Health & Safety Protocols
Our priority is the safety and support of our students, employees, families, and community. No school community can completely guarantee a zero-risk environment for everyone, including the possible introduction or transmission of COVID-19. Nevertheless, Davidson Day has taken and will continue to take every possible precaution to prevent the spread of COVID-19, and we will follow all national, state, and local government mandates to mitigate risk. Below are the health and safety protocols you can expect.
1) Community Support
All members of our community are required to adhere to the instructions of federal, state, and local government and health authorities, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), regarding social distancing in public and other measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19. By doing so, you help ensure that we can reopen, stay open, and keep our community safe.
2) Masks
Masks are required in the school building throughout the school day, for all individuals age 2 and older. Exceptions will be made for eating, P.E. class, and faculty or staff working alone in a room or an office. Masks are also required outdoors when social distancing cannot be maintained, such as during arrival and dismissal.
Parents are responsible for providing masks for their children and sending their child to school with two clean masks every day. In the event that a student needs a mask, Davidson Day will provide one upon arrival at school.
Based on guidance from health authorities, neck gaiters, bandanas, clear plastic face shields alone, and masks with exhalation vents or valves are not acceptable masks. All masks must be cloth and either tie behind the head or loop behind the ears and cover both the nose and the mouth. Click HERE to view our mask guidelines.
3) Daily health screening
All students and employees will complete an at-home temperature check and a health screening form via the PikMyKid app each morning before they come to campus. The app will list questions related to symptoms and possible exposure. Certain responses will initiate instructions for the person to stay home for the day. Click HERE for PikMyKid instructions.
4) Daily temperature checks
Temperatures will be taken by infrared, non-contact thermometers each morning when students arrive on campus. Temperature checks may also be taken during the day if deemed necessary by the school nurse. If your child presents with a temperature that is higher than 100° F, a parent or designated emergency contact will be called to pick up your child and bring him/her home.
5) Hand hygiene
The school has installed touchless soap and paper towel dispensers as well as touchless faucets in each restroom. All students and employees will be required to wash hands with soap and water frequently or use hand sanitizer. All classrooms will have hand sanitizer for easy access, and hand sanitizer stations will be available at entrances, exits, and high traffic areas.
6) Social distancing
One of the key components to limit COVID-19 spread is adherence to 6 ft. social distancing. With our low student-to-faculty ratio, Davidson Day is able to maintain this in each classroom and learning space by reconfiguring desks and other furniture to fit each student’s desk or seat 6 ft. from others. In several middle and upper school classrooms with tables, clear safety partitions will be added to separate students. Please explain to younger children that their classrooms will look a bit different this year, in order to keep everyone healthy.
7) Stay home if sick
Please use the symptom checklist within the screening app each morning of school to gauge your child’s health. If your child exhibits even just one symptom on that checklist, you are expected to keep him/her home from school.
8) Return to school after being sick (no known COVID-19 exposure)
Based on guidelines published by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NC DHHS), a person (student or employee) can return to school if:
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He/she receives confirmation of an alternative diagnosis from a health care provider that would explain COVID-19-like symptoms, once there is no fever without the use of fever-reducing medicines for 24 hours, and once he/she has felt well for 24 hours (i.e. no COVID-19-like symptoms);
OR -
He/she has had a negative COVID-19 test, once there is no fever without the use of fever-reducing medicines for 24 hours, and once he/she has felt well for 24 hours (i.e. no COVID-19-like symptoms);
OR -
It has been at least 10 days since the individual first had symptoms, once there is no fever without the use of fever-reducing medicines for 24 hours, and once he/she has felt well for 24 hours (i.e. no COVID-19-like symptoms).
While a student is off-campus they will be able to continue classes virtually (see “Individual Virtual Attendance”).
9) Return to school after testing positive for COVID-19
If a person has been diagnosed with COVID-19, he/she will be required to notify the school nurse as soon as possible. Based on guidelines published by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NC DHHS):
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Symptomatic: If a person has symptoms, he/she must remain out of school for at least 10 days since he/she first had symptoms, provided there is no fever without the use of fever-reducing medicines for 24 hours and he/she has felt well for 24 hours (i.e. no COVID-19-like symptoms).
