Battle Creek Times

Battle Creek Central High School issued the following announcement.

Since Michigan remained in phase 4 of its reopening plan to start the school year, BCPS began the year with in-person schooling for grades K–5 and temporarily remote schooling for grades 6–12, which will return to in-person when Michigan reaches stage 5 or it is determined safe to do so.

Families, especially families of K-5 students, will continue be crucial to helping us reinforce safe hygiene habits with students, and ensure that students who are displaying symptoms do not attend school. Please review this information with your child and conduct daily home screening before attending school or extracurricular activities.

YOUR ROLE

Hand-washing

All students and staff should wash hands frequently. If soap and water are not available, students and staff should use alcohol-based hand sanitizer, which will be provided. Please review proper hand-washing techniques with your student before the first day of school. Specific protocols will be put into place for students to wash hands or use sanitizer:

• Upon arrival to the building
• When using the restroom
• Before any meal
• When visibly dirty
• Before leaving each area of the building
• After using a tissue or coughing into hands

Stay Home if Sick

Staff and students will conduct daily self-examinations, including a temperature check, prior to coming to work/school. Anyone experiencing any of the symptoms listed below is not to attend school or school events. Your student should stay home if they have any of the following symptoms:

• A Temperature of 100.4 degrees or higher
• Sore throat
• New uncontrolled cough that causes difficulty breathing (for students with chronic allergies or asthma, a cough that is new or worse than usual)
• Diarrhea, vomiting, or abdominal pain
• New onset of severe headache, especially with a fever.

And if your child has had close contact with a confirmed COVID-19 case, or recently traveled to another area of higher risk, please contact a healthcare provider and keep your child home until they say it is ok to return.

BCPS POLICIES & PROCEDURES

Cleaning

To minimize the risk of spread of COVID-19, we are implementing strict cleaning procedures across all buildings, including a district disinfecting team to ensure regular cleaning and disinfecting throughout the day. Cleaning will include:

• Frequently touched surfaces, including light switches, doors, benches and bathrooms, will be cleaned and disinfected at least every four hours.
• Libraries, computer labs, arts and other hands-on classrooms will be cleaned after every class period.
• Student desks and workstations will be wiped down every four hours in K-5 classrooms.
• When in-person school resumes for these grades, 6-12 student desks will be wiped down after every class period.

Supplies & Materials

BCPS will provide adequate supplies to support healthy hygiene behaviors, including soap, hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol for safe use by staff and students, paper towels, tissues and signs reinforcing proper hand-washing techniques.

Sanitizer and cleaning supplies will be provided in every classroom.

Symptom Monitoring

BCPS schools will cooperate with the local public health department regarding implementing protocols for screening students and staff.

Students who become ill with symptoms of COVID-19 during school will be placed in an identified quarantine area with a surgical mask in place until they can be picked up. Identified school staff caring for these children will wear a surgical mask, with the exception of students with special needs requiring aerosolized procedures in which an N95 or an equivalent mask is required.

Symptomatic students sent home from school will be kept home until they have tested negative or have completely recovered according to CDC guidelines.

Quarantine, Testing & Recovery

We will follow guidance from the Calhoun County Public Health Department (CCPHD) in the event of a symptomatic student or staff member or a positive test result.

If a student or staff member display symptoms:

• The symptomatic individual will return home immediately and will remain home while they await test results.
• If negative, they must be symptom-free (without medications) for 24 hours before returning.
• Classmates, family members and teachers with close contact should continue to self-monitor for symptoms.

If a student or staff member tests positive:

• The affected individual will return home immediately (if not already home).
• They must isolate at home until it has been at least 10 days from the first day they had symptoms, symptoms have improved, and they have had 24 hours with no fever.
• Those with close contact to the individual must quarantine at home for 14 days from their last exposure to the affected person. Close contacts, as defined by CCPHD, includes anyone who was within 6 feet of a person infected with COVID-19 for more than 15 minutes with or without a mask. BCPS will follow the CCPHD’s recommended tracing protocol for all positive COVID-19 cases including communication with families in the event of a positive case and actively identifying close contacts of the affected student or staff member.

Original source can be found here.