Coronavirus (COVID-19) Safety
Alma Flor Ada Spanish Immersion Early Learning Academy provides an essential service to our community. As such, the safety and well-being of our students is extremely important, and we take this responsibility seriously. When our doors open this upcoming fall, we will be implementing our health and safety practices by:
- Conducting ongoing wellness checks
- Screening students and staff during arrival time for any symptoms
- Asking parents to remain in our reception areas
- Asking all staff and children to wash their hands thoroughly and often throughout the school day
(including before-care and after-school activities) - All areas such as doorknobs, light switches, and surfaces will be sanitized frequently and regularly
On-Site Nurse: Practicing Health and Safety to ensure everyone’s well-being
Alma Flor Ada (AFA) will provide an on-site nurse who will tend to children who become sick. We will observe the children’s health throughout the school day and respond appropriately as needed if we detect any potential signs of illness. If any member of the household has (or may have) a suspected or confirmed case of COVID-19, AFA requires that children and staff stay home from school for 14 days following the last potential exposure.
If your child does become ill at school, we will contact you immediately and ask that you pick your child up from school. To ensure your child’s well-being, and to help us limit the spread of illness, we will coordinate with you to pick your child up at the nurse’s office. A health mask will be provided for your child. Overall, the best way to ensure our students have limited exposure to germs is by keeping children at home when they are ill and/or contagious. We ask that you please watch your child closely and contact your physician if your child appears to be feeling sick. (Please remember your child must be kept home if they display any signs of illness until they are symptom-free for 24 hours or have a physician’s approval for them to reenter a childcare setting).
AFA is required to send home a child:
- with a reportable illness or condition determined to be contagious, and whom a physician determines has not had sufficient treatment to reduce the health risk to others
- with chickenpox until the child is no longer infectious or until the lesions are crusted over
- who has vomited two or more times since admission that day
- who has had three or more abnormally loose stools since admission that day
- who has contagious conjunctivitis or pus draining from the eye
- who has a bacterial infection such as streptococcal pharyngitis or impetigo and has not completed 24 hours of antimicrobial therapy
- who has unexplained lethargy
- who has lice, ringworm, or scabies that is untreated and contagious to others
- who has a 100-degree Fahrenheit axillary or higher temperature of undiagnosed origin before fever-reducing medication is given
- who has an undiagnosed rash or a rash attributable to a contagious illness or condition
- who has significant respiratory distress
ZONO Technologies:
AFA plans to install The ZONO Disinfecting and Sanitizing System, which kills 99.9% of common viruses as well as bacteria on any surfaces. Items used for play and education like books, puzzles, game pieces, exersaucers, mobiles, and even crayons can harbor viruses and bacteria and can be hard or almost impossible to disinfect and sanitize with wipes or liquid chemicals. All of these items can be disinfected and sanitized in the ZONO while AFA teachers are teaching and caring for their students. The Zono is used in many facilities such as: child-care centers, schools, and fitness centers.
Air Purifier System – Needlepoint Bipolar Ionization
Alma Flor Ada Spanish Immersion Early Learning Academy has a state-of-the-art air purification system that kills 99.4% of the COVID-19 virus.
NEEDLEPOINT BIPOLAR IONIZATION technology is also known as NPBI, GPS is truly the Indoor Air Quality revolutionized.
Their proven technology delivers clean indoor air that is safe and healthy; producing neither ozone nor other harmful by-products. All of their NPBI products are UL and CE approved.
The NPBI product purifies the air by eliminating airborne particulates. Alma Flor Ada is setting a new level of safety for our staff & students and peace of mind for parents!
For more information:
Please contact us at hola@afaspanishimmersion.com
Prevention guidance while traveling:
Alma Flor Ada Spanish Immersion Early Learning Academy will be following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance for child care providers (CDC Childcare and K-12 Guidance) and their Travel Advisory (https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/notices) notifications. The Travel Advisory lists areas of the world that are heavily affected (Level 3), which will require those who have traveled to these locations and members of their household to refrain from entering the AFA school building for 14 days upon return. This practice will apply to our children, families, and all AFA staff members.
Learning from Home
As the coronavirus situation continues to evolve, we recognize the strain it may create for parents, and we will support our community as best we can. One way that AFA will continue to support our Spanish immersion learning for children at home; will be through our virtual segments where Spanish activities, engaging stories, and active learning are programmed throughout the day.
FAQs for AFA School Families: Addressing Coronavirus (COVID-19)
The safety and well-being of our children, families, and staff is our top priority at AFA. This resource has been created to address your questions, and it will be updated regularly as more information becomes available.
What precautions are you taking in general?
AFA closely follows guidance from the CDC and state and local health departments and takes extreme care to maintain a clean and healthy school environment. We are promoting cleanliness and good hygiene with the children and our staff – frequent hand washing, cleaning, and disinfecting surfaces and items in our classrooms with the Zono sanitizing cabinet. Along with our detailed hygiene, cleaning, and sanitation protocols, we conduct wellness checks throughout the day, so that if we detect any potential signs of illness we can respond appropriately. Children who show signs of any illness are sent home until they are symptom-free for at least 24 hours.
Will you stay open if there’s a confirmed diagnosis in the community?
AFA’s goal is to maintain a regular schedule in our center only if it is safe to do so. The safety and well-being of our children, families, and staff is our top priority.
What happens if someone at the school is diagnosed with COVID-19?
If a child or teacher at our school was diagnosed with COVID-19, we would close immediately and follow guidance from the state and local health departments.
What if someone has a suspected case of COVID-19, but it hasn’t been confirmed?
Anyone with a suspected, or confirmed, case of COVID-19 cannot enter the AFA school premises until they’ve received medical clearance (i.e. – have tested negative) to do so.
What if my child doesn’t have symptoms, but a family member has been diagnosed with the coronavirus?
AFA will require that your child stay home from school for 14 days following the most recent exposure to any member of your household, or any other person in contact with your child, who has a confirmed case of COVID-19.
What about traveling outside of the US?
National, regional, and local health authorities have indicated that traveling abroad can increase risk of exposure. We will follow the CDC’s guidance: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/index.html. If you or anyone in your household has returned from or has plans to travel to, highly impacted areas (CDC Level 3 areas), they must wait 14 days after returning to the U.S. before entering AFA school premises. The CDC Travel Advisory list is updated regularly, and we strongly encourage families to check the CDC website for updated travel guidance before returning to school.
What about children from other childcare providers?
AFA will follow guidance from the local health department. Anyone at AFA (staff or child) who meets someone who has COVID-19 will be required to stay away from school for 14 days from the last date of contact with such person. In these extraordinary circumstances, the COVID-19 situation continues to evolve rapidly. Given this, our standard policies for enrolling children are being modified to be more selective based on local community needs and direction from state and local health officials.