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Asymptomatic: If a person has no symptoms, he/she must remain out of school for at least 10 days after the date of his/her positive COVID-19 diagnostic test, assuming they have not subsequently developed symptoms since their positive test.
While a student is off-campus they will be able to continue classes virtually (see “Individual Virtual Attendance”).
10) Return to school after close contact with someone diagnosed with COVID-19
Based on guidelines published by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NC DHHS), if a person has been determined to have been in close contact* with someone diagnosed with COVID-19, he/she must remain out of school for 14 days since the last date of exposure. He/she must complete the full 14 days of quarantine, even if he/she tests negative.
*The CDC defines close contact as anyone who was within 6 feet of an infected person for at least 15 minutes starting from 48 hours before the person began feeling sick until the time the patient was isolated.
While a student is off-campus they will be able to continue classes virtually (see “Individual Virtual Attendance”).
11) Observation room
A person who develops symptoms during the school day will immediately visit the school nurse. We have designated two different clinic spaces—one for isolation of persons with COVID-19-like symptoms and one for daily health operations.
12) Notification Process
If a student exhibits at least one symptom on the daily screening test, during the school day, the parent or designated emergency contact will be called by the School Nurse to pick up and take the student home. The School Nurse will keep track of whether additional students in the cohort exhibit at least one symptom or if symptoms progress.
If a student or family member has been exposed to someone diagnosed with COVID-19 or has a positive COVID-19 test, the parent must call the School Nurse. The school will then contact the Mecklenburg Department of Health, who will advise on contact tracing. Close contacts are required to quarantine for 14 days.
The administrative team will promptly notify all families, faculty, and staff about the exposure or positive test, while preserving the privacy of the student/family involved.
If a student or family member has been exposed to someone diagnosed with COVID-19 or has a positive COVID-19 test, the parent must call the School Nurse. The school will then contact the Mecklenburg Department of Health, who will advise on contact tracing. Close contacts are required to quarantine for 14 days.
The administrative team will promptly notify all families, faculty, and staff about the exposure or positive test, while preserving the privacy of the student/family involved.
13) Cohorts
Students will remain in cohorts (consistent groups which are small in number and as static as possible) to minimize crossover and facilitate contact tracing. Students will have assigned seats and move to different classrooms as infrequently as possible.
14) Enhanced cleaning
Davidson Day has engaged with our cleaning contractor to provide staffing who will be focused on cleaning and disinfecting high-touch areas (such as doorknobs, light switches, and handrails) continuously throughout the school day. We will be utilizing a cleaning product that is an EPA-registered, broad-spectrum botanical disinfectant that is safe for everyday use. Following each nightly cleaning, an electrostatic sprayer will be used to disinfect high-touch areas throughout the facility.
15) Ventilation
Over the summer, our Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) contractors performed services to balance our building's intake and exhaust systems to be slightly positive so that we are bringing in more outside air. We have adjusted the time schedule for the system to run 2 hours before and after occupied times to allow the building to be flushed. We have also placed an order for MERV-13 air filters which will be installed as soon as they are received.
16) Visitor guidelines
We will be restricting all non-essential visitors from campus, and all approved visitors, including parents, must have an appointment. All visitors to campus, including parents, will be screened and have their temperatures taken. Visitors must wear a face covering and remain socially distanced from other people while on campus.
17) Medical history & emergency contacts
All students are required to have the Medical History form and Emergency Contacts form completed online through Patriot Connect and updated annually. In the event that your child presents with a fever or becomes ill during the school day, a parent or designated emergency contact will be called to pick up your child and bring him/her home. All medical information and emergency contacts in Patriot Connect must be updated no later than August 14, 2020.
Davidson Day School
Davidson Day School is an independent private school for students 2 years old through 12th grade in the Lake Norman region of Charlotte.
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