Regular COVID-19 updates for GF Nation Families

Oct. 21 Parent Update: Considering COVID in gatherings for holidays, activities, and celebrations

It is critical that you notify the school nurse and/or principal right away if your child is being tested for COVID. We keep this information private, but use it to plan for possible exposure protocols. Please help us keep GF Nation Strong by being honest and proactive as we navigate this pandemic together!

As you begin conversations around plans for various holidays, activities, and celebrations, we would like you to consider these key factors into your decision-making:

If you travel to any of the restricted states, you will be required by NYS DOH to quarantine at home for 14 days upon your return. Please note that several areas within New York State are also subject to the Governor’s Cluster Action Initiative and have additional requirements therein.
New York State still discourages large gatherings, and limits indoor social events to 50 people or less.
Our actions as individuals have an effect on our entire Glens Falls Nation, even if we don’t feel sick or get sick ourselves. Gatherings with the best of intentions, involving the best of people, could still cause widespread problems for the larger community, as these news articles note:
- ‘Diamond Sweet 16’ Party Leaves 37 Infected and 270 in Quarantine
- Dr. Fauci says his kids aren’t coming home for Thanksgiving as Americans ‘sacrifice’ holiday gatherings to stay safe from coronavirus

We are extremely grateful that the personal decisions and responsible actions of our faculty, staff, students, and families have allowed us to learn in-person at each of our schools so far. We recognize the sacrifices — both big and small — that individuals are making each day to keep our school community thriving. And we ask you to persevere in those actions for the greater good.

We are truly all in this together. Thank you for being an important part of GF Nation.

Oct. 14 Parent Update: Details on “presumed positive” designation and return-to-school protocols

We want to be sure you didn’t miss the NYS Department of Health’s new requirements for students and staff with COVID-like symptoms:

If a student or staff member has any COVID-19 symptoms, they have 48 hours to see a doctor and either receive a negative COVID-19 test result or get diagnosed with something other than COVID-19. If they cannot or refuse to see a doctor, school and health department officials may presume that the person is positive.
A “presumed positive” means that the person must stay home from school/work and isolate for 10 days, AND the case may trigger the school and Warren County Public Health to start the contact tracing process, potentially quarantining at home additional students and staff who may have had contact with the person who is presumed positive.

Please take a moment to read the return-to-school protocols outlined below, so that your family is prepared for these expectations.

GFSD Return-to-School Protocols

Please note: All information is subject to change based on updated guidance from the NYS Department of Health and/or CDC.

Everyone who enters our school buildings is required to screen for possible COVID-like symptoms. Parents are required to notify the school nurse if their child is not feeling well and keep their child home from school. Parents should complete the health questionnaire for their children weekly.

If a student shows symptoms of COVID, the following procedures will be enforced in order to allow for the return to school:

If the healthcare provider confirms an alternate diagnosis (i.e. strep throat, flu) or a pre-existing condition (i.e. allergies, migraines):

Obtain a written diagnosis (preferably 48 hrs) from the healthcare provider of a known chronic condition with unchanged symptoms, or a confirmed acute illness (ex: laboratory-confirmed influenza, strep throat, etc.).
The healthcare provider must indicate that COVID is not suspected.
The note from the healthcare provider must detail the alternate diagnosis or pre-existing condition, along with all related symptoms, as well as a release to return to school. Nonspecific viral diagnoses such as viral upper respiratory infection, bronchitis, common cold, stomach bug, flu-like illness, or viral gastroenteritis will require a COVID test.
If your provider determines that a COVID test is necessary, your child must stay home until you receive your test results. Please discuss with your physician how you will get your results. Please provide provider permission to the school. Follow the directions below based on your test results.
If your child is prescribed an antibiotic, please ensure they have taken the medication for at least 24 hours prior to returning to school.

If your child has been evaluated by a healthcare provider and receives a negative COVID test result:

Obtain medical documentation by a healthcare provider, clearing the child to return to school
Provide results of a negative COVID diagnostic test (copy of lab results or physician documentation). This can be a negative rapid test if available. Please provide results to the school.
Ensure that all symptoms are improving
Ensure that the child is fever-free for at least 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication
Ensure that there is no vomiting or diarrhea for at least the previous 24 hours

If the test results are not available within 48 hours, per New York State Department of Health, GFSD is required to report this to the Warren County Public Health (WCPH) as a “presumed positive” case.

