COVID SAFETY PLAN AND UPDATED PROTOCOLS

COVID+ Individuals:

Must quarantine for 5-Days from symptom onset or positive test.  Individuals may return on Day 6 if symptoms have improved and no fever within the last 24-hours.  Individuals must wear a tightly fitted mask in school upon return until Day 10.  Teachers will work to have individuals sit apart or outside the classroom during snack or lunch period during 10-day period since onset.

Quarantine Protocols: 

High Risk (Household COVID+, or indoor non-masked close contact)

An Individual must receive a negative rapid test before returning to school and test again two days later.  Individuals must remain asymptomatic.

Watch for any symptoms and test to stay after exposure.

Multiple Cases in a Class:

If we can identify links to the positives such as two friends who always sit next to one another OR if cases can be linked to separate external school sources we will keep the class open.  If 3 or more cases appear within a class that are not connected we will take direction from Washtenaw Health Department.

Daycroft families have an important role in keeping our community safe.  Here are ways you can help keep our students and faculty safe from COVID.

All family members who are eligible for the COVID vaccine should get it.

If your child does not feel well, keep them home and get them tested. Daycroft School has lots of COVID tests that students can’t bring home with them. Daycroft also has a COVID/Flu test at school that where we can test any individual requesting a test.

1.  Keep our students and staff as safe as possible.
2.  State and local health standards.
3.  Use the best information available to guide decisions. This may mean recommendations change as more is learned or local conditions change.

1.  Masks — Should be worn by individuals who test negative and have cold-like symptoms. 

2.  Ventilation — Windows will be open and internal doors open along with HVAC running to maximize fresh air circulation in all classrooms.  Whenever possible and reasonable, classes will meet outside and eat outside.

3.  Cleaning — Students will wash their hands upon arrival and before meals.  Tables will be disinfected during the day and the school professionally cleaned daily.

A: Does student have ANY of the following symptoms (new/different/worse from baseline): • Temperature 100.4 or signs of fever (chills/sweating) • Sore throat • New onset of cough • Diarrhea, vomiting, or abdominal pain • New onset of headache • Loss of taste or loss of smell 

B: Has student had ANY close contact or potential exposure risk in the past 10 days: • Had close contact with a person with confirmed COVID-19 • Had close contact with person who is awaiting a COVID test • Attended large events (e.g., wedding, concert), especially indoors • Travel history (**Daycroft will test any students or faculty who fly)

• IF A is YES and B is NO, student needs COVID test and/or medical evaluation; can return with symptom improvement per usual communicable disease guidelines 

• If A is YES and B is YES, must have COVID PCR test. Exclude from school for 5 days even if COVID test is negative, unless a different diagnosis is available.

• If B is Yes, we will follow close contact guidance from WCHD and student should remain at home until further guidance is given.

• If both are NO or student is not a close contact, student goes to school.

• Any individuals diagnosed with COVID-19, whether unvaccinated or vaccinated, must isolate for a minimum of 5 days.

• Close contacts are identified as a person who has been within 6 feet for a cumulative period of 15 minutes or more within 24 hours of a person who has tested positive with COVID.

• Any student who has been in close contact outside of school must contact the Daycroft administration immediately.  If there is a positive case inside school, you will be notified immediately.

• Individuals who have had a close contact need to watch for symptoms for 10-days.

• If an individual within a household is a close contact, all students in the household should take a rapid test before returning to school and 2-days after returning to school.

Washtenaw County has given Daycroft School, a supply of Binax NOW rapid antigen tests both to utilize at school and to send home.  The school will utilize these tests with students when granted parental permission in the following ways. 

A student has a symptom such as a runny nose or congestion that can be explained by allergies or seasonal changes.

A student or faculty member has tested positive for COVID and all ‘close contacts’ in school will be tested immediately and recommended on day 5 of exposure.

We need everyone’s help and commitment to keep our community safe.  Your actions can help to ensure that Daycroft School remains open and our students, staff and families remain safe.  Below are actions you can do to help ensure this.

Monitoring family health and reporting any illnesses to the school (Laura Hogan)

If a child has a fever or symptoms of a cold, do not send them to school until fever free without medication for 24-hours and cold symptoms have cleared.

