COVID-19 FAQ

This page will be moving here soon: https://sites.google.com/aswarsaw.org/parents/directors-desk/covid-19

Looking forward to the launch of the new Parent Portal.

Key documents associated with our planning:

If you have traveled outside of Poland, you must wait 72 hours after travel before testing. In addition, the following is the current additional restriction list for concerning countries (if you are arriving in Poland from these countries, you must wait 7 days before testing in order to return to school):

https://ulc.gov.pl/pl/aktualnosci/5113-przywrocenie-polaczen-lotniczych-aktualizacja

Frequently Asked Questions (continuously updated)

Will everyone be tested at ASW in order to enter the school?

Yes. ASW has contracted with a medical provider who will conduct regular preventative testing on the entire ASW population. They will manage the information and data as a medical provider and will simply inform ASW of permission to enter the school based on testing and other risk factors. Each day, the individual staff member, student, or parent will be informed of permission to enter the school prior to arrival.

Who will provide testing and how will this work?

Epixpert sp. z o.o. has been contracted to provide medical services including testing and consulting for the 2020-2021 school year to provide for a preventative approach to safe management of the school. Parents will provide consent directly to Epixpert for the testing and data attestation in order to fulfill requirements for entering school. Testing will continue on a weekly basis to assure safety of the school community. The consent agreement that parents will sign with regards to this service is the following:

EpiXpert-Consent-and-Data-Processing Download

Will any students or staff be able to opt out of pooled testing?

No. The pooled testing is an entry to school requirement similar to general health guidelines that are already in place under Policy 5.04, quoted here:

It is the responsibility of the Director or his/her designee to ensure accepted health procedures, practices, and systems are in place and implemented to support, maintain, and promote the health and wellbeing of students and staff when at school or involved in school-sponsored activities.
Board Policy 5.04

Our current guidelines for attending school include temperature and other symptoms that would preclude a student from attending school and/or would guide the process for sending a student home when ill. These guidelines, built under this policy, will now include testing and the daily assessment. This amendment will remain in place until the school changes the current risk status.

Will Parents have the option to have their child tested outside of school?

Only when a child is referred for retesting because of a positive result will parents be allowed to seek outside confirmatory testing. This is appropriate in order to seek proper medical advice on the next steps. Our Crisis Matrix allows for the parent selected testing only on secondary testing and the school reserves the right to confirm whether it will accept the independent results. There is no option for outside testing for the pooled preventative testing described above. The testing protocol is linked above in the documents section.

Will testing always be at school?

Our plan for allowing testing samples to be done at home is on hold at this time because of problems with validation. We will gather all samples at school.

What test is being used for preventative surveilance testing?

We are following a pooled testing approach using an Antigen test (SD Biosensor). The actual test may change over time using different test kits, but samples are combined before running the test locally. Positive pools will then be referred for secondary testing to identify the infected individual or validate false positives. The technology on testing is changing constantly and improved tests are being validated frequently. EpiXpert has sole authority under our contract with them to determine the type of test being used and the methodology of sample collection that is part of that testing requirement.

What is Risk Assessment and Attestation?

Attestation or risk assessment in the form of daily journaling is a process of using self-check questions to determine the risk profile of the individual. In the case of students, parents will provide daily answers to questions in the Epixpert provided through the OK4School app. The answers to these questions form the basis of a personal health assessment and inform an algorithm that determines the ability to attend school. These questions are research-based and demonstrate a high correlation to the potential to have and spread viruses. This methodology is being implemented in corporate and school settings around the world and is quickly becoming the main methodology behind the safe opening of workplace environments.

Do I have to fill out the survey every day?

Yes. It is important to report symptoms even if on the weekend. Reported symptoms on the survey (COVID related symptoms) will exclude the child from school for 72-hours after symptoms are gone. By filling out the survey every day of of the time, you will reduce potential exclusions.

Even Hybrid students (those working from home) should fill out the survey every day to make sure that they are ready to return to regular school when they are ready. This is also an important health check for families to continue to monitor under all circumstances.

What if I have COVID-19? How do I return to school?

For confirmed COVID cases, we have settled on the following for reentry criteria:

10 days after first symptoms OR after the first positive test (if no symptoms recorded), AND
24 hours after resolution of any remaining fever (no medication), AND
Other symptoms improving significantly (except the loss of sense of taste or smell which may persist for weeks/months), AND
Testing upon reentry.

