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Parent Resources » COVID Safety Plan

COVID Safety Plan

Hilldale has been hard at work to maintain our rigorous academic standards and our deeply nurturing community during the pandemic. We are committed to supporting our families and our staff. To keep you connected to our decision making, policies, and processes, please utilize these various resources. We are here to help - let us know what we can do for you!
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2021-2022 Covid Specific Policies and Practices

(see Parent Handbook for full details)
 
Hilldale adheres to the Four Pillars Guiding In-Person Learning: Health & Hygiene, Face Coverings, Physical Distancing, Limiting Gatherings. The details of each pillar are articulated below.
 
HEALTH & HYGIENE:
  • Temperatures will no longer be taken upon arrival. Parents are asked to screen their child prior to sending them to school. There will not be a required screening prior to school.
  • Upon arrival children are required to wash their hands for 20 seconds at one of three outdoor hand washing stations.
  • Teaching assistants or teachers will supervise the use of hand sanitizer or hand washing before and after eating and entering/ exiting the classroom. Routines will be established and maintained. Two water bottle filling stations are available, and all students are required to bring a water bottle to school. The drinking fountain is available, but water bottles are preferred.
  • Air purifiers with anti-virus UV lights are located in each classroom.
  • All buildings are outfitted with an iwave HVAC system with air filtration at a MERV-13 rating.
  • Students and staff will be required to be tested monthly; however, weekly, on-campus testing will be available for those who opt in.
 
FACE COVERINGS AND OTHER ESSENTIAL PROTECTIVE GEAR:
  • California law requires all school personnel, students, and visitors to wear masks when indoors and physical distancing cannot be achieved.
  • Masks will be required outdoors for Kindergarten-3rd Grade. Masks are optional outdoors for all other students and adults, according to state law.
  • All school staff and visitors are required to wear face masks when indoors with students.
  • All students will be required to wear a mask when indoors at school. A mask will be given to the children if theirs is not satisfactory at any point during the day.
  • No person will be allowed to come onto campus without a properly worn and well-fitting mask. Valve masks are not allowed.
  • Masks are modeled by the staff with positivity. Children will be taught the reasoning and science behind mask wearing.
  • Masks may be removed during eating time. Children will eat outside, seated at their appropriately spaced table spot.
 
PHYSICAL DISTANCING:
  • Recent evidence indicates that in-person instruction can occur safely without minimum physical distancing requirements when other mitigation strategies (e.g., masking) are implemented. Science dictates that students are permitted to utilize flexible seating and shared supplies.
  • We will continue to control interactions across grade-band levels (K-2, 3-5, 6-8) to assist with contact tracing, if necessary.
  • On Campus visitors are only allowed indoors (including office or classrooms) with proof of vaccination. Parents may drop off and pick up children at approved outdoor supervision locations without proof of vaccination.
  • Instrument use and singing are allowed outdoors - and music classes will be held on the stage when possible.
    Playground use will be separated by grade groups.
 
LIMITING GATHERINGS:
  • When possible, assemblies and events shall be held online.
  • Meetings (Parent-Teacher Conferences, etc.) shall be held remotely. Exceptions may be made when all parties are vaccinated.
  • Visitors (parents, others) are only allowed indoors if proof of vaccination is provided.
 
VACCINATION
  • Children 12 years of age and older (or younger as allowed by law) must have a record of vaccination against COVID-19.
  • All staff, parent volunteers, and classroom visitors must show proof of vaccination.
  • Vaccinations are free to all.  Consult your doctor or visit https://myturn.ca.gov/ to schedule.
 
TRAVEL
  • Refer to the CDC Recommendations for Travel as policies vary depending on vaccination status.
  • Continue to communicate travel activity to the school, unvaccinated people who travel are required to test and quarantine according to the current CDC guidelines.
 
TESTING
  • All students are required to get tested prior to returning to campus (within 5 days) and provide documentation to the school.
  • Surveillance testing will be provided by the school for all students and staff weekly through Simple Health testing services.
    • Easy, painless, free testing on campus!
    • Sign up once and you or your child can get tested every week.
    • The more we test, the easier it is to catch COVID before it spreads!
    • Tuesdays from 11am - 12pm (we bring the children from class to get tested) so no specific time is required.
    • Parents get notified of all test results.
  • Easy, painless, free testing for children in San Mateo County through Curative. Self-administered.
  • Please provide a copy of any test to the school so that we may have it on file.
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Observing Symptoms and Reporting Cases
 
Symptoms can include:
  • Fever or chills
  • Cough
  • Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
  • Fatigue
  • Muscle or body aches
  • Headache
  • New loss of taste or smell
  • Sore throat
  • Congestion or runny nose
  • Nausea or vomiting
  • Diarrhea
 
If your child or anyone in the household has experienced these symptoms, DO NOT COME TO SCHOOL. Seek guidance from a primary care physician immediately.
 
More information is available here: CDC - COVID symptoms
If your child is feeling ill (whether at night, on the weekend, or in the morning):
1- Contact Mr. Lee. 
2- Keep your child out of school.
3- Have your child tested or seen by the doctor immediately.
4- Report the test results to the school.
5- Monitor your child's symptoms.
6- Return your child to school only after a negative test result (or doctor's clearance) AND when your child is symptom free for 3 days.
 
If a child or staff is sent home from school because of symptoms:
1- Keep your child out of school.
2- Have your child tested or seen by the doctor immediately.
3- Report the test results to the school.
4- Monitor your child's symptoms.
5- Return your child to school only after a negative test result (or doctor's clearance) AND when your child is symptom free for 3 days.
See Handbook for procedures for Responding to Symptoms & Positive Tests
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Historical Documentation and Policies 
2020-2021
 
 
 
As of 9/8/20, Hilldale School has been authorized to open with a waiver from the County of San Mateo and the State of California for students in K-5.
 
As of 10/19/20, Hilldale School has been authorized to open all classes (following the guidelines for safety) from San Mateo County Health Department. This latest reopening is Hilldale's "Phase 1."  
 
As of 11/16/20, Governor Newsom temporarily suspended the regular two-week cycle of data analysis to determine county tier COVID tests, and San Mateo County was placed back into the red tier. However, the school will remain in Phase 1 at this time. 
 
As of 12/7/20, the number of daily new COVID cases is surging. The county has been placed back into the purple tier and holiday travel is afoot. Therefore, Hilldale will return to Phase 0+ for the time being. We plan to return to Phase 1 as soon as possible.
 
As of 1/31/21, research provided by Harvard and adopted by the State of California suggests that schools may safely reopen (with appropriate protocols in place) if the number of daily new cases per 100,000 residents is lower than 25 for one week. Hilldale has made a decision to reopen for Phase 1 once the number of daily new cases per 100,000 residents is lower than 20 for two consecutive weeks. 
 
As of 2/16/21, the number of daily new cases per 100k residents has been significantly lower than 20 for two weeks, and the school will return to Phase one as of 3/1/21. 
 
As of 4/19/21, Hilldale will advance to Phase 2 as the CDC guidance has been updated to advise that students should be separated by 3 feet indoors vs. 6 feet indoors.