Health & Safety Plan

Dear SF Day Community,

The San Francisco Day School administration, faculty, and board of trustees are aligned in our commitment to care for the health and well-being of our community - children and adults alike.  

We remain strategic, flexible, and nimble in our response to this situation as it evolves. This communication, the SF Day Health and Safety Plan, is another important step  toward making the transition to in-person instruction at school following protocols and procedures that mitigate risk.

The goal of this document, a requirement of the San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH), is to map out a safe reopening of in-person instruction at 350 Masonic Avenue. We remain committed to safeguarding the health and well-being of our community - students, families, faculty, staff, and administration. Developed with the protocols issued by SFDPH and CDC, this document is also informed by peer schools and professional organizations such as the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) and the California Association of Independent Schools (CAIS). This plan reflects our current knowledge and will be updated as new information becomes available. SF Day will continue to keep the community informed as this situation evolves. 

Sincerely,

Sincerely,

Dr. Mike Walker
Head of School

Research has determined that exposure risk to COVID-19 is a gradient, rather than an all-or-nothing condition. Science indicates that a person must spend at least 15 minutes, accumulated within a 24-hour period (regardless of face coverings), within 6 feet of someone with COVID-19 to be at risk of infection. Shorter interactions at greater distances are lower risk. Being outside substantially lowers the risk of infection, and universal face coverings decrease the risk further. Other factors include whether the infected person was sneezing or coughing, or doing an activity that produced more respiratory droplets (singing or shouting has been shown to spread COVID-19 efficiently, particularly in enclosed spaces).

SF Day’s Health and Safety Plan is designed to reduce risk according to these parameters. By keeping our students in stable cohorts, minimizing adult interaction, and emphasizing the importance of physical distancing and facial coverings, we can reduce risk of exposure. 

Families play a critical role in this effort. In the interest of our collective health, it is essential that the home-school partnership is strongly aligned in mitigating the risk of exposure to COVID-19 within our communities. Success, both as individual community members and as a full community, depends upon clear expectations, norms, and protocols that must be adhered to in order to preserve our health and safety. 

In order to safely welcome students and adults back to campus, SF Day has established a comprehensive list of measures that include, but are not limited to:

• Implementing a COVID-19 Health and Safety Plan (this document) that adheres to SFDPH and CDPH guidelines.

• Conducting COVID-19 testing of all employees based on local prevalence outlined in Table 2.

• Developing and performing protocols for daily symptom tracking of all students and employees.

• Supporting COVID-19 testing and contact tracing. 

• Regularly cleaning and sanitizing the campus, especially high traffic, high touch areas.

• Training all employees and students on health and safety protocols.

• Hiring a full-time Health Coordinator. 

• Creating a caring and respectful isolation space for any person who may become symptomatic at school.

• Communicating with key constituencies in a prompt, respectful, and legal manner about COVID-19 cases.

• Supporting the mental health and social-emotional well-being of all members of the SF Day community.

At SF Day, actively protecting and caring for one another’s health and well-being is a commitment we all share. The responsible actions of all adults and students, both on and off campus, are vital to our collective success in maintaining a safe and healthy community. 

The home-school partnership will require an even higher level of communication, collaboration, and understanding during this reopening period. As such, we ask that every community member practice the following guidelines: 

• Cooperate with orders and guidelines from state and local health officials.

• Monitor personal and family health by conducting daily personal health  and temperature checks. If experiencing COVID-19 related symptoms, stay home and seek medical attention.

• Follow testing protocols provided by SF Day and stay up-to-date as protocols may change over time.

• Observe healthy hygiene by washing hands often, wearing appropriate face coverings, and avoid touching the face.

• Practice physical distancing and avoid large gatherings and crowded places. Consult the recommendation from SFDPH regarding safer social interactions. 

• Avoid non-essential travel, particularly to locations with known high rates of infection.

• Keep SF Day informed if anyone in your household tests positive for COVID-19 or comes into close contact (less than 6 feet away for more than 15 minutes) with someone who has tested positive.

• Support your child’s (and YOUR) physical and emotional well-being.

• Encourage physical activity and time outside.

• Provide children with the space to share and ask questions.

• Maintain a routine at home for stability.

• Reach out for help. Visit www.sfday.org/healthandsafety for resources.

At SF Day, we are committed to creating a diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment as expressed in our DEI statement. In seeking to proactively financially support our community members in this extraordinary time, the School established a Community Support Fund in 2020. As we work together to navigate this situation, SF Day will continue to be mindful of equity and inclusion issues as part of our decision-making process. In particular, SF Day has made the following considerations:

• Students who are likely to experience the greatest negative impacts due to a lack of in-person instruction, such as our youngest learners, will be prioritized to return to campus. 

• Shifting students to full-time Connected Learning from in-person learning due to difficulty complying with safety and health plan protocols should be considered only after exhausting efforts to encourage compliance (e.g., face coverings) and careful consideration of the unique circumstances of each individual student.

• COVID-19 is not at all connected to race, ethnicity, or nationality. School staff should be mindful that intimidation or harassment of students based on actual or perceived race, color, national origin, or disability (including the actual disability of being infected with COVID-19 or perception of being infected) may result in a violation of state and federal civil rights laws.

• The School will take immediate and appropriate action to investigate what occurred when responding to reports of harassment. 

• If parents and families believe their child has experienced harassment or intimidation related to the COVID-19 outbreak, they should contact their child’s teacher or grade level administrator.