
GraceKids COVID Policies
Hours of Operation: 7:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. (temporary but not sure of how long this timeline will be needed)
- 1. This will allow the children to have the minimum amount of teachers in their classroom which decreases chance of exposure to COVID-19
- 2. This will also allow GraceKids to thoroughly clean the center in the morning before arrival and in the afternoon after departing.
In the Classroom
- Chapel, Zoo, and Happy Feet are postponed until August (new school year).
- No show and tell for children.
- No soft animals or toys can be used in the classroom (only toys that can be wiped down).
- Newsletters and other communications will be emailed to all families
- All chairs must face the same direction in the classroom (ex: all on one side of the table)
- Cots must be at least 6 feet apart and children must be laid head to toe at rest time.
- Children can’t be combined into other classrooms.
- If children wake up during naptime, they can’t leave the room. All children must stay in the room.
- There are no shared spaces and each class will have an assigned bathroom to use that is not used by anyone else.
Children/Families
- Children are not to share any spaces so the playground is closed until further notice. However, we will have assigned play areas outside for each class
- No sippy cups are allowed from home. Sippy cups that have been purchased by Gracekids will be cleaned, sanitized and kept at GraceKids.
- No parent or anyone dropping off / picking up a child may enter the doors of the church. Only the teachers responsible for that classroom are allowed to take the child in or out of the building.
- All children must have 1 pair of shoes at GK that will be kept at GK at all times. All children’s shoes worn from home must be removed before entering the church.
- No bags or folders may be brought to GK.
- No outside toys of any type may be brought to school. A “lovey” is allowed but not encouraged for naptime. All sheets and nap mats will be washed daily by GK and the nap mats will stay at school
- Children will nap in their classrooms 6 ft apart with the head to toe arrangement.
- Every classroom will be sanitized every 2 hours.
- Every surface a child touched has to be wiped down after every touch.
- Toys in each classroom will be rotated so that proper sanitizing can be used, and after a child handles a toy, it will be placed in a separate bucket and sanitized before it is returned to the play areas
- No parents will be allowed in the church for any reason. All tuition checks will need to be mailed or handed to a staff member at drop-off or pick up
- No outside visitors in the classrooms or church.
Administrative
- Summer plans are up in the air. Status will be determined after opening.
- Hand washing reminder every 30 minutes to each class by setting an alert on the classroom Alexa and announcing a reminder.
- Tours cancelled until further notice.
- Continue with preparations for the 2020-2021 school year
- Continue with administrative duties as normal
Staff
- Teachers will not gather in any common areas.
- Floaters are not allowed so everyone will be assigned to specific classrooms and/or tasks. Direction will be provided for their roles in the center.
- Leah and an assigned staff member will be responsible for food and snacks along with sanitizing the sippy cups. Leah is not able to enter the classroom and must maintain 6 ft distance from staff.
- Each teacher will stay in their respective classroom for nap time. Teachers will cover breaks for the teachers in their own classroom. A teacher on break is not allowed to go into any other classroom and have a designated place for break maintaining social distancing.
- Shoes must be taken off and put in a plastic bag before entering GK. All staff must keep a pair of shoes just for GK in the classroom.
- No purses may be brought into GK. Keys must and cell phones must be placed in the teacher’s mailbox and must be wiped down when arriving and before leaving
- Lunch will be provided for the teachers by GK.
- Teachers must come straight from home in the morning (no stopping) or they must keep clean clothes in their car and change before coming into the church.
- Teachers will go straight to their classrooms in the morning. No visiting other classrooms, talking through the bathroom doors, in the hallways, etc
- The copy room and supply room are closed until further notice once we return. One person will be assigned to access the supplies and copies and bring them to the classroom and take them back each day. A bin will be provided for supplies to be delivered and returned daily. These supplies will need to be prepared the day before. If you forget an item, you will need to make do without it. There will not be constant trips in and out of the supply and copy rooms.
- Leah and staff member will not enter the room with lunch or snacks. Teachers will be responsible for coming to the door. The food will be brought to the door and the classroom teacher will take the lunch off the cart. The cart will be wiped down after each delivery.
- All staff will wear masks on a daily basis unless it is interfering with the teaching process or scares the children.
- Staff working with children must wear their hair in a ponytail or pulled back.
Medical
- All children must be well to attend school. No cough, runny noses, fever, etc. If a child is sent home with a fever, the child must be fever free for 72 hours without medication to return to school. (Jefferson County Department of Public Health policy enacted on 4/13/2020)
- If a child is knowingly sent to school with illness or fever, the family will be removed from GK permanently. (We do have parents who have admittedly given their children Motrin or Tylenol in the morning so they could work for a few hours. With the current health crisis, we cannot allow that.) This rule will be strictly enforced.
- If a child or teacher tests positive for COVID -19, GK is required to close for 2-5 days to sanitize and clean all rooms. It is suggested that the rooms are allowed to sit for 24 hours before cleaning to allow all germs to settle on surfaces before cleaning. The teacher or child must remain out of a school for a minimum of 14 days and must have a doctor’s note to return to school. The other children in the classroom will be closely monitored for any signs of illness. At the first signs of illness, the children or teacher will be sent home immediately. If a parent of a child tests positive for COVID-19, the child(ren) (siblings) will remain quarantined at home for 14 days and must have a note from a doctor stating they are healthy to return to school.
- If hand sanitizer is allowed to be used for a child, a parent must fill out a medication form weekly.
- GK will be cleaned every afternoon after 4:15 p.m. when all staff have left. All staff not cleaning will be required to be out of the building by 4:30 p.m. and once the center is cleaned every day, no one can enter the center until the next school day
- Fever checks throughout the day on the children. Non-contact thermometers only (no ear, underarm or under the tongue checks)
- A parent or other individual picking up a child cannot pick up if he/she has been out of the country, on an airplane or in a state with a high rate of COVID-19 in the previous 14 days or shown any signs of illness in the previous 14 days.
*EPA registered cleaning projects only. Daily mixtures for sanitizing and disinfecting made fresh daily and more often if needed.
Cleaning and Sanitizing in the Event of COVID-19
- If a child or teacher tests positive for COVID-19, GK is required to close for 2-5 days to sanitize and clean all rooms. All rooms must sit untouched for 24 hours before cleaning to allow all germs to settle on surfaces before cleaning. After the 24 hour period, all rooms, if possible, should be cleaned and sanitized. The room with the case (possibly a sibling classroom) will need to be deeply cleaned and sanitized. Every single surface of the classroom (table, chairs, counters, sinks, windows, etc.).
- Example: Child or teacher is sent home on Monday with symptoms. Classroom needs to be deep cleaned on Monday afternoon. If a positive diagnosis is received on Tuesday, then GraceKids is closed on Wednesday and Thursday and cleaning takes place on Wednesday. Center will reopen on Friday. If a positive diagnosis comes back on Wednesday, GraceKids is closed Thursday and Friday.