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POUSD Safety Measures

Piner-Olivet Union School District has prepared a comprehensive plan to mitigate risk of exposure to COVID-19 in our schools. This page contains detailed information about POUSD's safety protocols for the 2020-21 school year. For areas where the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has provided specific guidance for schools, that guidance is included as a reference, for your convenience, so that you may see how POUSDs plans are aligned with CDC recommendations. 

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Guidelines And Input For POUSD’S Plan, Planning And Health Considerations

“Hygiene Education, Processes for Health Screenig And Sick Studnts And Staff, ”

To jump to any area, please use the links below.

Behavior  •  Maintaining A Healthy Environment  •   Maintaining Healthy Operations  •  Considerations For Partial Or Total Closures  •  Educating Families And Staff On When To Stay Home And Return  •  Communication Of Hand And Hygiene Etiquette  •  Providing Guidelines For Use Of Face Coverings  •  Providing Supplies And Education On Use Of Cleaning Supplies  •  Signs And Messages  •  Cleaning And Disinfection  •  Shared Objects  •  Communal Spaces  •  Lunch Service  •  School Arrival and Departure  •  ​Notification Flowchart

Ensuring Health and Safety

Hygiene Education, Processes for Health Screening and Sick Students, Regular Sanitation
FOCUS:  Planning and Health Considerations

SCOE: Roadmap to a Safe Reopening based on guidelines from:  Sonoma County Department of Health Services, CDC, CDPH, CDE

Behaviors To Reduce The Spread 

• Training for POUSD staff, teachers, district personnel
  
• Training/Lessons for students
  
• Posting Signs about how to stop the spread, washing hands, etc…
  
• Videos for families online
  
• Maintaining 6ft distance
  
• Wearing Masks on adults and students over 12 
  
• Taking Temperatures and symptom check daily
  
• Washing hands 

Maintaining A Healthy Environment

• Update our protocols for daily cleaning and sanitation of campus and classroom surfaces based on public health guidelines.
• Increase cleaning in classrooms: use of cleaning machine, wipes in rooms.
• Partitions in bathrooms and in offices and Bathroom Protocols.
• Modifying layout: 6 ft apart desks/sitting for students/Partitions?
• Adult to monitor bathroom and cleaning.
• Staggered recess schedule/spacing at recess.
• Modified schedule to increase cleaning each day and between cohorts.
• Classroom Considerations:
  • Have PPE in classrooms: Wipes, Tissues, Hand Sanitizer, Thermometers, Face Shield, Masks,
    
  • Soap, Paper Towels
    
  • Desks/Seating 6 ft apart
    
  • Markings outside with 6 ft spacing; Lunch & food protocols
    

Maintaining Healthy Operations

• Increasing Cleaning
  
• Virtual Assemblies and Events
  
• No visitors on campus
  
• Field Trips on hold till further notice
  
• Lunches in classroom/outside/grab and go??

​Considerations For Partial Or Total Closures

• Report to SCPH and SCOE
  
• Follow SCPH and SCOE procedures
  
• Possible move to Distance Learning for cohort, class, school, district 

Educating Families And Staff On When To Stay Home And Return

SCOE’s Guidelines: 

• Educate staff and families about when their child(ren) should stay home and when they can return to school 
• Actively encourage employees and students who are sick or who have recently had close contact (longer than 15 minutes) with a person with COVID-19 to stay home, including when a member of a student’s household has been sick with COVID-19. Develop policies that encourage sick employees and students to stay at home without fear of reprisal, and ensure employees, students, and students’ families are aware of these policies. Consider not having perfect attendance awards, not assessing schools based on absenteeism, and offering virtual learning and telework options, if feasible. 
• Staff and students should stay home if they or a member of their household have tested positive for or are showing COVID-19 symptoms. 
• Staff and students who have recently had close contact with a person with COVID-19 should also stay home and monitor their health. 

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POUSD’s Guidelines:

• Website, flyers, video by site principals, facebook, SEND OUT ASAP so families have a chance to read and digest the information. (CDC/SCHD guidelines). Be positive ambassadors around this topic through word of mouth - POUSD wants and desires to put safety first. Can we require parents and staff to sign a document sayin they have read and agree to our guidelines?
• Actively encourage employees and students who are sick or who have recently had close contact (longer than 15 minutes) with a person with COVID-19 to stay home, including when a member of a student’s household has been sick with COVID-19. Develop policies that encourage sick employees and students to stay at home without fear of reprisal, and ensure employees, students, and students’ families are aware of these policies. Do not assess schools based on absenteeism, (and offering virtual learning and telework options, if feasible). Consider not having perfect attendance awards.
• Staff and students should stay home if they or a member of their household have tested positive for or are showing COVID-19 symptoms - 2 or more symptoms, or fever only. When can someone return after being sick. We are following the CDC Guidelines for safe return in the event that this happens.
• Students who get sick during the day must be isolated from others. MPR or other space should have partitions to allow for separation of multiple sick students. Staffing must be provided.

