Indoors:

No indoor events are being organized at this time. We intend to revisit the policy as the situation evolves in San Diego County.

Outdoors:

Only adults with proof of full vaccination OR a recently obtained lab-based PCR negative test (Swab taken within 48 hours prior to the event):

• Mixing across cohorts is permitted
• Masking is expected unless eating or drinking
• All remain properly physically distanced
• Lab-based PCR covid tests can be obtained through your doctor’s office (cost dependent on insurance), a free SD county testing site (free), or directly through UCSD ($65). 

Children’s presence at C.A. or school events only possible when there is no mixing across cohorts:

Students may attend regardless of vaccination status or proof of a PCR negative test (as students are PCR tested weekly at school) with the following requirements:

• Cohorts are the same for both students and parents (again, no mixing)
  • • Separate cohorts: PK0, PK1, PK2, Kinder, Grade 1, Grade 2
    • Grade 3-5 & Grade 6-8
    • All remain masked unless eating or drinking

• All remain properly physically distanced (to the degree feasible for young children)

A. Vacation breaks. Return from “during-the-year” vacation breaks e.g. October Break, Thanksgiving, etc. The following is in effect until further notice, regardless of vaccination status and if travel is local or non-local:

• SDFAS campus is open after each break.

• The school requires that every vacationing family MUST conduct a rapid at-home over-the-counter antigen test for each member of the household in the afternoon or evening of the day before returning to campus AND 3-5d post-travel.

  • Regardless of whether or not a PCR; or other tests, was required before boarding an aircraft at the originating destination.

• All positive cases from the at-home rapid antigen tests MUST be reported immediately to the School Nurse. Negative test results do not need to be reported.

• Negative results do not need to be shared or tracked by SDFAS.

• The school will conduct weekly PCR testing weekly (on the first day back after a weekend or holiday) with results anticipated the following morning or within 48 hours at the latest. 

B. Non-local travel* “during-the-year” by individuals within SDFAS households. For household members who travel during the school year and engage in any non-local travel, the school’s travel policy is as follows:

• The school requires that every vacationing family MUST conduct a rapid at-home over-the-counter antigen test for each member of the household in the afternoon or evening of the day before returning to campus AND 3-5d post travel.

  • Regardless of whether or not a PCR; or other tests, was required before boarding an aircraft at the originating destination.

• All positive cases from the at-home rapid antigen tests MUST be reported immediately to the School Nurse. Negative test results do not need to be reported.

• The school will conduct weekly PCR testing weekly (on the first day back after a weekend or holiday) with results anticipated the following morning or within 48 hours at the latest.

*Non-local travel is defined as including any of the following:

1. Travel beyond 120 miles from an individual’s place of residence.*

2. Travel outside of the State of California or outside the country regardless of proximity to both borders*

*The above conditions define NON-LOCAL travel as (a) regardless of the means of transportation by land, air, or sea and (b) regardless of vaccination status.

Take into consideration with utmost respect the perspectives and opinions of every member of our school community, and notably find middle ground between risk-aversion and risk-tolerant community members. Be adaptable and make adjustments as deemed necessary based on evolving nature of the Covid-19 situation in our County.

• Reopen using effective risk-mitigation policies, procedures, and protocols while at the same time maintaining a steadfast commitment to our school’s mission and core values
• The health, safety, and wellbeing of students, employees, and families come first and are our top priority
• Prefer in-person and on-campus learning when permitted by local authorities and at the same time offer, when necessary, a high-quality distance learning option.
• Act, educate, and communicate with clarity, respect, and transparency. 
• Be flexible, creative, adaptive.

The following plan has been adopted from the San Diego Office of Education COVID Decision Tree.

Regardless of vaccination status, students exhibiting symptoms of COVID are not able to come on campus until cleared to do so by the school nurse. If already at school, they will be isolated (with supervision) until parents are able to come and pick them up.

