COVID-19 Response - Community Day School: Jewish day school in Pittsburgh

The Community Day School Health and Safety Plan has been created with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) with additional information provided by the Allegheny County Health Department and the American Academy of Pediatrics.

It was developed by a team of CDS staff and medical advisors charged with researching the best available science and information to help protect our students, staff, and families against COVID-19 infection. The goal is to balance providing an enriching environment for children to learn and grow and for teachers to be empowered to succeed while upholding our commitment to Pikuach Nefesh (“safeguarding life”), a bedrock principle of Jewish law.

The following is the most recent draft of the Health and Safety Plan based on the information available (updated February 2023); the plan is also posted on the CDS website at comday.org/kadimah. In modern Hebrew, Kadimah or קדימה (pronounced Kah-dee-mah) means “forward” or “Let’s go!”

The current plan prioritizes the most effective layered prevention strategies that were implemented successfully in the past three school years at CDS to maintain full in-person instruction with minimal interruption. However, it recognizes that, with current high levels of vaccination and population immunity from infection, the risk of medically significant disease, hospitalization, and death from COVID-19 is greatly reduced for most people. As such, any physical distancing and cohorting requirements have been eliminated, along with routine asymptomatic (pooled) testing and any COVID-related educational program restrictions. Many other COVID-19 policies and procedures have been streamlined, and the plan allows for opportunities for individual choice wherever feasible.

Please keep in mind that the COVID-19 pandemic still remains unpredictable; the circumstances on which this plan is based could change quickly and force us to reevaluate our approach with little notice.

Our best approach to minimizing the impact of COVID-19 is to embrace a shared sense of responsibility for one another’s well-being. While we cannot eliminate the risks altogether, our school community can continue to work collectively to mitigate them while sustaining educational excellence at CDS as safely as possible.

CDS Health and Safety Plan - Updated February 2023

COVID-19 Vaccination

COVID-19 vaccines are safe, effective, and free, and they help protect adults and children from getting sick or severely ill with COVID-19 and help protect those around them.

Community Day School requires all employees and students to be immunized against COVID-19 with the primary series of the available vaccines and to submit proof of such immunizations, unless a medical exemption is submitted and approved by the Pittsburgh Jewish day school immunization advisory panel.

Currently, this requirement includes:

For the best protection, Community Day School strongly recommends that all employees and age-eligible students stay up-to-date with their COVID-19 vaccines in accordance with CDC guidance, which includes getting all boosters recommended, when eligible.

Currently, this recommendation includes:

Everyone ages 5 years and older should get 1 booster after completing their COVID-19 vaccine primary series.
Adults ages 50 years and older should get 2 boosters after completing their COVID-19 vaccine primary series.
Some people ages 12 and older who are moderately or severely immunocompromised should get 2 boosters.

Please note that these requirements may be subject to change as the science of COVID-19 immunization and illness evolves; as per the CDS enrollment contract, the school reserves the right to require additional vaccinations beyond what the state requires including, but not limited to, the flu shot or other vaccines or boosters.

Masks Requirements

Last spring, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a new framework for assessing COVID-19 risk. Community Day School will use these CDC COVID-19 Community Levels as benchmarks to determine masking requirements at school as follows:

Under “Low” and “Medium” COVID-19 Community Levels, masks will be optional for all students, employees, and visitors at CDS:
- Students and employees may choose to continue wearing masks for their own protection or that of high-risk family and community members.
- Public health experts have found that a well-fitted, high-quality mask, coupled with vaccination, provides significant protection to the wearer even if those around them are not masked.
- In keeping with our CDS values, our school community should honor the choices of others and respectfully allow individuals to wear masks (or not) at their own discretion with no judgment.
- Families will be asked to have regular conversations at home with their children explaining their expectations in school, but staff will not track or enforce masking preferences for individual students.
Under “High” COVID-19 Community Levels, well-fitting masks will be highly recommended (but not required) indoors for all students, employees, and visitors at CDS.
- Under these circumstances, single-layered face coverings like neck gaiters, bandannas, scarves, and knitted masks without liners, as well as masks with exhalation valves or vents will not be acceptable.
- The best masks are N95, KN95, and KF94 masks, followed by three-ply disposable surgical masks.
- CDS has an adequate, but not inexhaustible, stock of face coverings for staff and student use. Please send your child with an extra supply to have on hand at school.
Regardless of COVID-19 Community Levels, the CDC also recommends that all close contacts wear a well-fitting mask around others for 10 days following exposure to COVID-19.
CDS relies on public school districts for bus transportation, and all guidance related to COVID-19 safety and busing will be communicated directly by the districts (including masking requirements).
CDS will continue to monitor the spread of COVID-19 in our community and will revisit masking policies as needed; there may also be school events or occasions moving forward that will require masking.

