COVID-19 Information

PRIOR to coming to school to help decrease the risk of spreading COVID -19 as well as any type of infection, all students need to complete a self screening and answer the following questions before coming to school each morning:

1. Do you have any of these symptoms that are not caused by another condition? 

• Fever temperature 100.4  degrees or above

• Chills

• Cough

• Shortness of Breath or Difficulty Breathing

• Fatigue

• Body Aches

• New Onset Loss of Taste and or Smell

• Sore Throat

• Congestion

• Nausea or vomiting

• Diarrhea

• Headache

2. Have you been exposed to or been in close contact with a COVID positive person?

• If yes and unvaccinated, please stay home
• If vaccinated and with symptoms, please stay home.

3. Are you waiting for the results of a COVID test?

****If your child has any of the listed symptoms and/or your child has answered yes to any of the questions, please keep your child home and notify your child’s School nurse immediately as these indicate a possible illness that may decrease the student’s ability to learn and also put them at risk for spreading illness to others.****

If your child is experiencing any symptoms of COVID -19, please contact your child's school nurse immediately.  The direct contact for any illness/Covid or injury related questions or reporting of symptoms should be your child's school nurse. 

If your student is COVID positive, please complete the COVID Student Notification Form in addition to notifying your school nurse. 

SYMPTOMS REQUIRING SCHOOL TO IMMEDIATELY SEND A STUDENT HOME FOR REFERRAL TO THEIR PHYSICIAN FOR POSSIBLE COVID-19 TESTING:

1 or more of the following:

• New Onset Cough - not Asthma or Allergy related

• Fever 100.4 or above

• Shortness of breath

• Difficulty Breathing

• New onset loss of Taste and/or Smell

2 or more of the following;

• Chills

• Muscle pains/aches

• Headache

• Sore Throat

• Nausea

• Vomiting

• Diarrhea

• Extreme Fatigue

• Congestion/Runny Nose

If your child is sent home with any of the above , one of the following will need to occur prior to your child’s return to school:  

• COVID-19 testing was completed:

  • Keep child home until test results reported and reviewed with your school nurse

  • Reported as negative and reviewed with the school nurse   AND

  • The child meets the school’s normal criteria for return after an illness.                                                                   

                                                             OR                   

• A health care provider has evaluated the child and documented an alternative diagnosis and confirmed that the child may return to school.

                                                              OR

• COVID-19 testing was not done and all of the following are true:

  • At least 5 days since the onset of symptoms AND

  • Fever free off anti fever medications for 24 hours AND

  • Symptoms are improving for 24 hours

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The direct contact for any illness/COVID or injury related questions or reporting of symptoms should be your child’s school nurse.  

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School Communication

The Dashboard serves as notification to our community of COVID-19 cases in the District and is designed to provide the most up to date data for our community.  

The dashboard consists of two charts.  The first chart provides a snapshot of the total number of employee and student positive cases of COVID-19 in the District, and the second displays the total COVID-19 cases by month. 

Allegheny County Health Department isolation and quarantine basics for the general population can be found here. 

CDC isolation and quarantine basics for the general population can be found here.

If it becomes necessary to close a school due to COVID-19 concerns, we will move to remote instruction for the period of time established in consultation with the ACHD. We will communicate the school closing with parents by phone alert, email, and text message. 
Families: Please be sure to have your contact information up-to-date in the PowerSchool Dashboard.

When Allegheny County is designated, through the CDC, as experiencing high transmission, the District strongly recommends indoor masking for all individuals, regardless of vaccination status.

CDC does not currently recommend use of face shields as a substitute for masks.

Handwashing is one of the most effective ways to prevent the spread of any virus and avoid getting others sick.

It is especially important to wash your hands frequently with soap and water while scrubbing the palms, back of hands, in-between fingers and underneath the fingernails. Be sure to lather for at least 20 seconds or more and dry your hands with a clean towel or air dry them.

You can help yourself and your loved ones stay healthy by washing your hands often, especially during these key times when you are likely to get and spread germs:

 

• Before, during, and after preparing food

• Before eating food

• Before and after caring for someone at home who is sick with vomiting or diarrhea

• Before and after treating a cut or wound

• After using the toilet

• After changing diapers or cleaning up a child who has used the toilet

• After blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing

• After touching an animal, animal feed, or animal waste

• After handling pet food or pet treats

• After touching garbage

• After you have been in a public place and touched an item or surface that may be frequently touched by other people, such as door handles, tables, gas pumps, shopping carts, or electronic cashier registers/screens, etc.

• Before touching your eyes, nose, or mouth because that’s how germs enter our bodies.

