox marks have scabbed). This specific guidance will be provided to parents once they have notified [email protected] of the student’s illness.

Injury
In the event that your child is injured during school activities and requires basic care:

School personnel follows this process:

Minor scratches or injuries are attended to by the teacher or office.
The parent is notified.
The teacher fills out an accident report, signed by the school personnel present and by the Head of School.

In the event that your child is injured during school activities & requires emergency medical care:

School personnel will take steps including but not limited to:

Attempt to contact a parent or guardian.
Attempt to contact a parent or guardian through any of the persons listed on the emergency information provided to the school by the parent or guardian. You must list at least two adults, (other than parent/guardians) who can be contacted in case of an emergency. Please add these contacts to your child's FACTS profile.

Allergic Reaction
In the event that your child has an allergic reaction and requires medication:

School personnel follows this process:

Staff will immediately administer the epi-pen
911 will be called
Attempt to contact a parent

Medicine and allergy treatment procedures:
It is the responsibility of the parent(s) to:

Notify the school of a child’s allergies, diet restrictions & required medication. Keep this information current with the office.
Fill out Permission to Give Medication Form if your child must take medicine at school, with complete and explicit instructions. The form is also available in the school office.
Bring medication to the office in original containers to be administered at school. This is passed adult hand to adult hand; children may not drop the medication off at the office. Please do not send any medication to your child’s classroom via lunchbox, school bag, or backpack.
Provide current prescribed EPI-Pens and AUVI-Qs to the school office. Enough epi-pens must be on hand to have one in the office, one in the child’s classroom, & one with Extended Program, if your child attends.

A full outline of protocols for Communicable Disease, Lice, Injury or Allergic Reaction can be found in the Parent Handbook.

Your Childs Health Information:

LogIn to your FACTS Account in the Parents tab under Children to access and update your child's health information as it may change throughout the school year. and we'll want to stay as up-to-date as you.

Physical Security on Campus

Virginia Chance School implements a security system that keeps all entry doors locked, alarmed, and under video surveillance before, during, and after school. Doors open freely for playtime or in an emergency. Teachers have keys/fobs for re-entry. All entries are locked from the outside.

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Physical Security on Campus
Virginia Chance School implements a security system that keeps all entry doors locked, alarmed, and under video surveillance before, during, and after school. Doors open freely for playtime or in an emergency. Teachers have keys/fobs for re-entry. All entries are locked from the outside.

The gates at the rear of the main building and the bottom-of-the-hill loop are used to ensure the safety of students while classes are in session. The gates will be closed at 8:50 a.m. and 1:15 p.m.

This closure at the top of the hill prevents vehicles from completing the loop around the main building but allows parking in the five-minute spots. This limits access to the building and will enable students to walk safely amongst the buildings and playground.
This closure at the bottom of the hill prevents vehicles from entering the loop or accessing parking near the preschool garden and Florida Heights. This allows students to play and learn safely.
The gates will be opened by School personnel for regular carpool dismissal.

These security measures are also in place to prepare for emergencies as possible.

Walkie-talkie systems are provided for all faculty and group leaders who go or meet outside the school buildings (e.g., P.E. classes or athletics practices on the field, science classes at the pond, art classes photographing our surroundings).
The School has silent emergency notification buttons at every level that, when pushed, immediately notify the police to come to the School.
The School has an emergency management technology suite and an emergency response team and plan, including emergency evacuations for use in a crisis.
An alert service is provided to all families, faculty, and staff to receive emails, texts, or phone calls in the case of an emergency or weather-related school closures.
Virginia Chance School has a partnership and relationship with the Anchorage Middletown Fire and EMS and the 8th Division of LMPD.

Weapons
All firearms and weapons, including all replica and toy weapons, are prohibited on the Virginia Chance School campus. The School has a zero-tolerance policy concerning any individual bringing weapons to school. Concealed weapons permits are not valid on school grounds.

Safety Drills
Students, faculty, and staff participate in regular safety drills, including in preparation for fires, tornados, earthquakes, and situations necessitating lockdown. Drills are conducted with the focus and seriousness they are warranted. Students are taught about the types of and need for drills in an age-appropriate manner. If you are a visitor during a safety drill, you must listen to and abide by the directions of the faculty or staff member in your presence. Taking photos, having side conversations, or being on a mobile device during drills is inappropriate.

Safe Use of Technology
Virginia Chance School desires to make responsible, appropriate, and efficient use of technology. Virginia Chance School is committed to the meaningful use of technology in our progressive school setting.