Clearance following symptoms requires the following:

• A negative PCR COVID test result (regardless of vaccination status)
• The student has been fever-free for 24hrs without medication that lowers a fever
• The student’s symptoms must be improving
• The student has been at home for 24hrs

Symptoms of COVID include:

Fever (temperature >100.0F), cough, shortness of breath, nasal congestion, runny nose, sore throat, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fatigue, new loss of taste/smell, new and unexplained headache, muscle or body aches, poor feeding or poor appetite.

If symptoms manifest at home:

If your child is experiencing symptoms of COVID at home (regardless of vaccination status), please keep your child at home and email the school nurse, your student’s teacher, and the relevant division director.

If symptoms are observed on campus:

If a student is observed to have a symptom of COVID on campus, they will be isolated immediately in the infirmary. Parents (and, if unreachable, one of the student’s emergency contacts) will be called and expected to make arrangements to come and pick up the student as soon as possible (within an hour to the extent possible). The student will remain isolated and under the supervision of the school nurse (or if unavailable, by a designated administrator or staff member).  Further instructions will be provided to the parents over the phone and in writing, including instructions on how to get their students tested at no cost to the parents. 

If an employee manifests symptoms on campus:

Employees who are isolated will be asked to return home by their own means if they are well enough to do so. If this is not the case, the school will make an alternative arrangement to assist the employee in returning home or to get medical attention. 

Serious injury or illness:

For serious injury or illness, the nurse, an administrator, or anybody else on the scene will know to call 9-1-1 without delay. Medical attention will be immediately sought if COVID-19 symptoms become severe, including persistent pain or pressure in the chest, confusion, or bluish lips or face. The SDFAS school nurse will regularly consult the CDC’s webpage for updates and further details.

Students: Vaccination is strongly encouraged

The COVID vaccines approved for emergency use by the FDA will not be required for students. Vaccination is not mandated by SDFAS at this time for students 12 and over. However, for the health and safety of our community, such vaccines are strongly recommended for those who are eligible to receive them. If you have questions regarding vaccine safety, please contact the school nurse to discuss the risks and benefits for your student. SDFAS reserves the right to revisit or change this possible at its sole discretion at any time.

Covid vaccines are currently available for all students age 12 and up. If you have questions regarding vaccine safety, please contact the school nurse to discuss the risks and benefits for your student. 

Please note: If your student has been vaccinated over the summer please send the school nurse a photograph of their completed Covid vaccine card.

Employees who have direct student contact

Vaccination is mandated The COVID vaccine is mandated for all employees who have sustained direct contact with students on a daily basis (teachers, assistant teachers, administrators, substitute teachers, etc.), subject to legally required exemptions. This is monitored and enforced by the School. Any staff member qualifying for a legally permitted exemption is required by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) to be tested for Covid (PCR) weekly and to be masked with an N95 at all times when on campus (indoors and outdoors). 

Employees who do NOT HAVE direct student contact

Vaccination is strongly urged (otherwise: mandatory N95 masking and weekly PCR testing) The COVID vaccine is strongly urged for employees who do not have direct student contact (janitorial staff, maintenance/facilities, security, consultants, volunteers, etc.). A worker in a school who is not vaccinated is required to be tested for Covid (PCR) weekly, submit proof of testing to the School as a condition for being permitted on campus, and to be masked with an N95 at all times (indoors and outdoors). This is monitored and enforced by the School.

• All students and staff will be PCR pool tested two days prior to everyone’s return to campus for the first day of school.
• Once the school year has begun, there will be mandatory weekly “pooled” PCR testing (with 24/48 hour turn-around) for all students and staff. Swabs will be done on campus in classrooms by the school nurse or other trained staff member and at no additional cost to families.
• We plan to test every student and every staff member weekly, usually on Mondays.
• If your student is new, please complete the consent form ASAP by clicking here and using the access code OPU617 to enroll your child(ren) in the pooled testing program.

Parents should also discuss proper use of masks with their children, and have children practice wearing masks prior to returning to campus. The School will have disposable masks available to students who fail to bring one or whose mask becomes soiled or damaged while at school. 

Masks that no longer cover the nose and mouth, do not stay on the face, are soiled, or have holes or tears are not acceptable and must be discarded. Students will be provided a mask if they do not possess a replacement mask brought from home.

