MICDS COVID-19 Resources

Here is the school operations communication to Lower School families:

• Email from Head of Lower School Amy Scheer – January 15 Off-Campus Learning and Lower School Schedule Information (January 8, 2021)

Here are the school operations communications to Middle School families:

• From Head of Middle School Jen Schuckman regarding Winter Reminders (December 11, 2020)
• Email from Head of Middle School Jen Schuckman – Middle School Back to Campus Information (September 30, 2020)
• Email from Head of Middle School Jen Schuckman – Middle School Back to School Plan (September 22, 2020)

Here are the school operations communications to Upper School families:

• Email from Head of Upper School Scott Small – Upper School Schedule Updates (December 8, 2020)
• Email from Head of Upper School Scott Small – Upper School Back to Campus Information (September 29, 2020)

Below are some of the email and video communications to MICDS families regarding COVID-19, listed in order from most recent to least recent regarding the 2020-21 school year.

• Letter from Jay Rainey – Plans for Spring, Summer, and Fall (February 19, 2021)
• Letter from Jay Rainey – Coronavirus Operating Update (January 14, 2021)
• Letter from Jay Rainey – Coronavirus and Winter Planning Update (December 3, 2020)
• Letter from Jay Rainey on St. Louis County Safer At Home Order (November 13, 2020)
• Letter from Jay Rainey on The Health and Safety of Our Community (November 10, 2020)

• Spectator Guidelines (January 19, 2021)
• Winter Athletics Protocols (December 4, 2020)
• Email from Josh Smith, Director of Athletics – Winter Athletics Protocols (December 1, 2020)
• Email from Josh Smith, Director of Athletics – Upper School Winter Athletics Update (November 2, 2020)

Masks and Face Coverings

• Students and employees will wear a mask while on campus when in a room with one or more other people.
• Recommendations on Types of Masks: 
  • Per CDC guidance, masks with valves or vents should not be used on campus since they allow exhaled air to be expelled out through holes in the material. This can allow exhaled respiratory droplets to reach others and potentially spread the COVID-19 virus.
  • In addition, bandanas and gaiters may also act similarly to masks with valves. Therefore, it is recommended that all community members wear cloth or surgical masks only.
• Answers to Common Questions about Masks
• At the end of the day, each student will take their cloth face masks home for proper laundering. Families and individuals are responsible for laundering and rotating masks in order to have a clean mask each day. 
• In the Lower School, students are provided their own individual bag to place their mask in while eating.
• If a student or employee forgets or soils their face covering, the school nurses have a  limited extra supply of surgical facemasks in both child and adult sizes for as-needed use.
• Noncompliance and Opposition to Masks
  • If a student or employee is unable to wear a mask for medical reasons, please provide your divisional school nurse with the required documentation from your physician.
  • The expectation is that all students wear a mask and divisions will have zero tolerance for the sharing/trading of masks, chewing on a mask, or wearing it in an inappropriate manner (e.g., on chin, nose exposed).

Social Distancing

• Furniture has been rearranged or removed to ensure small cohorts and/or class sizes and ensure appropriate social distancing wherever possible.
• Teachers are maintaining seating charts for accurate contact tracing when cases are identified on campus. 
• Direction markers have been placed in hallways to reduce contact.

Hand Hygiene

• Age-appropriate signage is in place throughout all school buildings reminding students and employees of proper hand hygiene, respiratory etiquette, masks, and social distancing.
• Additional hand sanitizer dispensers are regularly replenished throughout the campus and every room is stocked with disinfectant wipes.

Essential Visitors Only on Campus

• In order to mitigate risk, the School is limiting visitors to campus. Only essential visitors are allowed and will be screened before entering any buildings. Parents are not allowed inside school buildings, and all parent pick-up of students will occur outside.

Disinfection, Ionization, and Ventilation

• MICDS has invested in:
  • An antimicrobial barrier system which allows us to quickly clean, disinfect, and sanitize a lot of small classroom items like LEGOS, toys, and balls.
  • An air ionization system that significantly reduces the amount of airborne pathogens in all rooms.
  • Increased cleaning of all surfaces and disinfection is occurring throughout the school day.