If your child has been evaluated by a healthcare provider and receives a positive COVID test result:

Obtain a physician’s note and written release from isolation from NYSDOH as required stating that child is able to return to school
Ensure that at least 10 days have passed since date of positive test or first symptoms have appeared
Ensure that the child has been fever-free for at least 24 hours without the use of fever reducing medication
Ensure that it has been at least 3 days since date symptoms have improved, including cough and shortness of breath
Ensure that there has been no vomiting or diarrhea for at least the previous 24 hours

If the test results are not available within 48 hours, per New York State Department of Health, GFSD is required to report to the Warren County Public Health (WCPH) as a “presumed positive” case.

If you choose NOT to have your child evaluated by a healthcare provider…

Your child must remain out of school for 10 calendar days after the first symptom(s) is identified.
GFSD is required to report this information to public health and WCPH would determine the next steps, including whether or not any siblings can return to school.
At the end of the 10 days:
- ensure that all symptoms are improving.
- ensure that your child has been fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever reducing medication.

Notification

The Superintendent and/or school nurse will receive notification from Warren County Public Health regarding any positive test results that relate to a student. The Superintendent must be informed of all positive cases in the district (students or staff) by the Department of Health, the employee, or the school nurse.

flowchart describing the circumstances for when a symptomatic child can return to school — NYS Department of Health chart from https://coronavirus.health.ny.gov/system/files/documents/2020/10/prek-gr12_toolkit.pdf

October 2, 2020: New flowcharts provided by NYSDOH; Reminder to Glens Falls families on protocols

We greatly appreciate all of your efforts to keep your family and our school community healthy. It is YOUR hard work that has kept our schools open for learning: wearing your face masks everywhere, cleaning your hands frequently, not touching your eyes/nose, and keeping distance between yourself and anyone not in your household.

Please keep going with all of these healthy habits! Reinforce them with your children, and be sure to:

Fill out the Student Health Questionnaire each week: https://forms.gle/AT3E7KoxuGYeSbTFA
Wash all cloth face coverings with your regular laundry
Exercise safely and eat healthy meals, such as the free breakfasts and lunches for all K-12 students.

Yesterday (October 1, 2020), the NYS Department of Health released helpful flowcharts describing what to do when students or staff members have COVID-19 symptoms, when to stay home, and when/how to return to school after feeling better. As our region sees an increase in COVID cases, we would like to remind all families of our protocols for the careful handling of a student or staff member who may become ill.

Only come to school if you feel well:

Before leaving the house in the morning, all parents/guardians must ensure that their children aren’t experiencing signs or symptoms of COVID-19, and that they do not have a fever. All staff members do the same thing, and the district performs a double-check that all people are fever-free by requiring use of the “fist-bump” temperature scanners upon entry to our schools.

If a person feels sick during the school day:

A student or staff member who starts feeling unwell during the day should immediately report to the nurse/isolation area. Our highly-skilled Registered Nurses will use their professional expertise to evaluate the individual, which includes checking for fever, consulting with parents/guardians on known, chronic conditions in the person’s medical history, and determining whether the person may need to go home, based on the presence of a fever, symptoms, or other factors. Staff members needing to go home leave immediately. Students needing to go home wait in the isolation area to be picked up, and are given this form to be filled out by their pediatrician.

If a confirmed positive case occurs with a student or staff member:

When an individual’s COVID-19 test comes back positive, the testing facility (family physician, county clinic, mobile testing site, etc.) will contact the county health department, which will direct the next actions to be taken by the school, if any. Warren Co. Public Health will handle isolation/quarantine directives, contact tracing, recommendations on the need for remote learning, and follow up with the positive case, assisted by our district leadership team and nurses. The district will provide immediate and ongoing communication with staff and families in the event of a positive case, and extra cleaning and disinfection will begin, according to protocols. Please keep in mind that health privacy laws will prevent us from giving extensive details on a positive case, but we are committed to providing appropriate and frequent information to all families and staff. Whether or not a classroom or school might switch to remote learning depends on the recommendations of Warren Co. Public Health.

How and when an ill person can return to school:

A student or staff member must have either a physician’s note indicating a negative COVID-19 test OR a physician’s note explaining an alternate diagnosis (lab-confirmed influenza, lab-confirmed strep throat, etc.) before they can return to their school. They will be welcomed back according to the usual re-entry guidelines for their particular diagnosis, but always need to be fever-free for 24 hours without medication, and their symptoms improving.