Masks for students (required indoors and outdoors)

All students. All students aged 2 years and older must wear a mask indoors and outdoors regardless of vaccination status, except while eating or drinking. Students are encouraged to bring their own mask from home, but the school will have disposable masks available to students who fail to do so or whose mask becomes damaged or soiled while at school. Masks with air filters are not permitted.

Preschool students in particular. In PK, staff will reinforce the rule in age-appropriate ways, assist students in-age appropriate ways, train students in age-appropriate ways, and collaborate closely with parents, all while keeping in mind CDSS guidelines as concerns the protection and safety of young children.

Masks for staff (required indoors and outdoors)

All staff regardless of vaccination status are required to wear masks indoors and outdoors, except while eating or drinking. 

Employees are welcome to use their own masks from home, as long as they are workplace appropriate. The School has reusable cloth and disposable masks available for employees who fail to bring one or whose mask becomes damaged or soiled while at school. Employees with medical conditions or disabilities that prevent them from being able to wear a mask will be provided with accommodations made on a case-by-case basis consistent with the school’s policy on reasonable accommodation of employees available for consultation with the school’s Employee Handbook and Operations and/or COVID-19 addendum to that document.

Please note:  Unvaccinated staff members, if ever there are any, are required to wear an N95 mask indoors and outdoors, provided regularly by the school. N95s are also available for all staff members and are recommended for staff who are at higher risk of severe illness or who cannot safely distance from household contacts at higher risk.

Face coverings for students with medical conditions or disabilities

Students with medical conditions or disabilities that prevent them from being able to wear a mask will be provided with accommodations, which may include wearing a face shield with a cloth drape attached across the bottom and tucked into a shirt; this determination will be made on a case-by-case basis consistent with the School’s policy on reasonable accommodation of students. 

Safety monitoring of masking 

SDFAS employees are directed to monitor the use of masking for students who are 8 years of age or younger to ensure that they are able to breathe without choking or suffocating.

• Social distancing in school settings at 6 feet is no longer mandated (as per CDPH and County). The school’s current policy is to reinforce for students and adults on a daily basis a routine habit of physical distancing to the degree feasible and at distances as feasible within the particular context of any given space, and notably when eating or drinking at all times.
• Double size classrooms in all K, 2, and 3 classes are maintained.
• In Grade 1, a third-class section had been opened to keep class sizes small for this critical reading and writing year. Even if not all of the first-grade classrooms remain double size, there is ample space in each of these rooms given the reduced size of each class section.
• The Science Lab remains double-sized.
• The Innovation Lab will no longer be used as a Middle School classroom.
• The Auditorium will no longer be used as the Faculty Lounge/surplus furniture storage zone.

• The cohorts are slightly larger than last year: in PK and K, each grade is a cohort and students don’t mix across grades. Thus, all classes within the same grade level are within the same Covid cohort. Elsewhere in the School, cohorts are within groupings of classes and at times grouping together multiple grades, as follows: Grade 1 cohort, Grade 2 cohort, Grade 3-5 cohort and Grade 6-8 cohort. Parents are strongly encouraged to the degree feasible to respect the same cohort groupings off-campus when socially mixing (a.k.a. playdates, etc.).
• In PK, English instruction time and Spanish instruction time will resume in person within each classroom (curriculum delivery is thankfully no longer via instruction needing to be Zoomed into classrooms).
• Specialty teachers will once again teach in person within all classrooms PK0-8 (for example, coding and robotics instruction, cross-grade or cross-curricular co-teaching or curricular projects, art/music/ceramics programming, approved outside visiting or guest educators, history-geography or science teachers in upper elementary, etc.).
• The Art Room, Library, Innovation Lab and Auditorium will again welcome students PK0-8 at scheduled times.

• Windows and doors open as much and as often as feasible.
• MERV 13 air filters or floor air-scrubbing devices (with air ionization technology and HEPA filters) are in every classroom.
• Lunch outside school-wide and daily except in the event of rain.

Visitors, volunteers, etc. must wear a mask at all times, indoors and outdoors, regardless of vaccination status. See below for the vaccination policy for volunteers who are regularly on campus.

