Please check back regularly for updates on TREA’s response to the Covid-19 virus
TREA’s Response to the Covid-19 Virus
Covid Updates for the 2023-24 School Year (Updated 01/21/2022)
January 2022 Updates:
As Covid-19 continues to shift and change, the CDC has similarly changed their policies. As of January 2022, TREA has adopted the following policies as new COVID-19 protocol. These align with the CDC’s isolation and quarantine guidelines, which can be found here. Please consult the more detailed CDC website and your family doctor if you have questions or concerns.
As with any other illness, these guidelines are meant to help parents and families make decisions that best protect themselves and those around them. The days of isolation, mask wearing after exposure and illness, and quarantine standards should be considered minimum standards. If you’re still feverish, have stomach problems, or generally feel ill, even if you have passed the below outlined timeframes, please stay home. Some people experience Covid as a mild illness and some are still sick two weeks later.
If you’re in close contact with someone who has a confirmed Covid case and you are not fully vaccinated or you have no had a confirmed case of Covid in the past 90 days, please stay home for a minimum of 5 days. The day of exposure is considered Day 0. So, if you’re exposed on a Saturday, Day 1 is Sunday, so Friday (Day 6) would be the first day out of isolation. The CDC recommends wearing a mask for another 5 days while monitoring yourself for symptoms.
If you test positive for Covid, the CDC states: “End isolation after 5 full days if you are fever-free for 24 hours (without the use of fever-reducing medication) and your symptoms are improving.” This is the minimum standard for returning to TREA after infection. If your symptoms are not improving, you should not return to school until they do. The CDC states that you should continue to wear a mask until Day 10 if you do choose to be in public.
June 2021 Updates:
As we prepare to enter into a new school year, the staff and teachers at TREA want to reassure all families that we will continue to maintain our increased cleaning measures, protocols for visitors, and appropriate distancing within our classrooms.
During the 2020-2021 school year, we successfully managed to only have one very minor and isolated COVID-19 incident. This, thankfully, happened right before Christmas break, very few individuals were affected, and we immediately made decisions, such as closing school a day early, to ensure that no additional families were potentially impacted. We will continue to be as transparent and as proactive as possible to ensure that we are doing our part to prevent the spread of Covid-19 and the new Delta strain.
TREA is committed to providing in-person learning. As such, we will be continuing to uphold the following policies for the 2021-2022 school year:
- Hand-washing and sanitizing in between classes, after bathrooms breaks, and before all meals. Students are encouraged to carry their own hand-sanitizer.
- Increased cleaning protocols–teachers will be wiping down doorways, door handles and knobs, tables, and chairs between class sessions.
- Masks are allowed for all students. We believe that each family needs to make the best decision for themselves and their children and will support your student’s right to choose to wear, or not wear, masks.
- Parents and non-students will not be allowed in the buildings unless a prior appointment is made. This includes running in to use the bathroom, morning drop-off and afternoon pick-up. All families are encouraged to use the carpool lanes at each campus. If families prefer to park and walk-up, they must maintain social distancing and wear a mask if they are approaching students or staff.
- We will continue to stay informed of the most recent local news, warnings, and rules and will abide by local, state, and national ordinances, as well as rental agreements.
- On some campuses the mask policies are ever evolving. These changes in policy are not initiated by TREA, however, rental agreements might require that we change our policies to uphold the individual church’s concerns. Parents will be contacted personally if any changes in mask policies are initiated by the churches with whom we share our space.
- We will request that all families complete a daily health check. You will receive reminders for this health every school morning as a text message. This will ONLY be available online this year, we will not be doing paper health-screenings.
- Students and their families must be Covid and Covid-symptom free before being on campus. This might mean that families will need to be overly cautious and aware during allergy seasons.
- For more details, please scroll down to read the extended Covid-19 Policies below.
TREA’S COVID-19 POLICIES DURING THE 2021-2022 SCHOOL YEAR
TREA staff will follow current CDC guidelines and implement the following prevention practices:
-Staff will be prepared to take the temperature of children upon entering the building each morning and throughout the day as indicated.
-Staff will thoroughly clean all common areas and classrooms upon arrival, between classes, and at the end of each school day.
Common areas include doorknobs, tables, chairs, and bathrooms.
-When possible, teachers will change rooms rather than students rotate by class.
