Plans for the 2020-2021 School Year

Dear St Andrew UMC Preschool Family,

We have been working diligently with the Preschool board to create a safe plan for reopening while maintaining the play based learning environment that we all love.

Health Screenings:
All teachers and students will have a health screening each morning.  We will screen for elevated temperature, as well as, other known symptoms of illness prior to entering the building. Our teachers will come to your car with a no touch thermometer.  We will check your child's temperature and ask you a couple of questions.  Anyone exhibiting symptoms or with a temperature greater than 99 degrees will not be allowed to enter.

Masks: Teachers must wear masks during carpool, while in the hallway, while setting up lunches, and when they are in close proximity to children.  Our teachers will be able to chose if they would like to wear a mask while in the classroom during other times.  We also had a generous donation of face shields for each teacher.  Some teachers may chose to wear those. We know that speech and expressions are a very important part of preschool development. We are working hard to create the safest and most child friendly plan. Children three and over will be permitted to wear a mask if desired.  We will ask you to send in a few masks to change as needed.

Adults in the building: Bright from the Start, the Department of Health, and the CDC all stress the need to limit the number of adults entering the building.Therefore, parents will not be allowed in the halls.  Every family must do carpool.  If you arrive late or need to leave early you will be able to call my cell phone and i will walk your child out to you.  We will only have necessary church staff and preschoolers in the building each day.

Cleaning: We have very specific cleaning regulations set by NAEYC.  We will increase the frequency of cleaning each classroom with enhanced sanitizing procedures throughout the day.  Each classroom will also be sanitized and disinfected at the end of each day.  We will limit the use of shared spaces and sterilize between each class.We will continue to enforce hand washing. throughout the day.

What will happen if someone at preschool (student/staff) tests positive for COVID 19?
1.Current guidelines suggest that the student/staff member who tests positive for COVID 19 will be required to quarantine for 14 days, or until cleared by a doctors note to return to school
2. The affected classroom will be closed for two consecutive days minimum for cleaning/sanitizing/ disinfecting and to receive further guidance from the health department
3. Families will be informed of a positive diagnosis within the building, but no identifying information will be shared in accordance with HIPPA law
4. Families will also be informed if a family member outside of our building has a positive diagnosis
We will seek guidance from the Health Department for guidance in all cases

How Can You Help?
This is a hard time for our preschool.  We ask for your prayers and support as we try to navigate and plan.  We will also be very thankful for any and all cleaning product donations.  
We also ask for you to encourage hand washing, social distancing, and health transparency.  We will do everything in our power to keep your child safe and happy.  We are excited to come back and cannot wait to welcome all of our sweet preschoolers.