• Completion of the Daily COVID screening in the Magnus Mobile App is a requirement for attending school and work. Parents and employees will log into the Magnus Mobile App and complete the screening including a daily temperature check prior to entering the building.
• • Directions for accessing the Magnus Health App for Parents 
• If you run into difficulties using the Magnus app, please use this paper version instead until the issues can be resolved. 
• If you receive a STOP screen for your child, please do not send them to school. Instead, please reach out to your divisional nurse to discuss the symptoms or COVID situation for the best partnership. 
• Participation in athletic practices and competitions requires a separate daily screening provided through the Athletic Trainers and coaches.

If a student or employee tests positive for COVID-19, how will we be notified?

• If a student or employee tests positive for a COVID-19 infection, School officials will support the Department of Health’s efforts for contact tracing and enforce quarantining of those infected and their “close contacts.” Anyone identified as a close contact of the person who tests positive will be quarantined.
  • With our virtual learning option, continuity of learning from home during quarantine periods can be maintained.
• If a person within your child’s cohort tests positive, we will notify you via an email and/or phone call from Health Services along with instructions regarding whether your child is a close contact or not and applicable quarantine requirements according to the Department of Health.
• Due to legal reasons, the School is unable to provide names of those who test positive for COVID-19.

When assessing potential exposures on campus, the school nurses will work in conjunction with the Department of Health to consider multiple factors for each situation during their contact tracing. Our Health Services team will work within current guidelines and take an abundance of caution approach when determining quarantine decisions. 

• The following guidelines for determining quarantines and isolations will be used:
  • Symptomatic individual/student (case) who tests positive: The individual should isolate for 10 days from symptom onset AND will only be allowed to return 24 hours after fever resolution (if present) without fever-reducing medications, symptom improvement, and approval from school nurse.
  • Symptomatic individual/student not tested: The individual will be quarantined from campus for 10 days from the symptom onset AND will only be allowed to return 24 hours after fever resolution (if present) without fever-reducing medications AND symptom improvement. An individual may return to school if a doctor establishes an alternative diagnosis (e.g., urinary tract Infection) and presents a doctor’s note to confirm the presence of an alternate diagnosis that explains symptoms.
  • Symptomatic individual/student who tests negative: The individual will be quarantined from school until afebrile for 24 hours (if fever present) without fever-reducing medications, symptom improvement, and proof of negative test results.
  • Exposed and asymptomatic individual/student (due to exposure at home, in school, or in the community): The individual will be quarantined from campus for 14 days from last exposure if they remain asymptomatic. If an individual becomes symptomatic, the individual will be quarantined from campus until they meet the criteria listed above of a symptomatic individual who tests positive or is not tested.
    • Anyone with a known positive case in their home will be quarantined for 14 days after the last/most recent contact with the case when the case was infectious. Test results cannot shorten the 14 days. Shared living quarters (i.e., ongoing contact with the case at home) means the need to quarantine through the case’s isolation plus an additional 14 days after the case is released from isolation. 
  • Quarantining for known exposure: All children and staff in the same classroom or who have come in close contact (defined as 15 cumulative minutes or greater of interaction less than 6 feet away) with a symptomatic individual should quarantine at home for 14 days. Anyone who develops symptoms during that time should contact their health care provider.
  • There is no rule for testing to get a “negative test” to clear an individual to return to school. A follow-up negative COVID-19 test or a doctor’s note cannot be used to allow an individual to return to campus before the identified quarantine time is completed. 

What will happen if cases increase to the point that the school would need to be closed?

• Any decisions regarding closing of a division or the entire school due to the number of COVID-19 cases would be made in coordination with the St. Louis Department of Public Health (DPH).
• Should the School be required to close, we would implement the School’s online learning system for all students. 
• Recognizing that many parents of Lower School students would have difficulty due to work obligations, the School would work with the Department of Health to endeavor to keep Lower School students on campus. This would involve using the entire school to maximize social distancing and mitigate the risk of infection. Online options would continue to be available for parents who choose to keep their children home.

If your child does not feel well…please keep them home! 