All volunteers coming to the SDFAS campus MUST upon arrival show either proof of Covid vaccine or a recent lab-based PCR test result obtained from the last 7 days.

Additionally, all volunteers who will be working on campus more than 16 hours/week must undergo a fingerprint scan through AliveScan. Please contact the school nurse to obtain the form (and instructions) before making an appointment with AliveScan. Please find attached a comprehensive checklist of what you need to provide in order to volunteer at SDFAS. Enclosed here is the required “Declination of Influenza Vaccination” form for volunteers.

NOTE: A CONFIDENTIALITY OF MEDICAL INFORMATION ACT (“CMIA”), must be signed before a person shows a school employee their vaccination card or shares any other private/personal Covid-19 related health information. This form is available here. (All parents must complete this form by August 25 regardless).

• No parents on campus until further notice, except for PK parents at drop off and pick up. Exception: meetings with administrators, with masking, and with virtual always offered as an option if preferred by parents.
• An anticipated and hoped-for approval for a limited number of school-structured events and Community Association gatherings, with risk mitigation protocols in place and including with parents outside, masked and grouped together respecting the same cohort groupings as those of students (PK0, PK1, PK2, Kindergarten, 1st grade, 2nd grade, grades 3-5, and 6-8 are each a separate cohort.)

Isolation (10d), campus return (with a PCR negative), and exemption from testing (90d)

Any student/staff diagnosed with COVID by a positive PCR test or by their doctor must remain in isolation for 10 full days. They may return to school after 10 full days of quarantine if they have been fever-free for the last 24hrs without fever-reducing medications, and their symptoms are improving. Students/staff who test positive for COVID are exempt from screening/testing for 90 days following their positive test, as they are presumed immune and may continue to test positive for those first 90 days.

Physician’s note to return to Physical Education or Sports League (once authorized)

All COVID-positive students must have a letter from their doctor officially clearing them to resume physical activity and Physical Education class. This is because there have been cases of cardiac events after students have been diagnosed with COVID due to vascular inflammation. 

Siblings who are immediate household members of any COVID positive individual

The COVID-positive student’s siblings (or parents especially if SDFAS staff) may also be required to quarantine for up to 24 days depending on the age of the positive case, age of the sibling, the layout of the home, and ability of the COVID-positive student to fully isolate from the rest of the family. 

School Nurse & Pandemic Coordinator

The person responsible to implement and monitor this plan is: Marilyn Rakow, School Nurse and Pandemic Coordinator (nurse@sdfrenchschool.org) reachable by phone at 858-456-2807 ext 309. In her absence and in the following order:  Division Directors, Director of Enrichment Programs, Front Office Manager, Head of School, and DFO. 

COVID-19 Response Team

The School Nurse & Pandemic Coordinator (designated SDFAS Liaison with local health authorities), Head of School, Director of Finance and Operations, Division Directors, Director of Enrichment Programs, School Counselor, Social-Emotional Learning Advisor, as needed and as members of the School’s COVID-19 Response Team, They are together responsible for responding to COVID-19 concerns (and each authorized to act in the absence of the School Nurse & Pandemic Coordinator). As per above, staff, students, and parents will be instructed to contact them in the absence of the School Nurse and Pandemic Coordinator to consult, verify protocols and their implementation, or respond to any Covid issue that arises. 

Responsibilities

• Document and track potential exposures and positive cases
• Conduct on-campus contact tracing
• Notify local health officials and provide them with the requested information, including lists of names, contact information, school functions for staff as needed
• Notify parents via school email communication as soon as is feasible and as detailed further below in this plan, if and when communication is warranted

Purpose

• Meet regularly in-person or by Zoom
• Conduct and share research, plan, prepare, propose and make decisions
• Designate responsibilities and establish timelines and priorities
• Ensure two-way information sharing between Board, Administration, Faculty & Staff, Parents & Students
• Provide regular updates to the community

