COVID-19 PREVENTION PROGRAM

for

Monty’s Montessori Academy of Calimesa

A WASC-Accredited School

 Monty’s Montessori Academy of Calimesa has been open under our Infant and Preschool licenses since Monday, May 4.  During that time, we have been able to establish patterns and protocols that have helped to insure the safety of our students, families, and staff members.  Although the prevention of COVID-19 spread cannot be guaranteed, we are implementing many safety measures.  Teachers and staff have been trained in pandemic protocols, and we continue to instruct and supervise our personnel in prevention and sanitation.

 Cleaning and Disinfection

• Monty’s Montessori Academy of Calimesa will ensure adequate disinfecting supplies   for proper cleaning procedures.

• All faculty and staff will be trained on how to follow protocol to use disinfectants and sanitizers properly.

• The school will have a supply of disinfectant wipes and hand sanitizers.  Parents will be asked to donate tissues, disinfectant wipes, and hand sanitizers.  In addition, the academy will apply for any PPE grants or donations available.

• Teachers and staff will clean and/or disinfect counters, desks, tables, toilets, sinks, changing tables, and door handles periodically throughout the school day.

• If the facilities manager is absent, teacher aides and office staff will be used to ensure that the cleaning continues on schedule.

• Standing hand sanitizer dispensers, contactless thermometers, and disinfectant wipes are in each classroom and in the lobby.  In addition, a contactless hand sanitizer is in the courtyard leading to the two elementary classroom portables, and every student and adult is asked to use it upon entry.

• Air conditioners will be maintained, with filters and filtration systems replaced and cleaned to ensure optimal air quality.

• Students will be asked to bring their own water bottles to minimize the sharing of water pitchers and filtered water containers.

• Monty’s Montessori Academy of Calimesa will follow disinfection guidelines developed by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) for school campuses, including classrooms, work spaces, outdoor spaces, and play areas.

• In a space where a COVID case has been identified, our disinfecting fogging vendor first will spray the area.  Our facilities manager then will clean the space as well.  Our facilities manager and staff will continue to be trained on proper cleaning and disinfection of a COVID-19 infected area.

• As much as possible, increased outdoor air circulation will be used by opening windows and doors when safe and practical.

• Air purifiers, Ultra-Violet sanitation lamps, and disinfecting fogging equipment have been purchased for every area of the school.

Drop-Off and Pick-Up Procedures

• To minimize contact between students, families, and staff not in the same stable group, morning drop-off will occur between 7:00 to 8:25 a.m.  This will reduce school foot traffic into the courtyard, where the elementary portables are located, and will encourage social distancing.

• Students and adults will enter the courtyard through the electronically-locked gate.  Upon entrance, everyone is requested to clean their hands with the contactless hand sanitizer station positioned there.

• Upon arrival at the classroom, a student will be checked with a contactless thermometer and given a visual wellness check.  If a student has a temperature of 100.4 degrees or higher, s/he will be asked to wait with their parent outside of the classroom for five minutes.  A second temperature check will be administered.  If the student does not have a fever, s/he will be admitted to the classroom and instructed to wash his/her hands immediately.  If the student’s temperature still is 100.4 degrees or higher, s/he will be sent home with the parent or guardian and instructed to remain home for at least 72 hours, with 24 of those hours being without fever and the use of fever-reducing medication.

• Upon arrival at work, all staff members must take their temperatures, record them, and immediately hand sanitize.  If a staff member has a temperature of 100.4 or above, s/he will wait five minutes outside the building, then take his/her temperature again.  If the reading is less than 100.4, s/he may stay and work.  If his/her temperature is 100.4 or above, s/he may not work and must leave campus immediately.

• Visual wellness checks of all students, teachers, and staff will continue throughout the day.  A temperature check may be performed at any time throughout the day for any student, teacher, or staff member.  Any teacher or staff member with a registered temperature of 100.4 degrees or greater, a cough, or shortness of breath will be sent home immediately.  Any student with a registered temperature of 100.4 degrees or higher, a cough, shortness of breath, or any other COVID-19 symptom will be sent to the isolation bathroom until parents are called.  A staff person will remain outside of the open bathroom door (unless the child needs privacy for toileting), at least six feet away from the potentially-infected student, to watch over him/her.  Parents/guardians must ensure one of the persons on the emergency contact list will be available to pick up the child as soon as possible.

Dismissal

• Dismissal can occur any time beginning at 3:00 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. to ensure the staggering of parent/guardian pick-ups.

• After care is provided after 3:30 p.m.  Kindergarten and First Grade Students shall remain in their stable group with their after care teacher in their classroom, the Desert Room and outside.  Second Graders through Six Graders shall remain in their stable group with their after care teacher in their classroom, the Mountain Room and outside.  Students shall maintain a distance of six or more feet apart.  The two elementary stable groups shall not mix in the classroom or on campus.

