Vaccination:

According to the CDC, “ vaccination is currently the leading public health prevention strategy to end the COVID-19 pandemic. People who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 are at low risk of symptomatic or severe infection. A growing body of evidence suggests that people who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 are less likely to have an asymptomatic infection or transmit COVID-19 to others than people who are not fully vaccinated.”

 

CMS strongly encourages all who are not already vaccinated to do so as soon as they are eligible!

 

Proof of Vaccination:

In order to be recognized as fully vaccinated, students and staff must provide proof of vaccination. Parents should plan to bring a copy of the vaccination card (or the original to be copied) to their registration appointment.

 

 

Mask Requirements:

Based on guidance from the CDC, CMS will be using a universal masking policy inside the building to help prevent spread of COVID-19 and protect others.

 

Indoors:

Mask use is required for all teachers, students and guests, unvaccinated and fully vaccinated alike.

 

Masks may be removed for eating, regardless of vaccination status.

 

Outdoors:

While outdoors and practicing social distancing (6 ft or more) students and staff will have the option to remove their masks.

 

Mask requirements and care:

Masks should cover an individual’s mouth and nose. These coverings should be fitted to the face and permit breathing without restriction. Individuals are strongly encouraged to change their masks throughout the day. Masks should be washed regularly and a clean mask should be worn each day.

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Refusal to Comply:

Pursuant to CMS’s Policy on face coverings on school premises, students who refuse to wear a mask will be sent home, excluded from instruction and activities. Offenders could be dismissed from CMS for repeated violation.

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Social Distancing:

According to the CDC, “schools where not everyone is fully vaccinated should implement physical distancing to the extent possible within their structures, but should not exclude students from in-person learning to keep a minimum distance requirement.” CMS has configured all of our spaces to maximize the distance between students.

 

Quarantine is currently still required whenever an unvaccinated individual is exposed to a confirmed case for 15 minutes or more cumulatively at a distance of less than 6 feet over a 24 hour period.

 

As previously stated, CMS strongly encourages all who are not vaccinated to do so as soon as they are eligible! The more members of our community who are vaccinated, the less numbers of individuals potentially subject to quarantine.

 

 

Weekly Screening Testing:

CMS will be offering weekly screening testing to all unvaccinated students. We will use the SHIELD testing and are able to offer this testing FREE of charge to our families. With current numbers, we will test our unvaccinated students once a week, but if the case positivity rate

continues to rise, we will consider twice weekly testing as well as screening all students/staff to catch asymptomatic cases. A consent form will be required for this testing. More information will be provided at registration.

 

 

Ventilation:

CMS is currently looking into ways to update our existing (aging) boiler system. However, due to the restrictions of our current HVAC, we will make use of our doors and windows to introduce fresh air regularly.

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Thanks to some generous donations, CMS will be running air purifiers in all of our classrooms. We also have Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Monitors in each classroom to help monitor air cycling and will use these monitors to alert us when the CO2 levels exceed 800 parts per million so we can immediately open doors and windows to introduce more fresh air into the space.

 

 

Symptom Screening:

All students and visitors will be required to self-certify that they are experiencing no symptoms (nor have they in the past 24 hours) prior to entering the building. We will be providing an online version of this screening form this school year.

 

Students who do not have the required form fully completed will be screened by a staff member or Volunteer PRIOR to entering the building. To maximize drop off, families are strongly encouraged to complete the screening at home each morning!

 

Individuals with one or more known symptoms of COVID-19 or identified as a close contact with a confirmed COVID-19 case may NOT enter the building and should not come to school.

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COVID-19 Symptoms at School:

If a student displays symptoms at school, we will immediately isolate the student until they can be picked up by a parent or guardian. CMS strongly recommends the student be evaluated by a medical professional and be tested for COVID-19.

 

Sibling/Household Members:

If one household member is being evaluated for COVID-19 or displays symptoms COVID-19, all members of the household who are not fully vaccinated must be quarantined until an alternative diagnosis is made or a negative test result is received.

 

If the sick student becomes a positive case, CUPHD will conduct contact tracing and will place non-vaccinated household members, including siblings, in quarantine.

 

 

Test to Stay:

The Champaign Urbana Public Health department will make the final determination on who is to be quarantined and for how long. They also may determine that a close contact is not a candidate for modified quarantine due to a high-risk exposure (e.g., sustained close contact without masking).

• Option 1: Quarantine at home for 14 calendar days. Date of last exposure is considered day 0.

• Option 2: Quarantine for 10 calendar days after the close contact’s last exposure to the COVID-19 case. Date of last exposure is considered day 0.

  • The individual may end quarantine after day 10 if no symptoms of COVID-19 developed during daily monitoring.

  • SARS-CoV-2 PCR testing is recommended and may be required by the local health department.

  • The individual can maintain physical distancing and masking at all times when returning to school; for classrooms where masking is strictly adhered to, physical distance of 3 to 6 feet is acceptable for return.

• Option 3: Quarantine period is for seven calendar days after the last exposure if:

  •  No symptoms developed during daily monitoring AND the individual has a negative SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic test (PCR) that was collected within 48 hours of exposure day 7 (starting on day 6 or after).

