PCS Community Contract & Code of Conduct

Park Century School Community Contract and Code of Conduct

After months of planning, we are looking forward to once again uniting on our physical campus to provide our students with much-needed in-person learning opportunities. Because it is important to enter our hybrid learning program with community-wide confidence in our plan for re-entry, we are outlining all health and safety protocols for parents, students, staff, and faculty to make sure that all expectations for in-person learning are clear.

Protecting the health of all community members is our number one priority, requiring constant vigilance and compliance with the rules and policies set forth by the state, the LA County Department of Public Health, and the Park Century School COVID-19 Task Force. This also requires a mutual trust and agreement that once we open our doors to students, we enter into a social contract to maintain a household standard that protects the entire community.

That is why we are asking that parents of students who opt for in-person learning, faculty, and staff read, accept, and sign this document prior to our return to in-person learning on February 1, 2021. Please note, expectations and guidelines in this document are subject to change due to directives from the CDC, the state, and the LA County Department of Public Health. Parents, please review these expectations with your children (when age appropriate) before signing. Parents should keep in mind that if for any reason you may not wish to sign this agreement, or if you feel your child may not be able to adhere to these requirements, the remote learning program remains an option.

PARK CENTURY SCHOOL RESPONSIBILITIES

Park Century School will:

Provide an environment which has been dynamically risk assessed in response to COVID-19 infection.
Maintain a daily screening procedure.
Educate staff, faculty, parents, and students on health and safety procedures.
Create policies and monitor students’ mask wearing, hand washing, and social distancing compliance.
Provide a hybrid learning environment with options for in-person and remote learning that meet the needs of your child’s well-being, mental health, and academic progress.
Contact parents/caregivers if your child displays symptoms of COVID-19 while at school. In that case, all household members will need to self-isolate for at least 14 days or until a COVID-19 test comes back negative (test results must be shared with the school).
Communicate important updates, expectations, and health and safety protocols through notices, newsletters, text, email and the school website.
Continue to monitor and update protocols reflecting local and state health and safety guidelines.
Clean, disinfect, and sanitize all classrooms and facilities multiple times throughout the day.
Provide onsite open-air COVID testing free of charge to students, staff, faculty, and their household members prior to campus reopening. PLEASE NOTE: Testing is not a preventive measure. To be effective in preventing the spread of COVID-19, testing must be paired with 7-day quarantine and strict adherence to mask-wearing, social distancing, and hand washing guidelines before campus return.

Park Century School will follow the CDC Flowchart for Students Who Are Sick - Updated as of September 1, 2020

COMMUNITY RESPONSIBILITIES

Testing/Pre-campus Arrival

Faculty and staff will either test on Wednesday, January 6, 2021 at PCS or produce and send proof of a negative COVID-19 test taken within 7 days of their return to campus via email to Lindsay Jung.
Students must either test on Wednesday, January 13, 2021 at PCS or produce and send proof of a negative COVID-19 test taken between January 10-13 via email to Lindsay Jung by Sunday evening, January 17, and quarantine for 7 days immediately after taking the test in order to return to campus on January 19.
- Quarantine is used to keep someone who might have been exposed to COVID-19 away from others. Quarantine helps prevent the spread of disease that can occur before a person knows they are sick or if they are infected with the virus without feeling symptoms. People in quarantine should stay home, separate themselves from others, monitor their health, and follow directions from their state or local health department.
Students will not be allowed on campus on January 19 if they have not submitted a negative test result to Lindsay Jung and have not quarantined for 7 days after taking the test.

Campus Arrival

Each morning before arriving at school, parents must complete a daily symptom check on Titan HST on behalf of their child(ren). Faculty/staff must also complete a daily symptom check on Titan HST before arriving on campus.
- If your child experiences any of the COVID-19 symptoms on the Titan HST prescreening, you must keep them home until symptom free for 24 hours.
- Please refer to: CDC Screening
When arriving on campus, students, faculty, and staff must wear a mask at all times.
Students will check in to campus at their designated check-in location.
Students, faculty, and staff will undergo a no-touch temperature check from a PCS staff member before entering the building.
Drivers must wear a mask when dropping off students. Drivers, caregivers, and parents are not permitted to exit the car at any point during drop off. Only students, faculty, and staff are permitted on campus.
Students are asked to only bring school appropriate items in their backpacks and leave personal belongings at home.
- Water and snacks are considered appropriate items during designated snack/break times.
Everyone will be responsible for keeping their belongings with them at all times and are unable to share communally with other community members.

Movement on Campus

Everyone must maintain at least six feet of distance from others at all times.
- If a student cannot follow the guidelines and protocols of social distancing, parents will be contacted about returning to remote instruction.
All community members are not to gather in groups outside of their cohort or in ways that violate social distancing restrictions.
All community members must comply with all signage, maximum occupancy restrictions, and/or any floor markings.
Students will have designated snack/break times outdoors when the weather permits.

Classroom Behavior

Students and faculty will:
- Wash their hands and/or use hand sanitizer BEFORE entering the classroom.
- Wash their hands and/or use hand sanitizer AFTER leaving the classroom.
- Wear a cloth mask at ALL times except during designated snack breaks.
There should be no movement in the room unless prompted by an educator. One student at a time can be dismissed to wash hands, use the restroom, refill a water bottle, etc.

