MBCA January 2021 View Book Update

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UPDATED VERSION FOR JANUARY 2021

MT. BETHEL CHRISTIAN ACADEMY Be Love(d). Belong. Become.

PLANS FOR THE 2020-2021 SCHOOL YEAR

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Updated Protocols Quarantine Guidelines The CDC and Department of Health have updated the quarantine guidelines to reduce the amount of time a student or faculty member needs to be out of school in the event of exposure to someone who has tested positive for COVID19. Please review the new guidelines and our school-specific protocols for quarantining and returning to school. Even though this document references students, the protocols apply to our faculty and staff as well.

If a student is exposed to someone with COVID-19 and is asked to quarantine, please email the appropriate parties - Division Head (Kelly - LS, Shaver - MS, or Montague - US) and the Nurse with all information you have, including: when the last exposure was, how long your child was exposed to the positive person and under what circumstances, and if you have been notified to quarantine. The more information we have, the better we can determine the appropriate protocol! When contacting the School Nurse, please email nurse@mtbethelchristian.org.

Students determined to be a close contact and needing to quarantine must remain home for a period of at least 7 days from their last exposure to the positive person. On or after day 6, the student is required to take a PCR test and provide a copy of the negative result to the Nurse and appropriate Division Head in order to return to school after day 7. Our Healthcare Task Force believes, based on available research, that the PCR type of test is the most reliable test available for detecting active infections, which is why it must be a PCR test result that is submitted. The results from these tests are generally able to be returned within 24-48 hours. This new process cuts the quarantine period in half and ensures students returning to campus are healthy!

Viral Solutions is a testing center that offers a "rapid" PCR test with a 24-48 hour reporting window. They have multiple locations, including East Cobb and Sandy Springs; visit viralsolutionsga.com for more information. You may use any testing facility you like, as long as the report indicates a PCR test was performed at least 6 days after the last known exposure to the positive person. For those who do not want to test for whatever reason, you have the option to remain in the 14 day quarantine.

These guidelines apply to anyone on campus who is notified they have been a close contact to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, regardless of where that exposure occurred. If you are notified that your student has been deemed a close contact at an extracurricular activity or if someone in your household tests positive, you MUST report that exposure to the appropriate Division Head and School Nurse and follow these guidelines in order to help us track which students need to be in ALP and for what time period. A close contact is defined as someone who has been within 6 feet of someone who has tested positive for a cumulative 15 minutes, with or without a face covering.

Should the PCR test come back indicating your student is positive for COVID-19, please follow the guidelines on the following page.

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Updated Protocols Positive Test Results One thing COVID-19 has shown us is that there are many different policies and procedures based on very individual circumstances, and things change often! Each individual case of exposure is different and has individual circumstances, so please email our Nurse at nurse@mtbethelchristian.org and your Division Head (Kelly - LS, Shaver - MS, Montague - US) if you, your child, or anyone in your household has tested positive for COVID-19.

What should I do if my child or a member of my household tests positive for COVID19?

Email the Division Head and School Nurse, so we can determine your student's protocol.

If it's the student who tests positive and is ASYMPTOMATIC at the time of the test, he/she must remain home for 10 days. Additionally, he/she must be fever free for 48 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication before returning to school. Please email a copy of the test results to nurse@mtbethelchristian.org.

If it's the student who tests positive and is SYMPTOMATIC, he/she must remain home for 10 days. Additionally, he/she must be fever free for 48 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication before returning to school. Please email a copy of the test results to nurse@mtbethelchristian.org.

Family members living in the same household with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 must quarantine for at least 7 days, beginning from the date of the most recent contact, in conjunction with the guidelines on the previous page. To help reduce the number of days your student must miss, please isolate the person suspected or tested positive as soon as possible, so the date of most recent contact is as early as possible. If isolating from the positive person is not possible, the quarantine period is extended.

If you do not have a confirmed positive case in the household, but someone in the family has been deemed a close contact to a person who has tested positive, only the person directly exposed must quarantine. If you think of it as a family tree...you have the positive person, then the "exposed" person (first cousin), and then the second cousins (the rest of the family).

So, if Abby is exposed to a friend in ballet class who tests positive, Abby has to stay home for 7 days and submit her negative PCR test result, as she would be considered a first cousin since she had direct exposure and was defined as a close contact. Abby's brother, Benjamin, does not have to quarantine since he was not directly around the positive person in ballet class and would be classified as a second cousin.

If you have traveled or been a part of large group gatherings over this extended Christmas break, especially if on or after December 25, please have your child(ren) tested prior to returning to campus in January. Testing prior to January 2 will provide the most up to date information possible for us to start the new year as safely as possible! As mentioned previously, we have no plans to alter the calendar for the second semester at this time.

We will continue to monitor the community transmission rates within our school and within the surrounding areas in order to keep us all safe and healthy. Our number one goal is to complete our second semester in person and with as much success as we did the first semester. We appreciate God's blessings for our school and look forward to finishing this year together!