Learning Environment/Small Stable Groups

• Stable groups will be limited to single classrooms with only the students from the grade levels served within them.

• Each classroom will maximize space both the teacher and student seating.  Desks will be arranged six feet apart and will minimize face-to-face contact between students in Kindergarten through Grade 6.

• Teacher desks shall be six feet away from student desks.

• All students will be required to have their own supplies to avoid cross contamination between students and teachers.  Student belongings will be separated in individually-labeled containers, cubbies, and personal desks.  Students will take home items needing to be cleaned.

• Students, teachers, and aides shall remain with their own class at all times.

• Upon entering the classroom, both students and instructors shall wash or sanitize their hands.

• The classrooms will be cleaned, and the Ultra-Violet lamps used to sanitize the empty rooms, every day.

• On Sundays the fogging disinfectant crew sanitizes all classrooms, bathrooms, hallways, the foyer, the auditorium, the offices, and the lobby.

Recess and Lunch

• Students will eat lunch and have outdoor time with their stable groups.  Outdoor times will be staggered, and recess locations will be kept separate, in order to ensure social distancing.

• Students will eat lunch in their classrooms or outside on picnic tables with their own stable groups.

• Teachers and aides supervising recess will ensure physical distancing.  Play will be limited to activities that do not necessitate physical contact.

• Students and teachers will wash their hands or hand sanitize when entering the classroom after lunch or recess outdoors.

Staff and Visitor Environment

• Staff and visitors will maintain a minimum of six feet of social distancing in the lobby or in offices.  All staff does self temperature checks and recording upon arrival, plus hand washing or sanitation.  Any parent or repair person follows the same protocol and maintains six feet of social distancing.

• Lobby and foyer surface areas are disinfected throughout the day as used.

• The staff lounge is open only for employee personal belongings, which are kept in separated cubbies.

• Personnel are encouraged to eat lunch at the tables in the foyer, which has six doors to open for increased air circulation and room for social distancing.  Many staff members are eating lunch and taking breaks in their personal cars for added separation.

• Staff bathrooms are supplied with spray disinfectant to sanitize any potentially-contaminated surfaces.

• Staff members have been supplied with face shields, cloth masks, disposable masks, personal and classroom hand sanitizer, and Vitamin C drops.

Health and Safety Procedures

The health and safety of our students, families, and staff are a priority at Monty’s Montessori Academy of Calimesa.  All staff, students, parents/guardians, and visitors are expected to adhere to the following guidelines and safety procedures.

Face Coverings

• All staff and teachers will wear appropriate face coverings per California Department of Public Health (CDPH) guidelines.  All staff have been given face shields, face coverings, and disposable masks, and will continue to be supplied.

• Face coverings must be used at all times by staff and students while on campus, indoors or outdoors.  In the event a mask is misplaced or dirtied, a teacher will issue a disposable mask.  The only mask wearing exception would be if a student had a medical condition that precludes him/her from wearing a mask.  Such a condition would need to be communicated to our academy office by a physician’s note.  If a student refuses to wear a face covering, s/he would be excluded from on-campus instruction unless medically exempt.

• Parents are asked to provide clean cloth masks for their children to wear to school daily.

• Monty’s Montessori Academy of Calimesa will adhere to required CDPH guidelines and mandates referring to face coverings.

Health Screenings for Staff, Students, and Visitors

Individuals coming to Monty’s Montessori Academy of Calimesa are expected to adhere to the following health screening procedures:

• Complete a self-screening before leaving home, checking for COVID-19 symptoms and elevated temperatures.

• Do a temperature screening upon entering the campus, record it, and hand wash or sanitize upon entering the classroom or office

• Remain home if experiencing symptoms, have tested positive for COVID-19 within the last 10 days, and/or have been exposed to any one experiencing COVID-19 symptoms

Please also be advised:

• All students, staff, and visitors are expected to check for symptoms of sickness in the morning at home before arrive onto the academy campus.  If possible, all students, staff, and visitors are encouraged to take their temperatures before leaving home.  Students, staff, and visitors who are sick, or who recently have been in contact with someone exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms (cough, fever, chills, muscle pain, shortness or breath or difficulty breathing, uncharacteristic fatigue, sore throat, muscle or body aches, loss of taste or smell, runny nose, nasal congestion, nausea or vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, rash, or headache) shall remain home.

• Parents should call the academy office to report any symptoms a student or family member is experiencing.  Teachers and staff will contact the head of school and their immediate supervisor to report absenteeism.  A substitute teacher will be called when necessary to cover absent instructors.