Communication Of Hand And Hygiene Etiquette

SCOE’s Guidelines: 

• Teach and reinforce hand washing with soap and water for at least 20 seconds and increase monitoring to ensure adherence among students and staff.  If soap and water are not readily available, hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol can be used (for staff and older children who can safely use hand sanitizer). Children under age 9 should use hand sanitizer under adult supervision. Call Poison Control if consumed (800-222-1222). 
• Encourage staff and students to cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue. Used tissues should be thrown in the trash and hands washed immediately with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.

POUSD’s Guidelines:

• Teach and reinforce hand washing with soap and water for at least 20 seconds and increase monitoring to ensure adherence among students and staff.  If soap and water are not readily available, hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol can be used (for staff and older children who can safely use hand sanitizer). Children under age 9 should use hand sanitizer under adult supervision. Call Poison Control if consumed (800-222-1222). 
• Encourage staff and students to cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue. Used tissues should be thrown in the trash and hands washed immediately with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. POUSD to provide tissues for all campuses. Teach that using the inside of your arm is an alternative if a tissue is not available. ​

Providing Guidelines For Use Of Face Coverings

SCOE’s Guidelines: 

• Face coverings serve two purposes: 1) To limit large respiratory droplets from spreading, and 2) to prevent the user from touching their face, especially their nose and mouth. 
• Teach and reinforce use of cloth face coverings in compliance with the current county health order. Currently, the health order requires that adults and children wear a mask in an indoor setting. Masks are recommended but not required for children under 12.
•  Face coverings may be challenging for students (especially younger students) to wear in all-day settings such as school. Face coverings should be worn by staff and students June 12, 2020 Page 12 of 42 (particularly older students) as feasible, and are most essential in times when physical distancing is difficult. 
• Individuals should be frequently reminded not to touch the face covering and to wash their hands frequently. Information should be provided to staff, students, and students’ families on proper use, removal, and washing of cloth face coverings.  NOTE: Cloth face coverings should not be placed on: • Children younger than 2 years old • Anyone who has trouble breathing or is unconscious • Anyone who is incapacitated or otherwise unable to remove the cloth face covering without assistance o Any child aged two years or less must not wear a face covering because of the risk of suffocation. The Sonoma County Health Order does not require that any child aged 12 years or less wear a face covering. Parents and caregivers must supervise use of face coverings by children to avoid misuse. 
• Students older than age 12 should wear a mask unless an underlying health conditions prevents it. 
• Cloth face coverings are meant to protect other people in case the wearer is unknowingly infected but does not have symptoms. Cloth face coverings are not surgical masks, respirators, or other medical personal protective equipment. 
• The Sonoma County Health Order exempts people from wearing face coverings if they endanger the health or safety of the individual. 
• Per California Department of Public Health guidelines, school staff should wear face coverings unless Cal/OSHA standards require respiratory protection. Teachers can use face shields, if available, which enable younger students to see their teachers’ faces and avoid potential barriers to phonological instruction. However, plastic face shields may not offer as effective protection as a mask. Individuals wearing a face shield should take additional precautions, such as maintaining six feet or more of social distancing.

POUSD’s Guidelines:

• Face coverings serve two purposes: 1) To limit large respiratory droplets from spreading, and 2) to prevent the user from touching their face, especially their nose and mouth. 
• Teach and reinforce use of cloth face coverings in compliance with the current county health order. Currently, the health order requires that adults and children older than age 12 wear a mask in an indoor setting. Masks are recommended but not required for children under 12. “Per CDPH, face coverings “should” be worn by school staff and students are “encouraged” to use face coverings. CDE’s guidance also states that school staff and students “should” wear face coverings. The term “should” is passive and therefore not a requirement. Face coverings in school settings remain a recommendation only.” - ACSA 
• Individuals should be frequently reminded not to touch the face covering and to wash their hands frequently. Information should be provided to staff, students, and students’ families on proper use, removal, and washing of cloth face coverings. 
• Per California Department of Public Health guidelines, school staff should wear face coverings unless Cal/OSHA standards require respiratory protection. 
• Staff should wear masks at all times unless the individual is exempt from wearing face coverings if the masks endangers the health or safety of the individual. 
• Care/use of personal mask:
  • If cloth, wash or replace daily and store in a sealed plastic bag or container.
  • If budget and/or supply allows, provide students with a minimum of 2 disposable masks/day.
  • Shields are not to be used as a replacement for masks and should only be worn when social distancing (6 ft.) is in place.
  • Students in grades 4 and up will be encouraged to wear masks at all times unless they have a health issue to precludes them from doing so. 