If a parent or sibling in the household is suspected of exposure and is going to get tested all children should remain at home until the test comes back negative.

All students attending on-campus classes during the 2023-2024 school year are strongly recommended to receive a flu shot, as seasonal influenza shares many symptoms with COVID-19, and flu vaccination will help to keep us healthy while also assisting our COVID-19 monitoring efforts.

All students must receive all vaccinations required under state law, unless they have a waiver and this includes COVID vaccines.

All families are expected to adhere to the directives of applicable federal, state, and local government health departments, including the CDC to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

Families are asked to review and follow CDC information and guidance

All parents/caregivers and staff will be informed of a confirmed case of COVID-19 or any communicable disease within Daycroft School.   Names will never be shared.  

Safety is a team effort, and our students, employees, and every family will play a role in observing and following these guidelines to keep one another safe.  Sacrifices and adjustments will be needed for the safety of our children and the community.  We all recognize the importance of in-person learning on our children.

Below are links that are helpful in tracking community spread as well as resources to better inform you on the science.

The top way to protect our children is to vaccinate all members in your family who are eligible. Here is the link on vaccination rates in Washtenaw.

Test your family with a free rapid test kit

CDC data tracker. Local Washtenaw tracker

MDHHS recommendations for schools

Your Local Epidemiologist is a great resource for updates on everything COVID

To protect the health of our school community and as required under the Emergency Order issued by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) Reporting of Confirmed and Probable Cases of COVID-19 at Schools on October 6, 2020, Daycroft School will use this webpage to provide public notice regarding any school-associated cases of COVID-19.  Within 24 hours of being notified of a confirmed or probable case by the Washtenaw County Health Department (or a neighboring health department), this dashboard will be updated.

Note: This dashboard is not intended to provide notification of possible exposure. Individuals identified as close contacts of positive cases are contacted directedly by the Washtenaw County Health Department (or another health department) and given instructions to isolate or quarantine. Close contact means you have been face-to-face with an infectious person for 15 minutes or more.

COVID-19 School-Associated with Daycroft School

The following includes probable and confirmed cases among students, teachers, staff, or outside enrichment teachers who are present on school property or at a school function under circumstances that may result in the transmission or contraction of COVID-19 during their infectious period. Please note case reports are preliminary and may change.COVID-19 Dashboard - School-Associated - Updated 6.09.2022New Cases (Since Last Update) - 5Cumulative Cases (Since Reporting Began) - 27

Daycroft School Response Actions

As a precaution, we will be disinfecting applicable areas of the school. This may include spraying classrooms, hallways, and common areas, as needed, with a sanitizer, along with other methods of disinfection.

We know that learning is done best when in-person and we need to work collectively to keep our students and employees safe.  We will follow the safety protocols outlined by the CDC and the State of Michigan, and we may take further preventative measures as deemed necessary to keep our community safe.  Please know that even as we do our best to mitigate risks of transmission of COVID on school grounds, there is no such thing as eliminating the risk entirely.  Your family’s COVID safe practices will have an equally important impact on our entire community.  To lower the risk of possible transmission to students, we will be following a layered safety approach.  Please note, that changes in conditions could mean we have to adjust parts of our plan as more is learned about COVID-19 and the Delta variant. 

We recommend taking action to help limit the spread of COVID-19, even if staff members or students are not experiencing symptoms:

Wear a mask (covering mouth and nose) while in public places or if people who do not live with you must visit your home.

Practice social distancing (maintaining a distance of 6 feet apart).

Practice frequent hand washing (using soap for 20 seconds or hand sanitizer with 60% alcohol).

Follow capacity restrictions of social gatherings.

Cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue or with the inside of your elbow and immediately wash your hands.

Stay home if you are sick; you can also get tested.

Answer the phone or call back promptly, if the health department contacts you. A contact tracer may be trying to reach you with important information.

This information does not mean you should quarantine or isolate. Individuals who were or are suspected to have been in close contact with a positive case will be notified by the Washtenaw County Health Department or school officials.

Thank you for understanding that, due to medical privacy laws, we are not able to release the names of the individuals with COVID-19. We will continue to communicate changes and updates with you. With your participation, we can maintain the safest learning environment possible.