With two big holidays arriving as COVID cases increase nationwide, and in accordance with the CDC and our medical advisor, Dr. Gaetane Michaud, we have implemented guidelines for safely returning to school after these breaks, as outlined below. So far, so good – thank you to all of our families for doing a great job with the Thanksgiving break!
Holiday Celebrations and Travel
- The CDC continues to strongly recommend that we avoid holiday travel this year
- The CDC also strongly recommends that we all stay within our households, i.e. the people we currently live with. Dr. Michaud is in full agreement with these recommendations.
School Policy to Return After Holidays
- Families and staff who avoid travel and stay within pods may return to school without quarantine or testing.
- Families and staff who choose to travel and/or mix with those outside their household** (visiting or hosting) may do one of the following to return to school:
- Get a PCR test on the 4th day following your return from travel or your last day of mixing and return with the negative result
- Quarantine 14 days following your return from travel or your last day of mixing
**There is no way to confirm that people we encounter during travel or outside our households in holiday gatherings do not have the virus, so we have to err on the side of caution – finding out after a return to school is too risky and could seriously threaten our entire community.
As an example, looking ahead at the upcoming break and a timeline to return safely on January 4, we have:
-December 27 – last day of travel/mixing
-December 31 – get PCR test
-January 2 or 3 – receive result
-January 4 – return to school
For the latest holiday tips from the CDC,
you can click here. Thank you for your continued cooperation with our efforts to keep our school in-person and thriving!