Providing Supplies And Education On Use Of Cleaning Supplies

SCOE’s Guidelines: 

• Support healthy hygiene behaviors by providing adequate supplies, including soap, hand sanitizer with at least 60 percent alcohol (for staff and older children who can safely use hand sanitizer), paper towels, tissues, disinfectant wipes, cloth face coverings (as feasible) and no-touch/foot-pedal trash cans. 

POUSD’s Guidelines:

• Support healthy hygiene behaviors by providing adequate supplies, including soap, hand sanitizer with at least 60 percent alcohol (for staff and older children who can safely use hand sanitizer), paper towels, tissues, disinfectant wipes, cloth face coverings (as feasible).
• Require all staff to take training on proper use of hand sanitizer and other cleaning protocol.
• District to provide hand sanitizer, Clorox wipes, staffing to ensure soap (anti-bacterial soap) and towel dispensers are maintained frequently.

Signs And Messages

SCOE’s Guidelines: 

• Post signs in highly visible locations (e.g., school entrances, restrooms) that promote everyday protective measures and describe how to stop the spread of germs (such as by properly washing hands and properly wearing a cloth face covering). Schools with second language populations greater than 15% need to comply with federal second language postings. 
• Broadcast regular announcements on reducing the spread of COVID-19 on PA systems. 
• Include messages (for example, videos) about behaviors that prevent the spread of COVID-19 when communicating with staff and families (such as on school websites, in emails, and on school social media accounts). 
• Find free CDC print and digital resources on CDC’s communications resources main page. 
• Ensure that messages are designed to reach all target groups, including providing messages in multiple languages and in written and spoken formats. 
• Consider lesson plans to help children understand the reason behind the safety precautions, as well as how to comply with them.
  

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POUSD’s Guidelines:

•  Post signs in highly visible locations (e.g., school entrances, restrooms) that promote everyday protective measures and describe how to stop the spread of germs (such as by properly washing hands and properly wearing a cloth face covering). Schools with 
• second language populations greater than 15% need to comply with federal second language postings. 
• Broadcast regular announcements on reducing the spread of COVID-19 on PA systems. 
• Include messages (for example, videos) about behaviors that prevent the spread of COVID-19 when communicating with staff and families (such as on school websites, in emails, and on school social media accounts). 
• Find free CDC print and digital resources on CDC’s communications resources main page. 
• Ensure that messages are designed to reach all target groups, including providing messages in multiple languages and in written and spoken formats. 
• Provide and implement lesson plans to help children understand the reason behind the safety precautions, as well as how to comply with them.

Cleaning And Disinfection

SCOE’s Guidelines: 

• Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces (e.g., playground equipment, door handles, sink handles, drinking fountains) within the school and on school buses at least daily or between use as much as possible. Use of shared objects (e.g., gym or physical education equipment, art supplies, toys, games) should be limited when possible, or cleaned between use. 
• When choosing cleaning products, use those approved for use against COVID-19 on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-approved list “N” and follow product instructions. 
• Classified staff engaged in cleaning and disinfecting should be equipped with proper PPE for COVID-19 disinfection (disposable gown, gloves, eye protection, and mask or respirator) in addition to PPE as required by product instructions. 
• If transport vehicles (e.g., buses) are used by the school, drivers should practice all safety actions and protocols as indicated for other staff (e.g., hand hygiene, cloth face coverings). To clean and disinfect school buses or other transport vehicles, see guidance for bus transit operators. 
• Develop a schedule for increased, routine cleaning and disinfection. 
• Ensure safe and correct use and storage of cleaning and disinfection products securely away from children. Use products that meet EPA disinfection criteria, including storing products. 
• Cleaning products should not be used near children, and staff should ensure that there is adequate ventilation when using these products to prevent children or themselves from inhaling toxic fumes.
  
  

POUSD’s Guidelines:

• Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces (e.g., playground equipment, door handles, sink handles, drinking fountains) within the school and on school buses at least daily or between use as much as possible. Use of shared objects (e.g., gym or physical education equipment, art supplies, toys, games) should be limited when possible, and cleaned between use. 
• When choosing cleaning products, use those approved for use against COVID-19 on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-approved list “N” and follow product instructions. 
• Classified staff engaged in cleaning and disinfecting should be equipped with proper PPE for COVID-19 disinfection (disposable gown, gloves, eye protection, and mask or respirator) in addition to PPE as required by product instructions. 
• If transport vehicles (e.g., buses) are used by the school, drivers should practice all safety actions and protocols as indicated for other staff (e.g., hand hygiene, cloth face coverings). To clean and disinfect school buses or other transport vehicles, see guidance for bus transit operators. 
• Develop a schedule for increased, routine cleaning and disinfection. 
• Ensure safe and correct use and storage of cleaning and disinfection products securely away from children. Use products that meet EPA disinfection criteria, including storing products. 
• Cleaning products should not be used near children, and staff should ensure that there is adequate ventilation when using these products to prevent children or themselves from inhaling toxic fumes.
• Provide staffing to effectively maintain all cleaning protocols.

