HEALTH AND WELLNESS A Community of Cohorts to Limit Exposure
Exposure Protocol Explained
To minimize the number of individuals that any student has contact with each day, we will divide the school into smaller cohorts. We will do all we can to have students in each cohort interact only with others in that cohort each day that they are at school. Each cohort will stay in specific areas of the school building. All inside classes and activities for a cohort will occur in one specified area (as much as possible), including specials, snacks, lunch, and social time. Cross-cohort interactions with teachers and other adults will also be kept to a minimum. If there is a positive case in one cohort, however, that cohort (directly exposed) will move to Distance Learning for two weeks to quarantine. Dividing the school into cohorts allows for the possibility for one cohort to go into quarantine while the rest of the school continues On-Campus Learning.
Example 1: Meet siblings Sara and David Jones and Jane and John Smith. David Jones and Jane Smith are in the Grade 6 cohort. David Jones tests positive for COVID-19.
The graphic on right illustrates how an infection within a cohort will be managed and includes examples that address cross-divisional families and faculty. While Far Hills will follow the Department of Health guidelines, this model aligns with recommendations from the CDC and international health-care communities. Primary exposure will require that the full cohort transition to Distance Learning. Primary exposure is defined as any individual who has had close contact, 6 feet or less, with the infected individual. Secondary exposure describes all others who have entered the school but have not had close contact with the infected individual. 4 | fhcds.org
The Grade 6 cohort, including all faculty and cross-over faculty, moves to Distance Learning (primary exposure.) Sara Jones also moves to Distance Learning (primary exposure.) John Smith (secondary exposure) and all other cohorts remain on campus.