 Watch a video of the best practice in handwashing.

Due to COVID -19 we are asking for your help in decreasing the number and frequency of non-essential student visits to the nurse’s office.  Reducing visits to the nurse’s office limits your child’s unnecessary exposure to possible germs.   

The District's Health Services Department is asking students to carry their own:

• Chap-stick  

• Small bottle of hand lotion

• Wax for their braces, but remind them not to share.  

• Change of clothes in their backpacks as accidents do occur. 

• Water Bottle

To further limit exposure, teachers will be keeping basic first aid supplies in their classrooms (band aids, antiseptic wipes, gauze, gloves) to treat minor scrapes and scratches.

Please continue to reinforce healthy hygiene habits such as hand washing, coughing into the elbow, and not touching the eyes, nose, or mouth.

Please contact your child's school nurse with any questions or concerns.

It is of vital importance that schools receive the Emergency Medical Contact/Release Information on each of our students on a timely basis.  

 Please note the following tips:

• You must go in under the parent/guardian’s Dashboard account, not the student’s

•   Emergency Medical Contact/Release Information is located under the “Account Preferences” tab

•  Please include parents/guardians (in priority order) as part of your four contact options if you wish to be contacted.

•  Please enter this information for each student – you may utilize the “Copy From” feature to expedite the process.

• If you have completed this information in a previous year, please review it every school year and even if there are no changes, click the submit button at the end of the page.  This will complete the process and the information will be saved.  Also, please click the submit button any time you need to make a change to any of the information.

• Students with more than one parent account or those that do not have access to a computer will need to complete a hard copy of the Emergency Medical Contact/Release Information sheet.  Please contact your child’s health office for a copy of this.

• Please contact your child’s nurses office for any issues, concerns or if you will need a hard copy of the Emergency Medical Contact/Release Information Sheet.

Thank you for your assistance in following through on this vital part of your child’s health record.  Please feel free to contact your building secretary for assistance with a Dashboard account and your building certified school nurse if you have a medical concern regarding your child/ren.

• CDC Managing Stress and Anxiety during COVID-19 Pandemic:
   https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prepare/managing-stress-anxiety.html
   

• NASP Talking to children about COVID-19 (multilingual resources available):
   https://www.nasponline.org/resources-and-publications/resources-and-podcasts/school-climate-safety-and-crisis/health-crisis-resources/talking-to-children-about-covid-19-(coronavirus)-a-parent-resource

• NCTSN Caregiver COVID-19 Preparedness fact sheet:
   https://www.nctsn.org/sites/default/files/resources/fact-sheet/outbreak_factsheet_1.pdf
   

• SAMSHA Taking care of behavioral health during an infectious disease outbreak:
   https://store.samhsa.gov/product/Taking-Care-of-Your-Behavioral-Health-During-an-Infectious-Disease-Outbreak/sma14-4894
   

• Resolve Crisis Services: 1-888-7-YOU-CAN; 1-888-796-8226
   

• National Suicide Prevention Line: 1-800-273-8255 / Text CONNECT 741741

Center for Disease Controls (CDC)

Allegheny County Health Department

Pennsylvania Department of Health

World Health Organization (WHO)

CDC Stop the Spread of Germs

CDC Symptoms of COVID-19

Mt. Lebanon Municipality Preparations

stclair.org

Resources from the ACHD

Isolating or quarantining because of COVID-19 can be challenging, but they are important tools to contain the virus. Help is available through the United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania by calling 2-1-1 or by calling the Health Department’s COVID-19 hotline at 1-888-856-2774. Resources include:

• Food assistance: The Greater Pittsburgh Food Bank is offering home delivery for people who cannot leave their home. For information on scheduling a delivery, call 412-460-3663, ext. 655, or visit https://www.pittsburghfoodbank.org
• Housing assistance: Allegheny Link has is encouraging those in need of housing services and support to call them at 866-730-2368 or email AlleghenyLink@AlleghenyCounty.us
• Child care assistance: Trying Together has partnered with the Allegheny County Department of Human Services to provide information on finding child care at www.tryingtogether.org/find-child-care. Help is also available by calling Early Learning Resource Center (ELRC) Region 5 at 412-350-3577
• Assistance for seniors: Allegheny County’s SeniorLine can be reached at 412-350-5460
• Substance abuse disorder assistance: PA Get Help Now can be reached at 1-800-662-HELP
• To report child abuse or neglect: Call Childline at 1-800-932-0313
• Concerned about abuse or neglect of an older adult or an adult with disabilities: Older Adult Protective Service can be reached at 412-350-6905 or 1-800-490-8505