Due to our students’ ages at LECC, they are not eligible for modified quarantine, and likely, after an exposure, entire classes will need to be quarantined. The document below from the Department of Public Health provides additional guidelines.
Recommendations for Safe Operation of and Quarantine Requirements in Childcare Settings
Students and Staff
Our ultimate goal is to keep our students and staff safe and in healthy learning environments. Therefore, we will implement COVID-19 mitigation strategies across Ladue Schools to ensure a safe learning environment for students and staff.
Mitigating Strategies
As reported by the CDC, vaccines have proven to be quite effective but there isn’t one specific measure that eliminates the risk of transmitting COVID-19 and/or its variants. This is why health experts recommend a layered approach – one that incorporates the use of vaccines, masks, social distancing, the use of outdoor spaces, and sanitization.
The CDC, St. Louis County Department of Public Health, American Academy of Pediatrics, and our Medical Task Force Team all indicate wearing face masks is the best mitigating strategy for reducing the spread of the COVID-19 and/or its variants until more individuals are vaccinated. In fact, 450 local doctors wrote a letter to parents with their recommendations on how to return to school and keep our children safe. This letter has already been shared with parents through district communications.
Masking is in effect across Ladue Schools
- Although 85% of our staff is fully vaccinated, all adults and children must wear masks while indoors or on our school buses, regardless of an individual’s vaccination status. It is recommended that masks also be worn outdoors when large groups are present or when the situation is such that people are in close proximity for 15 minutes or longer.
- Masks will be provided for all students and staff when needed.
- Last year, masking was a key piece of the COVID-19 mitigation protocols that enabled in-person school to be successful.
- We will encourage outside learning opportunities and mask breaks.
- We will continue to receive updates on the latest data available to monitor the level of community transmission; we will make changes as necessary.
- We will be monitoring and discussing the mask mandate and making adjustments as the health of our region improves.
- If there is a medical reason your child(ren) cannot wear a face covering, you will need to contact the building nurse for additional guidance.
Student Health Screening
Parents will be asked to screen their child(ren) for various symptoms related to coronavirus and/or its variants and take their temperature(s) daily. Additional information will be shared about the process and expectations for these screenings as the start of the school year approaches.
After screening and daily temperature check, if your child(ren) exhibits any of the symptoms below, do not send your child(ren) to school and contact their physician and the district’s lead nurse, Ann Body, (annbody@ladueschools.net) or (314) 983-5560 for additional guidance.
✔ A fever 99.9 or higher, or a sense of having a fever.
✔ A cough that cannot be attributed to another health condition.
✔ Shortness of breath that cannot be attributed to another health condition.
✔ The recent loss of any sense of smell or taste.
✔ Muscle aches or pains that cannot be attributed to another health condition or that may have been caused by a specific activity (such as physical exercise).
✔ A sore throat that cannot be attributed to another health condition.
✔ Chills or repeated shaking with chills.
✔ A headache that cannot be attributed to another health condition.
Immediately contact Ann Body (annbody@ladueschools.net) or (314) 983-5560, as well as their physician for additional guidance if any of the following scenarios apply to your child(ren):
✔ Has your child taken any fever-reducing medication such as Tylenol or Advil in the last 24 hours?
✔ An immediate member in your household has a suspected or confirmed case of COVID-19 or demonstrated any of the symptoms.
✔ Your child(ren) has had any close contact with a person that has a suspected or confirmed case of COVID-19 or demonstrated any of the symptoms.
✔ Your child(ren) has tested positive for COVID-19.
✔ Your child(ren) is awaiting test results for COVID-19.
✔ Your child(ren) has traveled inside or outside of the United States by air, bus, train, or cruise ship in the past 14 days.
Staff
If a staff member is exhibiting any symptoms, they will be required to stay at home and follow up with their physician and the district’s lead nurse.
Physical Distancing, Quarantining & Isolating
Social distancing protocols (3 feet) for all building spaces have been developed, including the use of floor decals to indicate appropriate distances.
- We utilized capacity studies conducted by an architectural firm to establish social distancing protocols as outlined by the American Academy of Pediatrics.
- Teachers are encouraged to use outdoor spaces for instruction as appropriate.
- Following this link will provide additional information regarding protocol for identifying cases.
Facility Enhancements
- The district has purchased 40 mobile handwashing stations which are dispersed throughout our early childhood center and K-8 schools to help reduce congestion around the restrooms and allow opportunities for our students to wash their hands more frequently.
- Plexiglass barriers have been placed in areas where frequent face-to-face interaction occurs. We will have 50 permanently-placed units and 50 portable units which can be moved as needs change.
- There are 41 freestanding portable hand sanitizing stations placed at key locations throughout the district.
- Building HVAC rates have been increased to introduce additional outside air for improved dilution ventilation.
- HVAC filter changeout and maintenance intervals have been increased to provide better protection and filtering of airborne contaminants.
Cleaning & Disinfecting
The district will continue to purchase custodial supplies (disinfectant, hand soap, etc.) to ensure continuity with high-demand supplies.
There have been enhanced coordination efforts with our contracted cleaning service to provide additional day custodians at early childhood through fifth grade to ensure we are meeting the need for additional sanitizing and cleaning.
Grades 6 through 12 have multiple custodians on-site and will adjust to the required protocols.
Procedures are in place to optimize the disinfecting and cleaning protocol in classrooms to provide additional support throughout the day, specifically focusing on high-touch surfaces.
In addition to normal cleaning standards, custodial staff will disinfect all commonly-touched surfaces and use electrostatic machines to conduct a deep cleaning and disinfecting of spaces from COVID-19 or flu-like germs.
Food Services
Chartwells, the district’s food service provider, is properly prepared to provide food for students in our district.
All food and nutrition staff are thoroughly trained in food safety.
Parents are asked to complete a medical form if their child(ren) has a food allergy. To obtain a medical form, please contact your school nurse.
Meal substitutions, seating accommodations, and classroom food restrictions will be made for students with food allergies/intolerances, based on medical forms on file.
Chartwells posts monthly menus on each school’s website under the For Parents section then Meals to allow parents to see in advance what is being served for the month. If there is an allergy issue to be addressed, please contact your school nurse.
Water Fountains
Touchless bottle-filling water fountains will remain available for use by students and staff, with increased cleaning and disinfecting measures in place.
Water fountains are now approved for use in accordance with CDC guidance.
Handwashing
Building principals will continue to work with their staff to facilitate:
✔ Schedules to allow for increased handwashing opportunities.
✔ The ideal placement of the 40 handwashing stations to ensure easy access for our students and staff to wash hands regularly.
Age-appropriate posters are displayed throughout school buildings to reinforce the CDC’s recommendations for best-practice handwashing.
Contact Tracers
The district’s implementation of health and safety considerations from the CDC will mitigate the risk of spread and exposure. However, the district and community should recognize that we will have the potential for students to be exposed to and possibly contract COVID-19. In light of this reality, we will continue to have various employees throughout the district, including all building nurses and administrators, who are certified through Johns Hopkins University as COVID-19 Contact Tracers to assist in reducing further spread and exposure, when/if needed.