• If your student has any symptoms they should not be in school. 
  • Trying to decide what to do? Use this helpful Student Symptom Decision Tree from Washington University.
  • If your student comes to school with any symptoms of illness, the school nurse will coordinate a prompt dismissal. 
    • Exclusion and return decisions are guided by algorithms created by the Washington University Pediatric & Adolescent Ambulatory Research Consortium and the St. Louis County Department of Health. 
    • Please contact your student’s divisional school nurse when your child is ill for return to school guidance and planning. Students with two or more symptoms will be referred to their healthcare provider for evaluation.
• If symptoms of illness or injury occur while a student is on campus:
  • The student should notify their teacher who will send an email to inform the nurse they are coming to the nurse’s office for evaluation. Your child should bring all of their belongings with them to the nurse’s office as a precaution. 
  • Nurses will use professional clinical judgment along with published resources to make informed decisions about dismissal for illness, when you can return, quarantine, etc.
  • Please understand that nurses are sending home students more frequently this year than in the past to ensure the health of all students, faculty, and staff.

• Families play a vital role in maintaining safety on campus. The number one safety measure is to keep a child home if they are sick. We also encourage all MICDS families to keep family members up to date on well visits and get an annual flu shot, if possible.

• Now more than ever, it is imperative that we partner together for the health and safety of our community, which includes cooperation and collaboration regarding accurate reporting of symptoms, keeping children home when they are ill, and abiding by all quarantine guidelines.  Please communicate with Health Services if your child or a member of your household becomes ill and/or diagnosed with COVID-19 or if your child has been exposed to someone known to have COVID-19. Having this information will help us provide a safe environment for our students, faculty, and staff.

• We want to work with families to support their child’s adherence to safety measures while they are on campus as well as at home. To support this effort, prior to the start of school, we have provided helpful information and training materials for students to ensure a COVID-safe campus. We understand that there are families with higher risk members in their households. As a community that prioritizes health and safety, we must all do our part to adhere to state and local health recommendations and regulations to control transmission and potential future outbreaks. Moreover, there may be times when we ask families to comply with broader safety measures and we greatly appreciate your cooperation in this regard.

• If answers to any of the following questions is “yes,” we ask that your child not attend school and that you contact the school nurse for appropriate follow-up: 

• • Has your child or any household contacts tested positive for COVID-19?
  • Has your child or any household contacts displayed potential COVID-19 symptoms or been tested for COVID-19 and are awaiting results?

• • Have you or your child been in contact with anyone who has tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 14 days?

• • Do you or your child have any of the following symptoms: fever, cough, shortness of breath, loss of taste or smell, sore throat, chills, headache, or muscle aches?
  • Have you or your child traveled within or outside the U.S. by air?

Letter from Vicki Thurman, Director of Student Support Services, about Updated Travel Guidelines (January 26, 2021)

With spring break on the horizon, we wanted to ensure that all current families are aware of our updated travel and quarantine policy which aligns with revised CDC guidelines effective January 26, 2021, and the Executive Order on Promoting COVID-19 Safety in Domestic and International Travel effective January 21, 2021.

International Travel:

• Contact your divisional school nurse in advance of your travel. Please communicate your destination and dates of travel.
• Get tested 1-3 days before your return flight and provide results to the airline as required by CDC guidelines.
• Get tested 3-5 days after travel AND stay home for 7 days after travel.
  • Provide documentation of negative test results for your child after completion of travel to health-services@micds.org before returning to on-campus learning and to smorgan@micds.org before returning to athletics. One of our nurses or Ms. Morgan will confirm the earliest date on which your child can resume in-person participation in School activities.
  • If your child tests negative, they will stay home for the full 7 days.
  • If your child or someone in your family tests positive, contact the divisional school nurse for additional quarantine instructions.
  • If your child does not get tested, stay home for 10 full days after travel.

Example: Your family travels internationally and returns to the United States on Sunday, March 21, 2021. Your child would need to quarantine through March 28 and resume in-person participation in School activities on March 29 with proof of negative test results within that time period. With no proof of negative test results, your child would need to quarantine through March 31 and resume in-person participation in School activities on April 1. This quarantine applies to all MICDS programs including on-campus learning, athletics, drama, and other activities.