-The hall monitor will ensure bathroom surfaces, tables, chairs, doorknobs, and playground equipment have been disinfected with sanitizing spray each hour of the day or after use.
Student/Parent Responsibilities:
-Parents should check their child(ren)’s temperature each class day prior to arriving on campus.
-Students will carry hand sanitizer (provided by parents) with their personal belongings at all times.
-Backpacks, lunch boxes and individual supplies will be kept with each student throughout the day. There will be no personal items stored in common areas.
-When possible, students will only use their own materials and will not share supplies with other students.
-Students will sanitize/wash hands before and after using shared supplies if required for specific tasks.
-Hand sanitizing stations (provided by TREA) will be located outside of every classroom door, as well as within the classroom.
-Students will be reminded to use hand sanitizer each time they enter and leave a classroom.
-Students will be reminded to wash their hands with soap for at least 20 seconds before eating, after use of the restroom, and after recess, or a group activity.
-Students must bring water bottles from home. Water fountains will be covered so that students may not drink directly out of them. The use of church water jugs or vending machines is prohibited. TREA does not provide water bottles for students except for on rare occasions. Students who repeatedly do not bring water will be given a reusable water bottle at the family’s expense.
-Students will not bring shared food items this year for special events.
TREA’s Current Mask Policy:
-We are not requiring masks to be worn by students or staff during campus hours. However, any student or teacher may choose to wear a mask if so desired.
-Mask policies may differ per campus based on rental agreements and local/church rules. We will do our best to communicate any changes as soon as possible.
Teachers will not monitor whether a student keeps a mask on their face.
Large Group Policies:
-Upon arrival at school, students will proceed directly to assembly. Classes will be spaced apart, and students will need to find their homeroom and sit only with their homeroom.
-As much as possible, students will remain with their homeroom class throughout the day.
-If allowed, per the building-use policy of each church, students will eat in their homeroom classrooms (rather than the lunch room) unless there is adequate seating and space to socially distance.
-Only one class will be allowed to play in the same playground area at a time. If students play games in small groups or centers, they will be required to wash/sanitize hands before and after.
-At the end of each school day, students will be released for parent pick-up directly from large, socially distanced, assembly. Parents will not enter the building during drop-off or pick-up. If parents approach teachers or the doors, they must be wearing a mask or stay distanced by at least 6 feet. We prefer that all families stay in their cars. If an after-school meet-up is planned (playing on the playground with another family, for example), please pick-up your child in the carpool lane, park in safe manner, and then proceed to the playground.
-During morning drop-off and afternoon pick-up, parents will remain in the carpool line and inside their cars. Students will be escorted to and from their car. We will increase the staff available to assist and expedite this process.
SICK POLICY SPECIFICATIONS
Staying Home When Appropriate:
-Each teacher and child will have their temperature taken upon arrival on campus and will not be permitted to enter the school with a fever of 100 degrees or greater. For the 2021-2022, parents are expected to check for fever or signs of illness and submit an online health screening prior to dropping their students off in the morning. Teachers will be equipped with thermometers if necessary.
-To ensure those on our campus are symptom free, students must stay home if they have been in close contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19. Close contact can include: sports teammates, church members they saw in passing, extended family members you see regularly, parental contact with a parent’s co-worker who has tested positive for Covid-19.
-Students must stay home if they or a member of their immediate family tests positive for COVID-19 or exhibits any of the following symptoms: fever, coughing, congestion, runny nose, sore throat, muscle aches, nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea.
-Staff or students that exhibit any of the symptoms listed above will be asked to go home, regardless of fever, suspected allergies or other previously diagnosed “non-contagious” condition.
Notification of Illness and Returning to School:
-The TREA director and leadership should be promptly notified of any student or student’s family that tests positive for COVID-19. It is the responsibility of the parent to notify teachers of home support needed during an illness that requires absence from school. TREA is prepared and equipped to offer extension activities or live class sessions, if desired, if a student is absent due to COVID.
-If suspected or known to have COVID-19, a student may return to school once 3 days has passed since running a fever and upon improvement of symptoms; and once it has been at least 10 days since symptoms first appeared.
-If a student (or immediate family member) tested positive for COVID-19 but has no symptoms, they may return to school once 10 days has passed and since the test was taken.