School Health and Safety FAQs

Community Day School has returned to the illness policy listed in the 2021-2022 Student Handbook, with certain COVID-19-specific modifications. Students who exhibit the following symptoms will be sent home:

• Fever
• Runny nose*
• Persistent cough*
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Abdominal pain
• Substantial changes in behavior to show signs of illness
• Lethargy
• Sore throat without improvement after hydration

If your child is not fully vaccinated, they are subject to the main CDS COVID-19 Quarantine Policies. Community Day School considers a person to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 after receiving two doses of the vaccination, plus completing the waiting period of two weeks. Please note that if CDS has proof that your child has been infected with COVID-19 within 90 days of a class-wide quarantine, that child will not be required to complete an additional quarantine and may instead return to school for in-person, on-campus learning. Community Day School must receive all COVID-19 test results via health@communityday.org. 

If your child is fully vaccinated, the quarantine policy is as follows:

• After being informed of a COVID-19 positive in the classroom, a fully vaccinated student does not need to quarantine.
• If a student is fully vaccinated, but a person residing in their home tests positive for COVID-19, the student must quarantine at home for the duration of the other person’s quarantine. Please contact health@communityday.org to report this scenario and to receive return dates from our Health Team.
• If a student is fully vaccinated but tests positive for COVID-19, the student must follow the CDS quarantine policy for all individuals who test positive (see the following questions for more quarantine-related information)

If your child tests positive for COVID-19 during the 2020-2021 school year, the first step is to inform the school. Please call the front desk at 941-552-2770 and alert the CDS Health Team at health@communityday.org. Please provide proof of a positive test result. 

At this time, the protocols will be as follows: anyone testing positive for COVID-19 should isolate for 5 days and - if they are asymptomatic or their symptoms are resolving (without fever for 24 hours) - follow this with 5 days of wearing a mask when around others to minimize the risk of infecting people they encounter.

For anyone who is exposed to a COVID-19-positive individual, the following quarantine policies apply:

• If the exposed person is unvaccinated or is more than six months out from their second mRNA dose (or more than 2 months after the J&J vaccine) and is not yet boosted, they must quarantine for 5 days. 
   
• Individuals who have received their booster shot or are within six months of their second mRNA dose do not need to quarantine following an exposure. If symptoms occur, individuals should immediately quarantine off-campus until a negative test confirms symptoms are not attributable to COVID-19.
   
• All student COVID-19 exposures or test results - positive or negative - must be reported to health@communityday.org as soon as the student’s family is aware.

Option A: A CDS student with a household member who is COVID-19 positive must quarantine at home for 5 days after the person's positive test and/or until the person who is COVID-19 positive tests negative, whichever comes first. At that point, the child(ren) who was (were) COVID-19 negative (if they are still asymptomatic) should use the guidelines: 

• If the exposed person is unvaccinated or is more than six months out from their second mRNA dose (or more than 2 months after the J&J vaccine) and is not yet boosted, they may return to campus - if asymptomatic for the entire five-day period - with a negative test result .
   
• Individuals who have received their booster shot or are within six months of their second mRNA dose must remain at home for the family member's five-day isolation period. If symptoms occur, individuals should immediately quarantine off-campus until a negative test confirms symptoms are not attributable to COVID-19.
   
• All student COVID-19 exposures or test results - positive or negative - must be reported to health@communityday.org as soon as the student’s family is aware.

Option B: If the family is able to separate the COVID-19-positive individual in a different residence/household, allowing for zero contact between the student(s) and the individual, the student(s) may use the above quarantine guidelines, beginning at the date of last exposure.

All CDS students in grades K-8 who must quarantine at home will receive work packets from their teachers.

Please see the above FAQ. 

At this time, the protocols will be as follows: anyone testing positive for COVID-19 should isolate for 5 days and - if they are asymptomatic or their symptoms are resolving (without fever for 24 hours) - may return to campus at the end of that time period.

If your child has a medical condition or seasonal/indoor-specific allergies, you must produce a note from your Primary Care Physician that states: "[Child's name} may have frequent allergy-type symptoms that include [list allergy symptoms]." 

If this note is not on file with the Front Office and your child presents with a runny nose, cough, or other symptom, your child will be sent home until they can be verified as "healthy" by a doctor.

If a child with an exemption note presents with any other COVID-19-like symptoms, they will be sent home.

All CDS staff is required to wear a well-fitting mask while indoors on campus. The choice to wear any additional PPE beyond what is required by CDS policy will be left to every individual teacher.

For Preschool students, lunch takes place in each individual classroom. For K-8 students, lunch will take place in the gymnasium or in outdoor spaces at this time. CDS uses the following precautions to ensure the health and safety of our students and staff:

• Lunch timing is staggered to ensure the entire K-8 student body is not using the gymnasium at once
• Students are socially distanced during mealtime
• The gymnasium's garage-style door will be open to ensure a consistent flow of fresh air into the space
• Teachers may choose to have a picnic-style lunch in one of our outdoor learning spaces, weather permitting

Yes. Community Day School's new campus includes touchless water bottle filling stations.