COVID-19 Policy 2021-22 School Year

 

OUTDOORS AT ALL TIMES  

• In order to maintain physical distance guidelines, we will only be inside for 

  • restroom/changing visits

  • small group activity (3-4 children with a teacher) or 

  • extreme weather, such as an electrical storm, as an entire class

• . All other times, we will be outside on the playground, farm, or in our forest spaces. 

• If we have to be inside for an extended period of time, we will not require children to wear face coverings, but will encourage and focus on healthy hygiene and cleaning of shared toys.

• Teachers will wear face coverings at their discretion. 

• If we have to be inside for an extended period of time, we are happy to send a message to parents, so if you are uncomfortable with your child being inside a closed space, you have the option to pick them up early. Please alert a teacher if you want to be notified of extended indoor time. 

 

HAND-WASHING/SANITIZING  

We will sanitize shared resources after each use (such as markers, paintbrushes, instruments). We have added outdoor hand-washing stations around the farm, and will have hand-washing breaks throughout the day. 

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LUNCHBOX  

• Please sanitize your child’s lunchbox each time you bring it to Ferntop. 

• We are not able to refrigerate any items. Please pack an ice pack. 

 

LUNCH/SNACK 

Lunch/snack will be eaten outside under our large covered pavilion, with plenty of space between children. In very cold weather, we will eat in our large greenhouse classroom

 

FACE COVERINGS  

• Face coverings will be worn by the teachers inside the classroom upon their discretion.

• Face coverings are not required.  If you would like your child to wear one, please send them in a labeled bag and communicate with the teacher.

 

DISTANCING & GROUP SIZE  

• Although we operate as one class, we will be in large outdoor places, where children have plenty of room to spread out. 

• We will be helping the children understand the importance of giving one another space, but also will not police them in play, and will use our best judgment.  

 

PRO-RATES  

• Ferntop does not prorate tuition for weather closure, early pick up,  or if your child misses school for illness or any other reason. 

• If Ferntop closes for COVID-19 reasons, our pro-rate policy is as follows: 

  • Closed for less than two weeks: no reduction in tuition

  • Closed for two weeks - four weeks (consecutive): Tuition reduced by 50 %

  • Closed for four consecutive weeks or longer: No tuition is due

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DAILY SCREENING  

Each day attending, parents will be required to check each child’s temperature at home, before bringing them to Ferntop, and will sign a form verifying temperature under 100.4 degrees and absence of listed symptoms. 

 

SICK POLICY  

To protect the health and safety of children and staff, children who are sick with any illness need to be kept home. This includes but is not limited to the following conditions and symptoms:

• Pink Eye

• Colored Discharge from nose or eyes unrelated to allergies

• Persistent, uncontrollable, disruptive cough

• Shortness of Breath 

• Difficulty Breathing

• Fever of 100.4 or greater

• Chills

• Nausea and Diarrhea

• Undetermined Rash

• Two or more of the Following Symptoms:

  • Headache

  • Sore Throat

  • Muscle Aches

  • New loss of taste or smell

Children excluded for fever, difficulty breathing or cough must stay home until they are 24 hours fever-free without the use of a fever-reducing medication.

 

ILLNESS  

In the event that your child becomes sick, we will be with them in a quiet, secluded place to rest. We will call you and ask that you come and get them. If we cannot reach you, we will call next on your emergency pick up list.

 

CLOSURE  

• We can’t rule out government-mandated closure. 

• Exposure of staff or a student to the virus may necessitate temporary closure. Depending on the situation, with guidance from the Health Dept., we will contact you about the length of closure. 

• While we follow Williamson County’s decisions for weather closures, our classes are all outdoors, and we do have to contend with the elements. If extreme weather is expected for the entire school day, closing may be necessary. Ferntop staff will evaluate and contact parents if closing is deemed to be in the best interest of your children.  We do not expect this to be a frequent occurrence. 

 

EXPOSURE TO POSITIVE CASES  

All incidences of student exposure to COVID-19 should be reported to Ferntop staff.

• Parents are expected to inform the school immediately if a student or family member living in the same household tests positive for COVID-19.

• Student exposure to positive cases outside their immediate household should be reported to Ferntop staff.

• All reports of exposure will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis with guidance from the Department of Health so Ferntop teachers can determine how long your child will need to quarantine before returning to Ferntop. 

• Parents will be notified of the presence of any positive cases in their class to encourage closer observation for any symptoms at home, however, names will be kept private.

 

CDC Guidelines on Quarantine

If your child has tested positive 

If someone in your household has tested positive