Please know we will not relax our attention to safety as the year progresses. You can read below some of the new practices our facilities department has put in place for surface testing and air quality monitoring. Our Health &Safety Committee is also continuously engaged in sharing thoughts and ideas that we will use to refine our operations. As long as we work together to uphold our protocols and maintain safe practices both on and off campus, I believe we can continue to enjoy an (almost) normal school year.

Behind the Scenes

Since this summer, the facilities department has been working tirelessly to enhance our facilities, resources, air quality, and cleaning protocols to maintain a healthy school environment. These measures include:

Using an indoor air quality meter to monitor air quality and humidity levels in all buildings. This allows experimentation with the outside fresh air dampers to find the right mix of fresh air to potentially dilute virus particles without creating a humid rich environment that can create other issues
- On a best to worst scale of 1 to 500, the highest measure we have recorded is 19
Surface testing kits have been purchased to periodically test high touch areas to ensure our sanitation efforts are working
Prepared outdoor learning spaces including installation of fans in the Scaglione Family Pavilion (Bearss Avenue campus)
Installed (70+) free standing and wall mounted sanitizing stations throughout both campuses
Installed outdoor hand washing stations at all dining areas and entrance to Wagner Athletic Complex (Bearss Avenue campus)
Upgraded HVAC filtration for COVID at both campuses
Installed an outdoor hands free sink at the entrance for student use (ECC)
Procured an increased inventory of PPE and disinfectant, beginning in March, to ensure a smooth opening of our campuses
Hired an additional day porter to assist with COVID-10 disinfection procedures (Bearss Avenue campus)

A word or two about communication

In recent days this question has popped up, "You promised to be transparent about keeping us informed about COVID-19, why haven't I heard anything?"

We have been extremely fortunate to have had only two positive diagnoses reported since classes began on August 24! These cases have been publicly shared in two places. There is a running list on the COVID-19 Tracker on the school website's COVID-19 Information Hub and a weekly report is published on the front page of Thursday Folder each week.

CDS has a targeted, two-tiered communication protocol in place to confidentially notify all individuals identified as possibly having had contact with (a) an individual diagnosed with COVID-19 as well as with (b) an individual who has been in close contact with someone with COVID-19. CDS has trained contact tracing teams in all divisions to help identify anyone who may have been exposed to COVID-19. Once identified, these individuals are personally contacted explaining their potential contact, their risk level based on CDC guidelines, and recommendations regarding their need to quarantine or simply monitor for symptoms. These notifications comply with the HIPAA Privacy Rule and are not shared community-wide.

CDS will continue to provide updates to the community when the School is informed of a positive case. However, please be aware that if a student, employee, or the health department fails to disclose a positive test to the School, CDS may have no way of knowing and cannot communicate that information. We're all in this together and each of us must take personal responsibility to help keep our community healthy and self-report a positive test.

Here is a quick video to illustrate what happens IF someone tests positive or is in contact with someone who has COVID-19.