Shared Objects

SCOE’s Guidelines: 

• Discourage sharing of items that are difficult to clean or disinfect. 
• Keep each child’s belongings separated from others’ and in individually labeled containers, cubbies, or areas. 
• Ensure adequate supplies to minimize sharing of high touch materials to the extent possible (e.g., assigning each student their own art supplies, equipment) or limit use of supplies and equipment by one group of children at a time and clean and disinfect between use. 
• Avoid sharing electronic devices, toys, books, and other games or learning aids.
  
  

POUSD’s Guidelines:

• Each student should have their own school supplies in a separate container/space. 
• Discourage sharing of any items.
• Keep each child’s belongings separated from others’ and in individually labeled containers, cubbies, or areas. 
• Ensure adequate supplies to minimize sharing of high touch materials to the extent possible (e.g., assigning each student their own art supplies, equipment) or limit use of supplies and equipment by one group of children at a time and clean and disinfect between use. 

Communal Spaces

SCOE’s Guidelines: 

• Communal use shared spaces such as dining halls and playgrounds with shared playground equipment if possible; otherwise, stagger use and clean and disinfect between use. 
• Cohort schedule used when possible.
• Add physical barriers, such as plastic flexible screens, between bathroom sinks especially when they cannot be at least six feet apart. 
• Make a good faith effort to space seating/desks at least six feet apart. Based on current social distancing standards from the CA Department of Public Health, a separation of six feet between students is recommended for ensuring student/staff safety and health, particularly for the purpose of setting up a classroom and establishing spacing between student desks/learning environments. This will likely reduce classroom capacity.
• Consider use of pop-up tents when possible for teaching, lunch, and recess.

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POUSD’s Guidelines:

• Bathrooms:
  • ​Students should be encouraged to use the bathrooms during bathroom breaks.
    
  • Bathrooms should be monitored by adults as feasible.
    
  • No more than 2 students in the bathroom area at a time.
• Communal use shared spaces such as dining halls and playgrounds with shared playground equipment if possible; otherwise, stagger use and clean and disinfect between use. 
• Add physical barriers, such as plastic flexible screens, between bathroom sinks especially when they cannot be at least six feet apart. 
• Make a good faith effort to space seating/desks at least six feet apart. Based on current social distancing standards from the CA Department of Public Health, a separation of six feet between students is recommended for ensuring student/staff safety and health, particularly for the purpose of setting up a classroom and establishing spacing between student desks/learning environments. This will likely reduce classroom capacity.​

School Arrival and Departure

SCOE’s Guidelines: 

• Have a wellness check protocol in place for students, families, and staff, including having families/staff conduct a wellness self-check before coming to school. Consider using the Sonoma County COVID Check App as a means of facilitating these wellness checks or follow the CDC Watch for symptoms recommendations web page.
• Students/staff with a fever of 100 or higher should stay home. 
• Minimize contact at school between students, staff, families and the community at the beginning and end of the school day. 
• Stagger arrival and drop off-times and locations as consistently as possible as to minimize scheduling challenges for families. 
• Designated routes for entry and exit, using as many entrances as feasible, may be helpful. Put in place other protocols to limit direct contact with others as much as possible. 
• Use of privacy boards or clear screens when practical. 
  
  

POUSD’s Guidelines

• Have a wellness check protocol in place for students, families, and staff, including having families/staff conduct a wellness self-check before coming to school. Consider using the Sonoma County COVID Check App as a means of facilitating these wellness checks. 
• Parents may not volunteer or come onto campus or gather. Social distancing must be adhered to. 
• Students/staff with a fever of 99.5 (?) or higher must stay home. 
• Minimize contact at school between students, staff, families and the community at the beginning and end of the school day. 
• Stagger arrival and drop off-times and locations as consistently as possible as to minimize scheduling challenges for families. 
• Designated routes for entry and exit, using as many entrances as feasible, may be helpful. Put in place other protocols to limit direct contact with others as much as possible. 
• Use of privacy boards or clear screens are required in front offices.
• Develop a district wide wellness check protocol such as temperatures must be taken before students get on the bus, and before they are allowed on campus.

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Sonoma County COIVID-19 Notification Flowchart

The following is the process our school district will follow in the event of a case of Covid-19 at a site in our district. This information is dynamic and will change dependent on the status of the virus in our community. Please continue to refer to your regular channels, like Sonoma County Office of Education, for information and the most current updates.

Proceso de notificación de COVID-19

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