Ventilation, Cleaning, and Hygiene

Community Day School classrooms used by students receive outside air circulated by an air handling system, from air pulled from the outside from forced air heating/cooling systems, or from a fan. Additional Blue Air 211+ purifiers installed in most classrooms filter the air at the industry-recommended rate of five times an hour (or about every 12 minutes) in a 540 ft² room to effectively lower particle levels and maintain a comfortable environment.
Maintenance staff regularly clean frequently touched surfaces and objects within the school on a daily basis. This includes door and sink handles, water dispensers, desktops, railings, etc.

Handwashing and hand sanitizing will occur before and after lunch, before and after using the bathroom, upon arrival at school, and at other consistent times throughout the day. Staff will reinforce protocols for handwashing, covering coughs/sneezes, and other infection control measures with students.
All students should bring a reusable water bottle to and from school each day labeled with their name. This is especially important since the water fountains have been disabled and replaced with bottle fillers.

Monitoring For Exposure and Illness Response

CDS requires that staff and students stay at home if they are sick to protect others from contracting COVID-19 and other communicable illnesses as per the CDS Illness Policy and CDS Isolation and Quarantine Guidelines.

Daily Health Screening:

All staff and parents/guardians on behalf of students will complete a daily COVID-19 health screening through the SchoolPass app prior to entering any CDS building.
The nurse or designated staff member will review the COVID-19 health screening, which must be completed by families before 7 a.m. Your child’s privilege to attend school is dependent on your compliance with these procedures, and no child will be allowed in the building without a completed health screening.
It is critically important for individuals to answer the daily CDS health screening questions honestly and follow the policies below designed to prevent COVID-19 transmission in our school. Our ability to continue to deliver on-campus instruction depends on your full transparency and cooperation with these rules.
Individuals who answer “yes” to wellness screening questions about symptoms or COVID-19 positive exposure or testing must receive approval from the School Nurse before returning to campus.
When completing questions in the SchoolPass health screening, all members of your household should include visitors who are residing in your home during their visit.
There are no COVID-19 requirements or restrictions associated with domestic or international travel for CDS families or employees. Please follow the CDC testing recommendations for travel.

Screening questions are as follows:

Does THIS PERSON have a fever or chills (fever is greater than 100.4 degrees using an oral thermometer), vomiting, and/or diarrhea? If YES, THIS PERSON should not attend school.
Does this PERSON have a new onset of TWO OR MORE of the following symptoms (chills, headache, sore throat, cough, shortness of breath, congestion or running nose, fatigue, muscle or body aches? If YES, THIS PERSON should not attend school.
Has this PERSON tested positive for COVID-19, or had a new COVID diagnosis, in the past 24 hours (or since being on campus)? If YES, THIS PERSON should not attend school.
Has ANYONE IN YOUR HOUSEHOLD had a positive COVID-19 test within the past 10 days? If YES, THIS PERSON may attend school but MUST follow CDS testing and masking requirements for household close contacts.

Illness Response:

Any individual with a fever greater than or equal to 100.4°F (37.7°C) with an oral thermometer or exhibiting new onset of other COVID-19 symptoms may be sent home immediately, as per the CDS Illness Policy. This document also provides guidance for students and employees in the event of other symptoms.
When a child is absent, families must notify the school of the student’s absence and reason, and employees should notify their supervisor and the School Nurse if health-related.

We have updated our Isolation and Quarantine Protocols for the 2022-2023 school year (revised February 2023). Because we require our full faculty, staff, and student populations to be vaccinated against COVID-19, there are very few instances where quarantine is required. Please carefully review this document, and in the event that there is a positive case of COVID-19 in your household, the school nurse will contact affected individuals directly with specific instructions for return to campus.

Visitors and Events

It is strongly recommended that all age-eligible visitors be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to enter the CDS buildings when students are present and work with students in outdoor campus spaces.
All visitors must comply with all CDS Health and Safety guidelines while on campus.
In-person events at Community Day School will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis to determine whether they can be adapted to comply with the school’s health and safety protocols.
Routine activities and special events will prioritize the use of outdoor spaces as both weather and space permit.

Communications

The school Health and Safety Plan will be posted on the CDS website at comday.org/kadimah. In modern Hebrew, Kadimah or קדימה (pronounced Kah-dee-mah) means “forward” or “Let’s go!”
Updates to information in the CDS Health and Safety Plan will be presented as needed throughout the year via the website, email, social media accounts, and phone and SMS messages (in emergencies).
The school and other health and medical experts as needed will provide training and education for staff related to COVID-19. Information will be communicated to students in age-appropriate ways.
CDS will communicate as needed regarding COVID-19 exposures and close-contact related guidance.

Source Material

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):
Pennsylvania Department of Education/Pennsylvania Department of Health:
- Resources for School Communities During COVID-19
- PA Department of Health - Coronavirus in Pennsylvania
Other Online Resources:
- Allegheny County Health Department COVID-19 Resources Page
- American Academy of Pediatrics COVID-19 Guidance for Safe Schools

In This Section