    • The individual is responsible for obtaining a copy of the negative results for documentation purposes.

  • The individual can maintain physical distancing and masking at all times when returning to school; for classrooms where masking is strictly adhered to, physical distance of 3 to 6 feet is acceptable for return.

• Option 4: Test-to-Stay Strategy, as has been documented by CDC, if schools test close contacts, as defined above, on days one, three, five, and seven from date of exposure by a PCR or rapid antigen or molecular emergency use authorization (EUA)-approved test, close contacts are permitted to remain in the classroom as long as the results are negative. (See IDPH’s Interim Guidance on Testing for COVID-19 in Community Settings and Schools for specific details on testing in schools.)

  •  Only applicable when both the COVID-19-confimed student and close contact were engaged in consistent and correct use of well-fitting masks and the school requires masking for all individuals (age 2 and older) who are not fully vaccinated, as recommended by the CDC.

  • Test to Stay may be used for any indoor exposure, with the exception of household exposures.

 

 

Positive Cases:

All students and staff are required to provide CMS with immediate notification of a positive case. Please email this notification to: director@campusms.org

 

If parents are reporting an absence due to COVID-19 symptoms or a positive test result, staff will ask for details of the illness, whether the student has been tested for COVID-19, and if they have been in close contact with a positive case to ensure that all information is collected.

 

CMS will notify Champaign Urbana Public Health Department (CUPHD) of any positive cases and begin discussions on next steps; CMS will share with CUPHD all available information about the case’s movements and potential exposure within the building.

 

Close Contacts:

Both CMS and CUPHD will contact individuals identified as “close contacts.” Close contact means the individual was within 6 feet of the person who tested positive for COVID-19 or is suspected of having COVID-19 for at least 15 minutes cumulatively within a 24 hour period

while the individual was infectious. The period of close contact begins 2 calendar days before the onset of symptoms (for symptomatic cases) or 2 calendar days before the positive sample was obtained (for asymptomatic cases). If the case was symptomatic, persons with briefer periods of exposure may also be considered close contacts. Close contacts will also be excluded from school and are required to remain in quarantine at home for a specific time period established by CUPHD.

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Per IDPH, contacts of a person who is a close contact to a COVID-19 case do not need to self-quarantine unless they develop symptoms or if the person identified as a close contact develops COVID-19. Additionally, fully vaccinated individuals are not required to

quarantine if they do not have symptoms. They should, however, monitor themselves closely for symptoms of COVID-19 and if they become symptomatic, self-isolate and seek medical attention.

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Remote learning during Quarantine:

As per ISBE and State Superintendent of Education Dr. Carmen Ayala, remote instruction will “be made available for students who have not received a COVID-19 vaccine or who are not eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine, only while they are under quarantine consistent with guidance or requirements from a local public health department of the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH).”

 

In the event an unvaccinated student is required to quarantine, CMS will provide information regarding the Remote Learning Plan.

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Return to School:

Per IDPH, a person who has had a positive COVID-19 test or COVID-like symptoms without COVID-19 testing and was exposed to a confirmed case must present a Release from Isolation letter from CUPHD.

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Travel:

At this time CMS will not require quarantine due to travel for all students who participate in the (FREE) weekly onsite (SHIELD) testing. If a student/family opts out of (SHIELD) onsite testing, proof of a negative (PCR) COVID test (administered within 48 hours of returning to school)

would be required before returning to school. If a student/family chooses not to test they must remain in quarantine for 10 days after travel outside of the state. If a student develops symptoms, or tests positive, at any time during this period they will need to quarantine for 10 -

14 days from onset of symptoms or positive test result.

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If travel restrictions are implemented by the State of Illinois, CMS will reevaluate this decision and will likely implement a Test to Stay policy similar to the one outlined for those identified as close contacts.

 

CMS STRONGLY encourages vaccinated and unvaccinated alike to test after ANY out of town travel.

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Cleaning And Sanitation:

According to the CDC, “in general, cleaning once a day is usually enough to sufficiently remove potential virus that may be on surfaces. Disinfecting (using disinfectants on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency COVID-19 list) removes any remaining germs on surfaces,

which further reduces any risk of spreading infection.” All classrooms will have cleaning and sanitizing products, cleaners and disinfectants, hand sanitizer, and paper towels to use as needed.

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The custodial staff will clean the classrooms and common areas nightly.

 

 

Shared Materials:

 

Classroom supplies:

Students will be permitted to share materials when needed, but will be reminded how to do so safely.

 

Water fountain:

Water fountain use will be restricted. Students will have access to filtered water via their personal water bottle at the water bottle filling station on site.

 

Playground:

Students will be allowed to use the playground using safe practices, including social distancing. CMS will provide hand sanitizer and encourage students to wash their hands when returning to the building.

 

Lockers:

Students will be assigned lockers for individual use. Lockers will be assigned in groups (all of 6th grade together, 7th grade together, 8th grade together) to help maintain grade level “bubbles”.

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Extra Curricular Activities:

CMS will be reinstating afterschool activities. Students will be required to wear masks while inside and should maintain social distancing.

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