• All teachers and staff shall follow academy guidelines for reporting illness and requesting sick leave.

• Students, staff, and visitors who exhibit any COVID-19 symptoms while on campus will be sent home immediately.  A parent or emergency contact of an ill student needs to arrive within 30 minutes of a call to take home the sick child.

• Students, teachers, or staff who have a travel history over the course of the last 10 days to an area identified by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) as Level 3 Travel Health Notice will be excluded from campus.

• Students, teachers, and staff who have been in close contact with someone diagnosed with COVID-19 must be excluded from school from 10 days from the date of their last exposure.

• Sick students, teachers, and staff will not return to campus until they have met CDC criteria to discontinue home isolation, which includes 24 hours without fever or the use of fever-reducing medication, and a minimum of 10 days since their last positive test.  Any positive COVID-19 case will be reported to the Riverside County Public Health Department.  In addition, teachers, staff, and student families will be informed of positive COVID-19 tests immediately.

Healthy Hygiene Practices

Healthy hygiene practices will be reinforced among all students, teachers, and staff.

• Students, teachers, and staff will be trained in best practices of hand washing and

• Signs will be posted on walls to help curb the spread of COVID-19 by promoting proper hand washing, social distancing, and the safe and proper care and removal of face coverings.

• Students will be shown how to use tissues to wipe their noses and how to cough or sneeze inside a tissue or into their elbow.

• Students, teachers, and staff will be reminded, through posted signs and announcements, to wash their hands before and after eating, after coughing or sneezing, after being outdoors, and before and after using the restroom.

• Students, teachers, and staff members will be reminded to wash their hands for 20 seconds with soap, rubbing vigorously after application, and using paper towels to dry hands thoroughly.

• Teachers and staff will model and practice hand washing, teaching students how to do it properly as well.

• All teachers and staff members will use face coverings and keep a minimum of six feet of social distancing.

• Students, teachers, and staff will be required to use hand sanitizer when entering and leaving a classroom.

• The school community will be provided a handout that indicates the COVID-19 symptoms.

Identification and Tracing of Contacts

• School administration will communicate with the Riverside County Department of Public Health about any reported cases of COVID-19.  We will ensure that all communication is handled according to HIPAA and FERPA regulations.

• The designated contact for the local health department is Dr. Lisa Gilfillan, Head of School, (562) 650-6416, lisa@isom.org.

• A list of exposed students and staff will be created and submitted to the Riverside County Department of Public Health.  We also will notify our community about possible exposure through our Sandbox Parent Portal email system and text messaging.

• Health screenings and temperature checks will be recorded by teachers and staff.  Incidents of possible exposure to COVID-19 will be documented.  The Riverside County Department of Public Health, staff, and student families will be contacted immediately upon a report of any positive case of COVID-19.  As required under FERPA and state law, we will maintain confidentiality related to the privacy of educational records.

• Teachers, staff, and students will not be penalized for absenteeism or missing class due to having symptoms of COVID-19, or to self-quarantining because of exposure to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19.

• The academy will disinfect the space where a COVID case has been identified by using disinfectants, Ultra Violet lamps, and disinfecting fogging.  In addition, air purifiers will be turned on after the cleaning has taken place.

Monty’s Montessori Academy of Calimesa COVID-19 Response Plan

Symptom:  COVID-19 Symptoms (fever, cough, loss of taste or smell, difficulty breathing)

 Action:

Send Home

Recommend Testing

School/Classroom Remains Open

Communication:  Not Needed 

Symptom:  Close Contact with a Confirmed COVID-19 Case (Close Contact:  a person who is less than 6 feet away from a case for more than 15 minutes)

Action:

Send Home Exposed Student/Quarantine for 10 days from Last Exposure

Recommend Testing (will not shorten 10-day quarantine)

Communication:  School Community Notification of a Known Contact

Symptom:  Confirmed COVID-19 Case Infection

Action: 

Notify the Local Public Health Department

Isolate Case/Exclude from School for 10 days from Last Positive Test Date

Identify Close Contacts/Quarantine and Exclude Exposed Contacts

(Likely Entire Stable Group) for 10 Days After the Last Date the Case Was Present at School While Infectious

Recommend Testing of Contacts, Prioritizing Symptomatic Contacts (Will Not Shorten 10-Day Quarantine)

Disinfection and Cleaning of Classroom and Primary Spaces Where Case

Spent Significant Time

School Remains Open.

 Communication:  School Community Notification of a Known Case

 Symptom:  Improvement of Symptoms

 May Return to School 24 Hours After Symptoms Resolve Without the Use of Medication School/Classroom Remain Open

 Communication:  School Community Notification If Prior Awareness of Testing

THIS PLAN IS BASED ON THE LATEST CDC REQUIREMENTS.

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