Despite a high rate of false positives for recovered patients who are not infectious, testing upon reentry would still be required. Students who have recovered would be monitored for potential false positives and parents, along with primary care providers, would be kept informed. These test results would not necessarily exclude a recovered child from school.

If a student cannot attend school, what are their options?

The school has an action plan for determining when students are not allowed to attend school either due to test results identifying a COVID-19 infection or risk assessment that suggests a potential concern including symptoms. Parents may choose a hybrid mode of learning for an extended period (usually 2-3 weeks at a time) where students learn from home with teacher support and differentiated based on the division and age.

Short term absences are not eligible for Hybrid learning under our current plan, but students may be supported using Hybrid methods depending on grade levels and class content. Short term absences will be handled as we have done historically for children home ill for a short period of time – 1-5 days.

Other options may also become available depending on the number of students requiring services. These options will be detailed and announced as necessary.

What is Hybrid Learning?

With regard to students who are learning from home, we will be exploring and developing methods and strategies for teachers and students to connect both synchronously and asynchronously. What specifically that will look like — from Zooming live into the classroom to following along asynchronously with assignments posted on Google Classroom — will evolve over time. As details of these models are developed, we will of course publish them as changes are made.

In elementary, for our youngest learners, we fully appreciate that a critical factor in ongoing learning achievement is the relationship between home and school during any learning period away from the school campus. We are committed to a model of frequent communication with families as they support the delivery model from home, including our ongoing and fundamental work in SeeSaw. Additionally, we will prioritize the need for social and emotional development in activities that are designed for the children as well as exploring ways to maintain the important relationship between the child and their teacher that communicates care and belonging.

Will we have Virtual School again?

It is possible that the school will return to virtual schooling at some point during the school year. We hope to be prepared for this by increasing our use of virtual tools in preparation for any potential closure. Virtual School will be initiated by either a government declaration that all schools must close or as a response to significant infection within the school community. Any identified infections will be evaluated to determine the extent of closure up to and including the move to Virtual School. It is our hope that future periods in Virtual School will be short in duration and that resumption of testing will allow us to return to regular school at the earliest opportunity.

How will the school be organized to prevent the spread of potential infection?

The school will be organized into three larger cohorts – elementary and upper school (we may split Upper School as needed by risk level). These cohorts will be limited in accessing each other and will generally be monitored for their movement and activity to avoid crossing paths where feasible. This means contact tracing will generally be limited to each cohort unless there is clear evidence of cross spread as a result of families that cross divisions.

How will the movement of the cohorts be monitored to make sure they are following the protocols and staying within designated areas?

Signage and doorways were identified in the audit. Further, we are splitting non-COVID health services between each cohort and locking the current health room hallway to elementary only. Pathways to the gym and pool for Upper School exterior to the building have been identified. Signage throughout the school should help to clarify for all. There are some crossover areas for cohorts, but these have been kept to a minimum and will be scheduled to the degree possible in central areas.

Shared spaces will be scheduled for access to minimize cohort cross use as well, using schedules and cleaning between uses.

Will parents be allowed in the school?

One of the main recommendations of the audit was to restrict parents and other adults from entering the cohort areas. Divisional teams will prepare for this and increased supervision will be provided at each cohort entrance in order to manage getting students to their classrooms. The parking lot area will still be accessible by parents and the controlled entrance shifts to the building entry points.

Later, we still hope to have the option for a parent access program in order to gain access to the cohort areas by opting to participate in the testing program. This will be at the parent’s expense but will allow the parent to have weekly testing and the daily risk assessment in order to allow access to the cohort. This is already in place for parent volunteers, PTO leadership, and other necessary adults that support our educational program.

Will you allow facility use by outside groups, tutors, or others from outside the school community?

No. We will not allow use of the facility by anyone not in the school community. We have special processes to include Home & Family Language teachers, who will follow COVID-19 weekly testing guidelines, and school staff who tutor will still be able to do so at the school in the student’s designated cohort area. No other classes provided by outside teachers or tutors will be allowed at this time. School events of any kind will be limited to members of the school community. Any adult that provides services to students on campus must be enrolled in the preventative testing and risk assessment program.