Domestic Travel

• Follow state and local health department guidance for all destinations on your itinerary.
• Feel free to contact one of the divisional school nurses (contact information below) for consultation and partnership in advance of the travel.
• Maintain appropriate social distancing (6 feet or more), consistent hand hygiene, and mask usage when around people outside of your own household.
• Consider getting tested 3-5 days after your trip and reducing non-essential activities for 7 days afterward.

These changes to the quarantine timeline only apply to international travel. For known close-contact exposures, the School will still follow the current St. Louis County quarantine guideline of 14 days.

We appreciate your continued partnership in following these guidelines to ensure the health and safety of all members of our community. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to one of the following members of our staff: Michelle Fox (US Nurse), Stephanie Presson (LS/MS Nurse), Stacey Morgan (Head Athletic Trainer), or Vicki Thurman (Director of Student Support Services).

Warm regards,

Vicki Thurman
Director of Student Support Services

• Gatherings:
  • If students, employees, or families plan to attend a gathering with people outside of your immediate household, we request that you partner with us in advance to make decisions regarding safety measures (including potential quarantining) to keep our community as safe as possible. Examples include weekend parties, community events, and family gatherings such as weddings. We also ask families and employees to partner with us by not hosting, attending, or allowing students to attend indoor gatherings of more than 10 people—especially ones where attendees are not masked or physically distanced—since these have proven to be a source of spread. Variables to keep in mind when making decisions regarding attendance at gatherings include:
    • Is this an indoor or outdoor gathering?
    • What safety measures are in place (checking for COVID-19 symptoms before the gathering, social distancing, masking, and handwashing capabilities), and how will attendees adhere to these measures?
    • What is the size of the gathering (the larger the gathering, the higher the risk of transmission; numbers should be less than 10) and are the people in attendance within your normal circle of exposure?
    • Will there be anyone present who might be more vulnerable to COVID-19?
    • Will the gathering involve eating? (Eating requires the removal of masks which could lead to increased transmission risk. Try to only eat and unmask around those in your normal circle of exposure. Consider eating in shifts.) 
    • Can you gather virtually instead (e.g., over Zoom, FaceTime) to reduce the chances of exposure? 
  • Our Health Team members (Michelle Fox, RN,, Stephanie Presson, RN,, and Vicki Thurman) are available to discuss the potential risks associated with your specific event and support you in making a decision, including the need to quarantine.
• The more we all do our part to consider the health and safety of our entire community, the higher our chances are of keeping our students and teachers in school and our community safe.

• While testing availability has expanded in our area, people are still reporting having to wait 1-3 days for a testing appointment. Our Health Services Team recommends contacting your primary care physician to explore the best and quickest option for testing. 
• In addition, the following are community resources offering testing as well:
  • Testing appointment page for the St. Louis County Department of Health
  • BJC Screening and Testing
  • Mercy Go Health Urgent Care 
  • SSM Testing
  • St. Luke’s Testing 
  • Total Access Urgent Care

• St. Louis County Coronavirus Information Center 
• Centers for Disease Control (CDC)
• World Health Organization (WHO)
• U.S. Department of State Travel information 
• John Hopkins University COVID Dashboard 
• International SOS COVID information

• Cases – Anyone who has tested positive, whether or not they have any symptoms.
• Close contact – Anyone who through contact tracing was found to be within 6 feet for at least 15 minutes in a 24-hour time frame, starting two days before symptoms first appeared or date of the test (whichever is earlier). Exposure level and setting will be considered when making a determination of close contacts.
• Contact of a contact – Anyone who has had direct contact with a “close contact” as defined above. A “contact of a contact” does not have to quarantine or stay away from campus unless the contact to whom they have been exposed develops symptoms, at which point they would be determined a possible “close contact.” 
• Isolation – The separation of people with an infectious disease, like COVID-19, from people who are not sick.
• Quarantine – Separates and restricts the movement of people who were exposed to a contagious disease to see if they become sick.