Pandemic Procedures
Are you wondering what we are doing to prioritize your family’s health and wellness? Here is a preview of our most updated pandemic policies and procedures.
What you should know about our modified policies and procedures:
Drop off and Pick Up
- To best control the inside environment, parents, guardians and other adults are prohibited from entering the building. Staff and licensed officials are the only adults permitted in the building.
- We have implemented curb side pickup and drop off to limit the amount of traffic into the lobby and school.
- Adults must approach the center wearing a mask.
- Hands should be sanitized upon approaching the building. Sanitizer will be stocked and available for use.
- Families shall remain 6 feet apart from other families while waiting for assistance. Paint lines are placed outside to help keep kids and families distanced.
- Please read the daily health check to ensure that your child meets the health requirements to enter the building. By signing and dropping off your child, you are agreeing that these requirements are being met.
- We are limiting items brought into the building to include changes of clothing, indoor shoes, and one art/pencil box that is kept at school.
Modified Illness Policy
- Any child with a temperature greater than 99.9 will be sent home for a minimum of 72 hours. All siblings of the child with the fever must be out during that time as well.
- Children who are required to be out due to a fever, but who return with respiratory symptoms, will be asked to stay out for at least an additional 48 hours and until all symptoms subside.
- Children who are found to be ill during the day will be quarantined in an isolation room and parents are required to come pick them up immediately.
Operating Hours and Group Sizes
- We have modified our operating hours to eliminate the need for co-mingling and allow adequate staffing.
- Group sizes will be limited until further notice
Meals and Supplies
- Meals are currently being served by teachers in the classroom not in a lunch room or family style
- Snacks will also be served by teachers in the classroom and are not be served family style.
Random Bits
- Tours will be given virtually when possible. In person/walk through tours have been suspended
- Service calls, if necessary, will follow the same standard protocols. When not available on off hours, service providers will wear a mask, have a temperature scan, remove shoes or wear booties and use hand sanitizer
What you can expect from our staff:
Staff are responsible for knowing and performing the following protocols.
New Procedures for Entering the Building
- Sanitize hands
- Wear a mask while on property
- Complete a staff daily health check
- Verify they are symptom and fever free
- Wash hands upon entering room
- Change or remove outdoor shoes
Enhanced Daily Procedures
- Staff are prohibited from entering a room they are not assigned to
- Encouraged to stay on property during the day
- No mixing of groups
- Staff are required to wear masks anytime on property
- Increase outside time while limiting one group to a playground.
- UV sanitization in all A/C units
- Increase sanitizing and disinfecting efforts throughout the day
- Sanitize toys, common surfaces, door handles and playground at nap time and periodically throughout the day
- Disinfect at the end of the day
- Catch your sneeze or cough in your elbow or mask and wash your hands
- Building will be sanitized with fogging machine at close each evening.
- Remote controlled portable UV light for additional decontamination as needed
Child-Related Procedures
- Teachers will assist children with washing their hands under running water with soap for a minimum of 20 seconds when entering the room in the morning and when exiting the room at the end of the day. These times are in addition to the other typical times for washing, including but not limited to before and after meal times, after diapering and pottying, outdoor time and before and after playing in a center.
- Encouraging “air hugs” instead of hugging.
- All students and staff will wear “school shoes”: Crocs or croc like plastic shoes that can be easily sanitized and stay in the building
- Modifications to typical sensory bin activities. Where deemed appropriate, large sensory bin activities with soap and water will be provided. Where deemed appropriate, individual sensory bin activities will be used.
- Staff who do not have a reason for entering a room will be prohibited from doing so. Administrators will sanitize hands before entering any room.
- Meals will be dropped off at the door. Teachers serve meals – no family-style meals
- Nap mats will be distanced and kids will sleep head to toe.
Happy Faces continues to put the health, safety and wellness of our children and families as our top priority. We will continue to modify and adapt our policies as necessary to best ensure we’re doing everything we can to provide the safest environment possible.