Administrative Responsive Team

• Mark Rosenblum, Head of School
• Emmanuel Poulain, Director of Finance and Operations 
• Marilyn Rakow RN BSN, School Nurse & Pandemic Coordinator
• Kevin Saidler, Director of Communications
• Sophie Ricouard, Academic Director of Pre-Elementary 
• Babeth Esterly, Administrative Director of Pre-Elementary 
• Francis Carlier, Director of Elementary 
• Tom Faure, Director of Middle School, English Program Coordinator PK-8
• Paula Marra, Director of Enrichment Programs
• Stéphanie Humbert, Front Office Manager

Parent Advisory Team

• Francesca Torriani MD, Former Trustee & Alumni Parent; Infectious Disease Specialist and Medical Director at UCSD, Professor of Medicine at UCSD Health specializing in Infection Prevention and Clinical Epidemiology 
• Hala Madanat, MA Ph.D., Elementary Parent; Vice President for Research & Innovation, Formerly, Director of the School of Public Health at SDSU
• Kim Goodwin MD, Middle School Parent; Obstetrics & Gynecology, Sharp Mary Birch Hospital for Women and Newborns, West Coast OB/GYN (Private Practice)
• Michael Griesinger MD, “Maternelle” and Elementary Parent; Emergency Physician at Kaiser Permanente
• Lisa Lowe Hiller MD MPH FACEP, Elementary and Middle School Parent; Emergency Physician & Clinical Instructor, UCSD Health Systems, UCSD School of Medicine, and VA San Diego HealthCare 
• Alexis Nahama DVM, Trustee & Elementary Parent; SVP at Corporate Development at Sorrento Therapeutics, President, Art Animal Health
• Kurt Oreshack ESQ, Trustee & Elementary Parent; Partner at Breakwater Law Group, LLP with expertise in life sciences, healthcare, and biotechnology, including genomics and medical devices 

Trustees Consultation Team

• Fernanda Coelho, Board Chair & SDFAS Preschool and Elementary Parent; President at Coelho Consulting, previously Chief Business Development Officer of Human Longevity, President of SGI-DNA, and Senior VP at Synthetic Genomics
• Kyndra Leach, Vice-Chair of the Board & SDFAS Elementary Parent; Consultant at Dexcom
• Emiline Cairncross, Vice-Chair of the Board & SDFAS Preschool Parent; Attorney
• Teresa Sekiguchi, Treasurer of the Board, Alumni Parent; Managing Partner at Riptide Global Solutions Inc. 
• Etienne Chaponnière, Secretary of the Board and SDFAS Elementary Parent; Vice President, Technical Standards at Qualcomm
• Janice Murabayashi, Trustee; Academic Dean at The Bishop’s School

Government Agencies:  Guidelines & Regulations

• CDC:  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• CDPH: California Department of Public Health
• Cal/OSHA: California Occupational Safety and Health Agency
• CDE: California Department of Education
• CDSS: California Department of Social Services
• HHSA: San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency
• SDCOE: San Diego County Office of Education
• AAP: American Academy of Pediatrics

School Networks (American & French): Best Practices

• San Diego Independent Schools Groups:  (1) Heads of School (2) School Nurses
• CAIS: California Association of Independent Schools
• NAIS: National Association of Independent Schools 
• AFSA: Association of French Schools in North America
• AEFE: Agency for the Teaching of French Abroad 
• MLF America & MLF World: Mission Laïque Française
• MEN: French National Ministry of Education

2019-2020

• Head of School Video Message #10 – “We made it!” – June 12, 2020
• Head of School Video Message #9 – “We’re Getting There!” – May 29, 2020
• Head of School Video Message #8 – “A Special School – Intense Planning” – May 22, 2020
• Head of School Video Message # 7 – “Gala Edition”– May 10, 2020
• Head of School Video Message #6 – “Staying Connected”– May 1, 2020
• Head of School Video Message #5 – “Bonnes Vacances”– April 17, 2020
• Head of School Video Message #4 – “Reflecting” – April 10, 2020
• Head of School Video Message #3 – “Settling In”– April 3, 2020
• Head of School Video Message #2 – “Focusing on the Essential” – March 27, 2020
• Head of School Video Message #1 – “Distance Learning”  – March 20, 2020