Virginia Chance School is a Google for Education (GFE) school. All students are given a Chance School login. Email is turned off for all Virginia Chance School students for privacy purposes.
The Chromebook is a learning tool for VCS students. Students are given a Virginia Chance School-issued Chromebook at the beginning of 2nd grade for in-class use. The Chromebook will stay with the student until the end of 5th grade/the student’s time at Virginia Chance School.
- Students will sign a Chromebook Policies and User Agreement at the beginning of the
  school year.
- Student Chromebook Care follows the S.C.O.U.T. Guidelines, which students acknowledge and sign at the beginning of the school year. These guidelines include:
  ■ STORE your Chromebook correctly.
  ■ CHARGE your Chromebook.
  ■ ONLY USE YOUR OWN Chromebook and your own account.
  ■ USE your Chromebook for learning.
  ■ TRANSPORT your Chromebook correctly.

Virginia Chance School uses the Barracuda Web Security and Filtering system for monitoring and ensuring safe student activity.

Education Technology is constantly changing, and our technology goals are reviewed and updated accordingly.

Family Background Checks

Because parental involvement is encouraged at Virginia Chance School and the safety and the well-being of our community is paramount, the School requires criminal background checks in accordance with state regulations. Each parent and any adult associated with the family who will be working directly with children or who have access to students is required to submit a Youth Leader Form and a Child Abuse/Neglect form.

Car Seat & Safe Car Riding

When it comes to car safety for children, faculty and staff prioritize the use of a proper car seat for younger children and best practice safety for older children. For the safest possible ride, we recommend the following tips:

Maximize the rear-facing limits of your car seat.
Continue using a car seat until your child reaches the maximum height or weight limit.
Ensure that no child under eight years old is without a booster.
Keep children under 13 years old seated in the back of the car.
Adjust rear-facing straps to be at or just below the shoulders, and forward-facing straps to be at or just above.

https://transportation.ky.gov/HighwaySafety/Documents/childseat_info.pdf

Health and Safety at Virginia Chance School

Because learning begins with feeling safe, the highlights from the full policy are presented below.

🛡️ Our Commitment

At Virginia Chance School, we believe children thrive in an environment where they feel secure — physically, emotionally, and socially. Health and safety are embedded into every part of our school culture, from classroom routines to playground policies and emergency planning.

Our goal is to create a safe, nurturing space where each child can confidently explore, learn, and grow.

🏫 Campus Safety & Security

Secure Entry System: All exterior doors remain locked during school hours. Visitors must be buzzed in through the main entrance.
Visitor Sign-In: All guests are required to sign in with ID at the front desk and wear a visitor badge.
Emergency Preparedness: We conduct regular fire, tornado, and lockdown drills in alignment with best practices and local regulations.

👩‍⚕️ Health Guidelines & Illness Policy

When to Stay Home: Children should stay home if they have a fever, vomiting, or other contagious symptoms. We follow a 24-hour symptom-free policy.
Reporting Illness: Families are asked to notify the school if their child is diagnosed with a contagious illness so we can take appropriate steps to inform and protect our community.
COVID-19 Protocols: Our health protocols continue to evolve based on current CDC guidance.

💊 Medications & Allergies

Allergy Awareness: We are a nut-aware campus. Please avoid sending nut-containing foods in lunches or snacks.
Medication Administration: All medications must be provided to the school nurse with clear instructions and a signed authorization form.
EpiPens & Inhalers: If your child requires an emergency medication, please ensure the school has an up-to-date supply and plan on file.

🧠 Emotional Safety & Wellness

Social-Emotional Learning: Our curriculum emphasizes emotional intelligence, empathy, and conflict resolution.
Counseling Support: Our school works closely with students, teachers, and families to support emotional wellness.
Inclusive Environment: We actively promote a school culture of kindness, respect, and belonging for every child.

🚨 Emergency Plans

Crisis Response: We maintain comprehensive emergency response plans and coordinate with local first responders.
Parent Communication: In the event of an emergency, families will be notified via text, email, and/or phone through our communication system.
Safety Drills: Age-appropriate drills are practiced throughout the year to help students respond calmly and confidently.

🤝 Partnering with Parents

Safety is a shared responsibility. We ask families to:

Keep children home when they’re ill
Keep emergency contact info up to date
Communicate health or safety concerns promptly
Support safety guidelines and protocols

Your partnership helps us create a healthy, secure learning environment for everyone.

💬 Questions?

If you have questions about our health and safety policies, please contact our school nurse at 502-425-6904 or email us at [email protected].

“Safety is not just a policy - it's a part of who we are.” - Virginia Chance School Health and Safety Team

Page Last Updated: 9/25/25