Coronavirus - Covid-19 procedures

Covid-19 Information & Procedures

DROPOFF/SCREENING

  • Adjusted operating hours
    • In the face of staffing shortages due to closures, we are forced to re-open with reduced hours of 8:00 am – 5:30 pm at Rockaway, and 8:00 am – 5:00 pm at Budd Lake. This will allow teachers to open/close each classroom (no mixing classes in the morning or evening) and allows parents to work during the bulk of the day. Hours will return to normal in the coming months, long as the restrictions are lifted.
  • Kiss-N-Go (similar to elementary school carpool without the cars)
    • Parents are asked to arrive during our designated drop-off window of 8:00-10:00am and our staff will come to the front desk and bring them to their classrooms. No one will be permitted to enter the building after 10am due to rules being designated by the state.
    • Parents will park their cars and bring children to the front door.  If a line forms, parents are asked to line up along the front of the building and wait until there are less people in the vestibule. Please use your judgement during drop off and pick up times.
    • Only school staff and children will enter the building. Parents will be greeted at the front door by our school staff, checked in, and children will be brought to their classrooms by our school staff. No parents will enter the school past the front desk. All car seats/infant carriers should remain in parent vehicles.
    • Children with underlying health conditions should only return to school with a doctor’s note.  Parents are welcome to print/provide this email to pediatricians as needed.
  • At drop off:
    • Have their child’s temperature taken via touchless thermometer
      • Temperatures greater than 100 : children with temps greater than 100 will be deemed to have a fever and will have to be excluded from school until:
        • They have been fever-free for 72 hours without fever-reducing medication, and
        • Other symptoms have improved, and
        • At least 7 days have passed since symptoms first appeared
        • Parents may be asked to produce a return-to-school note from a doctor just as we have always asked for with severe illnesses
        • At least 7 days have passed since first symptoms appeared
        • At this point, all household members (including children) should be eligible for a COVID-19 test.  We recommend getting tested.
        • A doctor’s note or negative test result should be sent to the school or faxed to 973-983-0676.
    • If all is well, parents can kiss children and go about their workday. They are in good hands with teachers who love them, will care for them, and will educate them.  Children will be excited to see their teachers and friends again and to get back to a routine that they are familiar with.

PICK UP

  • Our designated pickup window is 3:30-5:30 pm at Rockaway and 3:00-5:00 pm at Budd Lake.  Parents coming before this timeframe should call the school upon arrival so a member of our school staff can meet you at the front with your child’s belongings.
  • If someone on your authorized pickup list will pick up your child, please be sure they bring a picture ID. No children will be brought to the front until we have verified the identity of the person picking up our children.
  • Please leave yourself plenty of time at pickup.  Last-minute diaper changes, conversations about not wanting to stop playing, etc. take time (as you have experienced personally). Please be patient and give yourself plenty of time.
  • Please ensure that all children are picked up by 5:30 pm.

DURING THE SCHOOLDAY NEW COVID-19 PROCEDURES

  • Each Morning
    • Teachers will undergo the same check-in and attestation policy described above for children. Per our Healthcare guidelines the adult/child threshold will be 100 degrees. Teacher exclusion/return to work criteria are the same as our student criteria.
    • Teachers will wash children’s hands immediately upon entering the classroom. We have plenty of songs for a 20-second handwashing, so this should be fun for all.
    • Morning parent-teacher communication that would have taken place at drop-off, will not be taking place at this point.  As always, parents are welcome to communicate messages via phone as well. Give us a call, we’d love to talk to you!
  • Throughout the School Day
    • Students will continue to go outside daily (weather permitting) and will play on the playground.  Classes will go out one at a time and will enter/exit through separate doors to avoid more than one class in the hallways at a time.
    • Naptime sheets/blankets/sleep sacks will be sent home to be laundered each night and cots will be sanitized individually. Student cots will continue to be placed head/foot and spaced.
    • Our leadership team and floaters will conduct cleaning rounds every 60 mins to ensure that staff and student’s hands are regularly washed, bathrooms/changing tables are clean, doorknobs/keys are wiped down, etc.
    • All student and staff temperatures will be taken again after naptime.
    • As usual, teachers look for signs/symptoms of illness in children. Parents will be contacted to pick up children who exhibit signs of illness.  Parents can find these signs/symptoms in their parent handbooks.   Please note that our return-to-school policy has changed to the items listed above (72 hrs instead of 24 hrs, etc.). Please contact us with any questions.
  • Precautions for non-staff adults in the building
    • All licensing agents, DFCS workers, immediate-need plumbers, etc. would be required to have their temps checked and wash hands/wear gloves while inside the school.
  • Each Evening
    • Our teachers thoroughly disinfect their classroom surfaces, sanitize classroom toys/balls, use antibacterial soap/water on items that cannot be bleached (fabrics, etc.), and will send your child’s sheets/blankets to be washed in hot water and returned the next day.
    • After our teachers leave each night, our cleaning crew then comes in (5 days/week) to mop floors, vacuum carpets, clean restrooms (adult/child), and sanitize the building.

CLEAN AND DISINFECT

  • Routinely clean and sanitize surfaces and objects that are frequently touched.
  • We will be using EPA registered and CDC approved cleaning solutions to clean and disinfect all surfaces, desk, chairs, etc.
  • Toys that can not be cleaned or sanitized, will be removed from the classrooms
  • Toys will be clean with water and detergent, rinsed and air-dry every night
  • Toys/games will not be shared with other classrooms
  • Our cleaning company will be using the electrostatic machine over the weekends as well to further disinfect all bulk items and surfaces.

COVID-19 CONFIRMED CASES AND PROCEDURE OF RETURN

In the event of a COVID case has been brought to our attention, either from a parent or staff member, per State and CDC guidelines, here is our plan of action:

  • Response Procedures for COVID-19 Symptoms or Exposure
    • Any confirmed or suspected exposure to COVID-19 occurring in a child care center must immediately be reported to both the local department of health and the DCF Office of Licensing.
  • Children or staff members who develop symptoms of COVID-19 while at the facility
    • If a child or staff member develops symptoms of COVID-19 while at the facility (e.g. fever of 100.4 or higher, cough, shortness of breath), immediately separate the person from the well people until the ill person can leave the facility. If the child has symptoms of COVID-19 (e.g. fever, cough, shortness of breath), the caregiver waiting with the child should remain as far away as safely possible from the child (preferably, 6 feet).
    • If symptoms persist or worsen, they should call a health care provider for further guidance.
    • Advise the employee, child’s parent or caregiver to inform the facility immediately if the person is diagnosed with COVID-19.
  • Children or staff members who test positive for COVID-19
    • Centers that become aware of a COVID-19 positive case in their facility shall contact their local health department for guidance.
    • Health officials will provide direction on whether a center should cease operations following the identification of a positive case in the facility. The duration may be dependent on staffing levels, outbreak levels in the community and severity of illness in the infected individual. Symptom free children and staff should not attend or work at another facility during the closure.
    • All rooms and equipment used by the infected person, and persons potentially exposed to that person, should be cleaned and disinfected in accordance with CDC guidance referenced above. Centers uncertain about the extent of potential exposure shall clean and sanitize all rooms.
  • Returning to Child Care After COVID-19 Diagnosis or Exposure
  • Cleaning and Disinfecting after a Suspected or Confirmed COVID-19 Case
    • For additional guidance on the cleaning and disinfection of rooms or areas that those with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 have visited, please see the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Coronavirus Disease 2019

Contact our staff with any further questions or concerns.