Mask and Sanitation Policies

Students and faculty/staff must wear a cloth mask at ALL times.
- If a student cannot follow the guidelines and protocols of mask wearing, parents will be contacted about returning to remote instruction.
Wear a mask that fits securely, with no obvious gaps, and covers the wearer’s nose and mouth. Neck gaiters, bandanas, and masks with vents are prohibited.
Avoid touching one’s eyes, nose, mouth, and mask.
Regularly clean reusable masks or maintain an adequate supply of single-day-use masks.
Wash your hands for at least 20 seconds with soap and water if you use the restroom, sneeze, touch your face, blow your nose, clean, disinfect, eat, or drink.
Responsibly dispose of any trash.
Keep your belongings with you – backpacks, computers, etc. – at all times.

Campus Departure for Students

Students will leave campus at the conclusion of their last required event of the day.
Students may not be on campus after 4 p.m.
Drivers must wear a mask at all times when picking up students. Documented drivers, caregivers, parents, and emergency contacts are not permitted to exit the car at any point during drop off. Only students, faculty, and staff are permitted on campus.

Illness

Parents are responsible for monitoring their child’s health, wellness, and level of potential risk to their cohort.
Students and faculty/staff MUST remain home if they feel sick and can only return to school when they have been symptom free for 48 hours.
If any member of your household tests positive for COVID-19, you will contact Lindsay Jung, our Health & Safety Coordinator. No student or employee will be able to return to campus until they have produced a negative COVID-19 test AND until 14 days have passed since the latest onset of symptoms of any member of the household.
If your child shows symptoms of COVID-19 at school or is a concern to the well-being of their cohort, a household member or emergency contact will need to pick up the student from school immediately.
- Refer to: Screening and Exposure Decision Pathways for Symptomatic Persons and Contacts of a Potentially Infected Persons at Educational Institutions

Self-quarantine Following Exposure

Parents, faculty, and staff will adhere to the following self-quarantining guidelines for you or your child(ren) following exposure to COVID-19:

14 days if you test positive or develop symptoms strongly suggestive of COVID-19. You are not cleared until the 14 days have passed and you are a minimum of 24 hours symptom free (without medications).
14 days if you or any of your family members are exposed to a person who has COVID-19 (an exposure is defined as within 6 feet of a COVID-19 positive individual for more than 15 minutes). Since it may take up to 2 weeks to develop symptoms, the quarantine time in this situation is 14 days regardless of a negative COVID-19 test during the quarantine period. The self-quarantine continues until the person completes the 14 days and is symptom-free without the use of fever medication for 24 hours. For the person to return to school, there is no need for a negative test after the quarantine.
- Refer to: CDC When to Quarantine

OUR PACT

While Park Century can mitigate the risk for students, staff, and faculty on campus by strictly adhering to state and county health and safety protocols, we also must acknowledge that controlling the spread of the virus has always been a shared community responsibility built on mutual trust in one another and universal adoption of scientifically-proven preventative actions that we employ outside of campus in our daily lives.

Any student, staff, or faculty member who walks onto our campus as of January 19 is entering a “community pact” illustrating that even when we are off campus, we have each other in mind. We ask that you read and accept the below off-campus, travel, and community response guidelines for agreed-upon expectations of our community and their household members.

Park Century Household Off-Campus Behavior

Family and household members will abide by social/physical distancing requirements at all times with anyone outside your ‘pod’.
Parents will not organize large group gatherings of any kind that involve Park Century students.
Parents, faculty, and staff will ensure that small group gatherings comply with social distance and mask wearing guidelines at ALL times.
Parents must remind their child about social distancing rules, mask wearing, and healthy hygiene practices.
Parents, faculty, and staff are responsible for reading all communications that are sent from the school leadership in order to stay up to date on health and safety guidelines and procedures.
Parents need to inform the school immediately of any changes to family and emergency contact details.
Parents will need to acknowledge that if a child engages in unsafe behavior (i.e. removing masks, not able to maintain social distancing), he/she will be sent home and cannot return until they can follow safety protocols.

Travel

Wherever possible, limit travel only to essential trips.
Students, faculty, and staff must quarantine for 14 days if they:
- Travel out of the state to a city or county that has more than a 5% COVID-19 positivity rate.
- Travel anywhere out of the state and participate in an event that has more than 14 people.

Community Response: Addressing and Preventing Social Stigma

Stigma and fear around communicable diseases can have a negative impact on the community’s ability to effectively respond. To build trust within our community and avoid fueling fear and stigma, we are asking PCS families and faculty to:

Understand the need for privacy in matters pertaining to the well-being of all PCS community members.
Respect the need for confidentiality of ALL health information and records.
Understand that WE WILL have positive cases in our community.
Support families in making their decision about in-person or remote learning.
Do your part to combat stigma and stereotyping by helping to create a supportive environment that shows care and empathy for all, dispelling rumors, and correcting misconceptions.
Continue to educate children about the importance of health and safety practices and potential risks.
Share facts and not fear about COVID-19 and its impact on our community.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

By signing this agreement using the electronic form below, I acknowledge that I have read and understand the expectations and protocols required of staff, faculty, and parents who opt for in-person learning when Park Century School re-opens the physical campus for a hybrid program on January 19, 2021.