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ALP and Safety Protocols The ALP (Adaptive Learning Plan) is a COVID-only virtual learning platform for those students who must quarantine, either because they have been exposed to or tested positive for COVID-19.

Students who are ill with something besides COVID or need to miss school for other reasons will not enroll in the ALP. They will have make-up work waiting for them upon their return and should contact the teachers for instruction and clarification on missed assessment expectations.

Based on our experiences from the first semester, coupled with feedback from other independent schools, we have made some modifications to the ALP in our younger grades that will better serve the needs of our students.

Students in grades 3-12 will continue to use their school issued laptops to attend school virtually during the school day for their quarantine period.

Students in grades JK-2 will be contacted by the homeroom teacher with instructions for how to pick up their academic work and their school issued iPads. Because of the work involved in getting these materials prepared and sent home, students will take "day one" off, as teachers coordinate with parents to collect the work. We will not have students in these grades video conferencing into class during the quarantine period, as they are not quite independent enough at this age to be online all day. Instead, the teachers will set up a time to meet with your child to review the work, answer questions, and/or assess them.

On our end, the faculty will closely monitor entrance and exit dates from the ALP in order to ensure students are completing assignments and not falling behind. In order to do that effectively, you must email the appropriate Division Head, as defined on page 2, to ensure your child is entered into the ALP. In turn, the administrators will work with the teachers to ensure virtual learning goes as smoothly as possible!

All of our other safety protocols will remain in place for at least the next 6-8 weeks, including mandatory face coverings, social distancing, the healthcare screening app, surface cleaning, and limited group gatherings. We ended the first semester with a total of 10 positive cases across both campuses from August to December. Our safety protocols, coupled with your diligence, are working to keep our students, families, and faculty healthy and on campus! At this time, Governor Kemp has not altered his Executive Order for large gatherings without masks, so students on the Main Campus will continue to eat lunch in their classrooms through at least February. We will continue to monitor our sources and evaluate our protocols throughout this next semester and will keep you updated as to any changes.

Thank you for your continued support and patience as we navigate these unusual circumstances.

For as much as COVID-19 has altered, we feel our students are in as "normal" an environment as we can safely provide, and they are moving forward with their academic, social, and spiritual growth. The same cannot be said for all schools, and we feel incredibly blessed to be on campus with our students. As re-enrollment approaches, please contact the Admission department or your Division Head with any questions.

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Situational Q&A Sometimes it is helpful to have scenarios written out to help you determine the best course of action, so we have provided some situational Q&As below. That said, if you have any reason to suspect COVID-19, please continue to act out of an abundance of caution and follow the protocols listed on the previous pages. Our community has been extremely lucky in containing the virus to this point, and that is due to the diligence and extra precautions you have taken as parents and members of our MBCA family!

If my child has to quarantine because of exposure outside of school, do I still need to contact the nurse and Division Head?

Yes, if your child has to quarantine, you must notify both the nurse and appropriate Division Head to ensure your child is enrolled in the ALP. How much longer will MBCA require mandatory face coverings in school?

We look forward in 6-8 week increments, and at present, we will be wearing them through at least the end of February. We've seen what has happened in other schools where face coverings are not mandatory, and based on our own data from within this community, it's evident that they are helping keep our students and faculty safe. There are arguments on both sides of the mask issue, and we appreciate that. However, based on the current recommendations and our own experience, we will continue to mandate face coverings for now. Thank you for your support, even if you don't quite agree. The health and safety of our families and staff comes first!

What if my child has a fever of 100.4 or more or is showing other COVID-related symptoms like shortness of breath or loss of taste/smell?

Please consult your physician. If the symptoms are attributed to something like strep throat or an ear infection, and the child is prescribed antibiotics, the child may return to school when he/she is feeling better and has been fever free for at least 48 hours without the aid of fever-reducing medication. Please have a note from the doctor that confirms the child is safe to attend school and scan/submit it to nurse@mtbethelchristian.org. If the doctor cannot confirm there is a non-COVID related reason for the fever, or you do not want to go to the doctor or be tested, you have two choices. The child can either voluntarily quarantine for 14 days or take a PCR test after 6 days, and assuming it is negative, return to school.

What if my child has other symptoms not related to COVID (stomach issues, sore throat, congestion)?

We know students will get illnesses unrelated to COVID, so please consult with your physician to confirm the symptoms you are seeing are not COVID related, and your student may return when he/she feels better. Students must be fever free for 48 hours before returning to school. We urge you to continue to err on the side of caution, as that is keeping us all healthy and in-person!

If I know my child has been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID, do I have to get him/her tested?

If you know your child has been a close contact to someone positive, he/she must quarantine for at least 7 days. You can choose to keep the child home for a 14 day quarantine period or have the child take a PCR test on or after day 6 to return to school after day 7.

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