School Health and Safety FAQs

We understand that extenuating circumstances may result in an elevated temperature (warm cars/carseats, student upset, etc). If a child has a temperature above 99.5 (the temperature threshold for student admittance agreed upon by the Taskforce), the parent will be required to pull into the Temple roundabout and wait for 5 minutes before a temperature re-check. If the child's temperature has lowered to an admissible range, the student will be permitted to enter Community Day School.

No. Each parent/guardian will have the option to take asymptomatic children home, as well.

The Taskforce created the following criteria that must be met for a child/staff member to be sent home:

1. Any child or staff member with a temperature over 99.5 degrees after two temperature checks will be sent home.

2. Any child with the following symptoms will be sent home: 

 - Fever
 - Runny nose*
 - Persistent cough*
 - Vomiting
 - Diarrhea

3. Any child who presents as "healthy" during the morning wellness check, but begins to develop any combination of the following symptoms will be sent home:

 - Temperature increase from morning check to above 99.5 threshold
 - New cough
 - Back pain
 - Abdominal pain
 - Substantial changes in behavior to show signs of illness
 - Lethargy
 - Sore throat

*should your child have a persistent runny nose or cough due to another medical condition, see the instructions from the following question.

If your child has seasonal and/or 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 allergy note presents with any other COVID-19-like symptoms, they will be sent home.

If a student or teacher in your child's class tests positive for COVID-19, the entire class will be under precautionary quarantine for 14 days. After 14 symptom-free days, your child will be permitted to return. 

For students in the Preschool, any class time lost as a result of a COVID-19-related closure up to two week would be added back into the school year at a later time. Any classroom time lost as a result of a COVID-19-related closure over two weeks will be credited back to the family/guardians. 

For students in Kindergarten - Grade 8, coursework for the affected class will shift to a Distance Learning format during the precautionary quarantine time of two weeks.

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 Director of your child's school level (Vickie Inglese for Preschool, Robin Sweeting for K-8). At this point, your school Director will provide you with any additional information or next steps.

Any siblings of students who are COVID-19 positive must also take part in a 14-day Precautionary Quarantine. If this child is still symptom-free after 14 days, they are welcome to return to Campus. This student - if enrolled in grades K-8 - will be automatically entered into the Adaptive Learning Program for the duration of their Quarantine.

Any child who has tested positive for COVID-19 is required to quarantine for a minimum of 14 days. Admittance to campus is predicated upon a negative result on a new COVID-19 test or 14 days away from school while symptom-free. 

Every teacher and staff member at Community Day School is required to wear a mask/face covering while in the building. The choice to wear any additional PPE will be up to every individual teacher.

Students will be welcome to use outdoor learning/play as an opportunity to take a break from wearing a mask. The expectation is, however, that students without masks will stay separated by at least 3 feet. We understand this can be difficult for students to maintain. If any student has more than one instance of close contact with another person while not wearing a mask/face covering, they will be asked to wear their mask/face covering again.

Whenever possible, classes will shift to picnic-style dining in an outdoor space. Should weather or other extenuating circumstances prevent classes from eating outdoors, students will be separated by a minimum of six feet to eat in their classroom.

Our Taskforce determined that students wearing masks/face coverings may be seated three feet apart (at the opposite edges of a table). 

All water fountains have been decommissioned. Community Day School is investing in no-touch water bottle filling options.

If any Preschool classroom must be quarantined as a result of a COVID-19 positive test by a student or teacher, or if the entire Preschool faces a mandatory closure, the first 2 weeks of class will be rescheduled for a later point in the school year. Any additional class time lost beyond those two weeks will be a 100% credit back to the affected Preschool family/families.