Again, we are grateful to our students, families, faculty, and staff for remaining diligent on all of these healthy habits because we are glad to be back in school. Together, we are GF Nation STRONG!

Sept. 7, 2020: Welcome back, GF Nation Families!

Tuesday, Sept. 8 begins our “Back to School” week at Glens Falls City Schools! Our entire school community has been working towards the chance to be back together again … and we are so excited that it’s almost here. As Superintendent Jenkins said on our opening day for staff, we are ALL doing this for the first time, and we are ALL in this together!

You and your children may want to watch this VIDEO that shows some of our new safety protocols in action. While this video was filmed at the Middle School and describes the In-Person/Hybrid model for grades 6-12, similar procedures will be in place at our elementary buildings. It is meant to give you a general feel for getting into the new school groove.

We appreciate the accommodations every family is making to help our students and staff return to learning safely. Staggered arrival and dismissal times, alternating attendance days, and a new block schedule are a lot to keep track of, but we are GFNation STRONG!

To help your family navigate the first weeks of school, here is an outline of the first several days of school for all buildings. If your children only attend school in one building or this outline seems confusing, simply refer to your principal’s welcome letter (BigCross HighSchool JacksonHeights Kensington MiddleSchool)

Tuesday, Sept. 8th:

HS: In-Person/Hybrid students with last names A-M go to school:

Arrival at 7:30 a.m. for BOCES/CTE students at C Door
Arrival at 8:20 a.m. for all other students, dismissal at 3:01 p.m.
All-Virtual and In-Person last names N-Z: no school.

MS: In-Person/Hybrid students with last names A-L (Blue) go to school:

Arrival at 8:20 a.m. for Grades 5/6; arrival at 8:40 a.m. for Grades 7/8
Dismissal at 2:05 p.m. for Grades 5/6; dismissal at 2:25 p.m. for Grades 7/8
All-Virtual and In-Person last names M-Z (Orange): no school.

BC, JH, KRS: In-Person students with last names A-L go to school:

Arrival at 8:30 a.m. for K/Grade 1; arrival at 8:45 a.m. for Grades 2/3/4
Dismissal at 2:15 p.m. for K/Grade 1; dismissal at 2:30 p.m. for Grades 2/3/4
All-Virtual and In-Person last names M-Z: no school.

Wednesday, Sept. 9th:

HS: In-Person/Hybrid students with last names A-M go to school:

Arrival at 8:20 a.m. for all students, dismissal at 3:01 p.m.
All-Virtual and In-Person last names N-Z: no school.

MS: In-Person/Hybrid students with last names M-Z (Orange) go to school:

Arrival at 8:20 a.m. for Grades 5/6; arrival at 8:40 a.m. for Grades 7/8
Dismissal at 2:05 p.m. for Grades 5/6; dismissal at 2:25 p.m. for Grades 7/8
All-Virtual and In-Person last names A-L (Blue): no school.

BC, JH, KRS: In-Person students with last names A-L go to school:

Arrival at 8:30 a.m. for K/Grade 1; arrival at 8:45 a.m. for Grades 2/3/4
Dismissal at 2:15 p.m. for K/Grade 1; dismissal at 2:30 p.m. for Grades 2/3/4
All-Virtual and In-Person last names M-Z: no school.

Thursday, Sept. 10th:

HS: In-Person/Hybrid students with last names N-Z go to school:

Arrival at 7:30 a.m. for BOCES/CTE students at C Door
Arrival at 8:20 a.m. for all students, dismissal at 3:01 p.m.
All-Virtual and In-Person last names A-M: no school

MS: In-Person/Hybrid students with last names M-Z (Orange) go to school:

Arrival at 8:20 a.m. for Grades 5/6; arrival at 8:40 a.m. for Grades 7/8
Dismissal at 2:05 p.m. for Grades 5/6; dismissal at 2:25 p.m. for Grades 7/8
All-Virtual and In-Person last names A-L (Blue): no school.

BC, JH, KRS: In-Person students with last names M-Z go to school:

Arrival at 8:30 a.m. for K/Grade 1; arrival at 8:45 a.m. for Grades 2/3/4
Dismissal at 2:15 p.m. for K/Grade 1; dismissal at 2:30 p.m. for Grades 2/3/4
All-Virtual and In-Person last names A-L: no school.

Friday, Sept. 11th: