Return to School: 2020-21

Significant modifications have been made to the HVAC systems at both the Goodrich and Randolph Campuses. This work was done in close consultation with experts including HGA, the design and architecture firm responsible for the renovated Randolph Campus; MMC, a company specializing in HVAC that has worked on both campuses; and with Dr. Paul Anderson, a HealthPartners physician with expertise in occupational medicine, workplace safety, and epidemiology who is SPA's medical advisor and a critical member of the school's COVID decision-making team.

Our work with HGA, MMC, and Dr. Anderson has shown that one important risk mitigation strategy in indoor settings is to substantially improve air quality and ventilation. As a result, we are installing equipment that works to clear the indoor air of particulates in all classrooms in both buildings. This work includes both replacing and upgrading filters in center air handling units (from MERV 8 to MERV 13) and adding bipolar ionization units and individual fan coil ventilators with HEPA filters. Where needed, individual filtration units will be placed in high-traffic areas and in older parts of both buildings to augment classroom filtration. The upgraded HVAC system will increase airflow to classrooms and public spaces and increase the outside air brought into the building to mix with existing air. All of our HVAC updates follow the guidelines for K-12 schools set forth by the CDC and the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), the leading HVAC industry organization.  

Because our classrooms are large and our class sizes are small, we have the flexibility and the capacity to set up our classrooms in ways that will both support SPA's curriculum and culture and also maintain physical distancing protocols.

All classrooms on both the Goodrich and Randolph Campuses have been renovated to include personal workspaces and seating rather than shared tables. Seating will allow for both classroom discussion and individual work, when appropriate.  Lower School classrooms will also allow for the small group workspaces so important for young children, as well as floor seating. In the Middle School, renovated classrooms are arranged to accommodate the curriculum in age-appropriate ways. Humanities classrooms in the Upper School, which formerly housed Harkness tables, have been outfitted with individual seating that will continue to support the discussion-based learning that is the fundamental element of these courses.

Given SPA's sizable outdoor spaces on both campuses, teachers will take the opportunity to work outside with their students whenever appropriate. 
 

Our cleaning, disinfecting, and sanitizing protocols will be significantly increased, both during the day and at night. In partnership with our cleaning company, ABM, we have implemented a robust approach to cleaning on both campuses.

• We have added ABM staff to our evening cleaning rotation. Staff will perform a deep cleaning on both campuses every night. 
• Unlike previous years, ABM staff will also be present on both campuses during the school day for spot cleaning and disinfecting of classrooms and high-traffic areas including bathrooms, dining spaces, entry spaces, and hand rails throughout both buildings.
• In addition, all members of the community will contribute to this effort through our "Clean-In/Clean-Out" protocols, which will be part of our daily routines. Spray bottles and sanitizing wipes will be provided by SPA for individual use by teachers and students.

While on campus, we will strive to adopt a "clean in/clean out" mindset as we move from one space to the next in the building. Hand sanitizer containing at least 60% alcohol will be available at the entrance to classrooms, common areas, and throughout both buildings, and students and adults will  sanitize their hands whenever they enter and exit a new space. Sanitizing wipes, spray, and paper towels will be supplied in all spaces. In the Lower and Middle Schools, students will largely use their own set of classroom materials; shared equipment (such as in the Schilling Center in the Upper School) will be sanitized before and after each use.

Additional Clean-In/Clean-out guidelines will be reinforced with all students:

• Handwashing should be done with soap and hot water for at least 20 seconds. 
• Wash hands immediately before leaving home, leaving the classroom, eating, touching shared objects, touching one’s face, and leaving school.
• Wash hands immediately after arriving at school, entering classroom, finishing lunch, touching shared objects, using the bathroom, coughing, sneezing, and blowing one’s nose, and arriving at home.
• Use hand sanitizer when washing hands is not possible.
   

Movement through the buildings: Hallways and stairwells on both campuses will be designated as one-way for the purpose of traffic flow through the building. This will minimize face-to-face interaction while students are transitioning from one class to the next, and help to reduce congestion in the hallways; in these instances time periods will be limited to 10 minutes or less. Signage will be installed to help direct students through the building.

Plexiglass shields will be installed in select areas with fixed interactions, such as the reception desks, the Randolph Dining Hall and Goodrich cafeteria, Health Offices,  Counseling Offices, and Center for Learning and Teaching. Plexiglass shields may also be installed in classrooms if needed around desks and between spaces at shared tables. 

No-contact infrastructure will be installed where possible, including soap dispensers, hand sanitizer, and paper towels.
 

Restrooms: The number of students allowed to use a multi-stall restroom simultaneously will be limited, with two students allowed within a multi-stall restroom at a time. The exception is the Huss Center multi-use restrooms, which will be limited to eight persons at a time. Specific stalls will be closed to accommodate additional spacing and limit the use to the designated number at any one time. The following procedures and guidelines will be in place:

• Only two students per multi-use bathroom at once.
• We will install touchless soap dispensers in the restrooms and teach students to apply soap and wash for 20 seconds before turning on the water.
• Paper towels will be used for drying, and trash bins will be placed outside of the restroom doors to encourage any door handling to be done with a paper towel.
• Restrooms will be cleaned regularly throughout the day.
• Sanitizing wipes and gloves will be available in all restrooms to encourage clean in/out protocols of the toilet seats and stall doors.
   

Handwashing: Students will be taught effective handwashing with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.  Increased monitoring (particularly in the Lower School) will help students remember effective techniques. Hand sanitizer containing at least 60% alcohol will be available at the entrance to classrooms, common areas, and throughout the building. Students and adults are required to use hand sanitizer as they enter and exit each classroom space. 
 

Whenever possible, students will have their own set of classrooms supplies to minimize sharing; some supplies will be ordered by SPA and distributed to students at school. Updated school supply lists and protocols will be distributed with Back to School information provided by division principals in mid-August. 

We are currently developing plans for food service with Taher, our food service partner. Lunch offerings will be individually wrapped entree, side, and dessert options for students in a compostable package. As always, Taher will work with us to accommodate specific dietary needs. 

In the Lower School, students will eat in small groups in their homerooms with their classmates and a teacher. In the Middle and Upper Schools, lunch times will be staggered and students will be assigned to one of multiple spaces with physical distancing in place for lunch. Several large common spaces on the Randolph Campus have been converted to dining areas, including the small gym. Plexiglass shields will be installed at tables so that masks can be removed while eating. Outdoor seating will also be available when weather permits. 

SPA has has worked diligently with Monarch, our bus company, to create a healthy and safe environment for our bus students during COVID-19. Below are the guidelines and procedures for our bus routes:

• Masks will be required for ALL students on the bus. Drivers will also be required to wear masks. If a student does not have a mask, they will not be allowed to ride the bus. 
• Seating will be limited to 35 students per bus. This will allow for one student per seat. Students that are in the same household will be allowed to share a seat.  
• Buses will be fully sanitized in the morning and afternoon. 
• We require all students to carry their own hand sanitizer on the bus.  Students should use hand sanitizer each time they enter and exit the bus.
• Students should refrain from touching their face while riding the bus. 

For more information about our busing program and enrollment for Fall 2020, contact Melissa Douden, SPA's Transportation Coordinator.
 

No visitors, including parents, will be permitted in the buildings except in exceptional circumstances.  Parents coming to campus to pick up a student for an appointment will be required to call the division office when they arrive on campus.  Parents are asked to remain in their vehicle and pull up outside of the designated pick-up location.  Security personnel will escort the student out to the parent's car.  

When picking up a student who becomes ill during the day, parents will enter the building using the entrance closest to the Health Office: on the Randolph Campus, parents will check in with the security officer on duty at the Huss Center entrance; at the Goodrich Campus, parents will report to the Sarah Converse Auditorium Door.

In the rare circumstance of a visitor or parent needing to be in the building, a temperature screen and symptom check will be required in addition to the wearing of a mask. 

The week of August 31-September 4 will be an orientation week in all three divisions.

• In the Lower School, families will come to the Goodrich Campus for a Hopes and Dreams Conference with their student’s homeroom teacher in conjunction with an individual campus visit, student supply and materials pickup, and introductory activities. Schedules for this week will be shared with families during the week of August 17.
• In the Middle and Upper Schools, students will come to the Randolph Campus for a half-day orientation on one day during this week by grade. The grade-level orientation schedules will be shared with families during the week of August 17.

Orientation for families who have opted to keep their children at home and participate in the academic program via Distance Learning will have a separate orientation that will take place during the week of August 31. There may be a need for these families to come to campus to pick up their students' devices and other classroom materials such as textbooks. Details about this orientation will be shared with families by division principals in mid-August.

The approach to Distance Learning will vary by grade and division, taking into consideration the developmental needs of students at every level. Distance Learners in the Lower School will have a blend of synchronous and asynchronous learning, in accordance with developmental needs. In the Middle and Upper Schools, Distance Learners will be expected to be present through the use of technology during all aspects of the academic program, including classes, advisory meetings, assemblies, etc.

The first six weeks of the year in the Lower School will follow the below timeline.

• September 7-11: Monday is Labor Day, and Tuesday, September 8 will be the first day of school. This will be a hybrid week, with students alternating between in-person school and Distance Learning as we acclimate students to being back on campus and re-introduce Distance Learning practices. Families will receive their schedule for this hybrid week along with their homeroom assignments. 
• September 14-25: During these two weeks, Lower School students will be on campus on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Fridays. On Wednesdays during these two weeks, students will be at home in Distance Learning mode. They will use the Seesaw platform for their work and they will be introduced to the new “Owl cameras.” See below for more details on the Owls.
• September 28-October 2: This is another short week because of Yom Kippur on Monday, September 28. Lower School students will attend school in-person Tuesday-Friday, with no Distance Learning day.
• October 5-14: This will be the first week with five days of in-person class on campus. The Owls will be fully integrated into the classroom and the curriculum. 
• October 15-16 is the MEA break, and we will take this time to pause and reflect on what we have learned. If the case numbers and Governor’s guidance allows for in-person learning to continue, we will continue in that mode. This may be an extension of the system used for the preceding two weeks or with a different model shaped by the Governor’s instructions and COVID data.

Please note that SPA will offer an on-campus instructional support program for the Lower School children of Tier 1 essential workers on days when Distance Learning is in session. More information and registration materials will be shared with parents during the week of August 17.

The first six weeks of the year in the Middle and Upper Schools will follow the below timeline.

• September 7-25: Monday is Labor Day, and Tuesday, September 8 will be the first day of school. The Middle and Upper Schools will engage in three weeks of Distance Learning, using both the Google Classroom platform and the new “Owl cameras.” See below for more details on the Owls. There will be no school on Friday, September 18, for family/advisor conferences, which will be held virtually.
• September 28-October 2: This is a short week due to Yom Kippur on Monday, September 28. Provided that the case numbers in Ramsey and Hennepin Counties support a move to in-person learning, this is the week that we will pivot Grades 6-12 to a hybrid model. We will bring students back to campus Tuesday through Friday in small groups on a rotating basis as we begin our hybrid schedule, with half of each division on campus on alternating days. The academic program will continue during these four days as we acclimate our students to being back in the classroom and beginning to learn in a hybrid model. Specific schedules for the hybrid model will be shared in mid-September.
• October 5-14: We will continue in our hybrid model for this week and a half, with special attention paid to the blended learning classroom, with some students in school and others learning at home. The Owls will be fully integrated into the classroom and the curriculum. 
• October 15-16 is the MEA break, and we will take this time to pause and reflect on what we have learned. If the case numbers and Governor’s guidance allows for hybrid learning, we will continue in that mode. This may be an extension of the system used for the preceding two weeks or with a different model shaped by the Governor’s instructions and COVID data.

Please note that SPA will offer an on-campus instructional support program for the Middle School children of Tier 1 essential workers on days when Distance Learning is in session. More information and registration materials will be shared with parents during the week of August 17.

New routines and protocols for all aspects of the school day will be in place to  reduce possible transmission of the virus. Some of these new routines and protocols are classroom-specific, but others apply to the school as a whole, such as:

• New daily screening via the Magnus Health app prior to arriving at school.  
• Multiple drop-off and pickup locations on both campuses. All students will have designated entry and exit points to the school to help with density and congestion during these busy times of day. 
• All hallways and stairwells will be designated as one-way, to help minimize face-to-face interactions and reduce congestion during transition times, which will be limited to 10 minutes or less. 
• Outdoor instruction opportunities will be maximized.
• Floor decals will be installed to help indicate safe physical distancing in common areas, outside restrooms, and in other high-traffic areas.
• Crowd control will be monitored at bathroom breaks, allowing fewer students in the bathrooms at one time. 
• Distance Learning is available for anyone who is feeling ill, has been in contact with anyone with COVID-like symptoms, or is under quarantine.

The Magnus Health app is a phone-based app that will help guide families and SPA faculty and staff in decision-making about whether their student is healthy enough to come to school.

The app offers a daily health screen with a symptom checklist and a temperature check, which must be submitted to SPA via the app prior to a student or faculty/staff member arriving at school every morning. The app will guide students and adults experiencing potential COVID-19 symptoms in assessing their health, and will provide a determination as to whether they are permitted to attend in-person school that day. The information entered into the app is confidential and securely stored in our Veracross student information system. If the Magnus health screen indicates that a student should stay home for the day, the parent or guardian will receive a phone call from a SPA Health Assistant to discuss the information.

The Magnus app also includes questions about COVID exposure and quarantine. Families will use this feature to report possible exposure, quarantine, and testing to the school. Keeping the school informed of any known exposure and symptoms is critically important in keeping our students, faculty, staff, and community safe and healthy.

The Magnus app will be made available to the SPA community for download in mid-August. Anyone without a device to use the Magnus app must contact the SPA Health Office for a paper-based system. Using the Magnus app is dependent on a family's agreement to the school's Shared Commitment to Community Health, covered in detail above.

Once approved to attend school based on the daily screening in the Magnus app, students will arrive at school using designated drop-off zones and entries, which will be based on the homeroom (in the Lower School) or on the student's grade (in the Middle and Upper Schools). These designated entry/exit points to the school will help with density during the busiest traffic flow in and out of the building during arrival times. It is important that students not arrive at school before 7:30 am.  Upon arriving at school, students will report directly to their first class or assignment for the day. 

The start of the school day is a particularly important transition time for Lower School students, who will be greeted at each designated entry point by school personnel, and classroom teachers will be present to greet students in their classroom. We respectfully ask that parents and guardians do not come into the Lower School building with their students.  If you are concerned that this transition into the school day may be difficult for your student, please discuss this with your child’s teacher during Hopes and Dreams conferences the week of August 31.  

Students arriving late to school for any reason will enter through one of three designated entries by division: Lower School students will enter through the Goodrich Campus main entrance; Middle School students will enter through the Davern entrance on the Randolph Campus; and Upper School students will enter through the Huss entrance on the Randolph Campus. All late arrivals must check in with the security officer at the reception desk on their campus. 

More information about designated drop off, pick-up, and entry locations will be provided as part of your student’s orientation to campus the week of August 31, and all students will have an opportunity to practice finding their location and using the designated entrance.  

SPA will require cloth face coverings for all students and adults while at school. Cloth masks made with a durable cotton fabric and containing at least two layers are strongly recommended. Studies indicate that a quilted-cotton fabric appears to block particles most effectively, but any durable cotton material (not cotton-jersey) with a two-ply structure is acceptable. All masks should be comfortable and well-fitted around both the nose and mouth.

All students should have a second mask available to them during the school day should they require a mask change for any reason.  Students and families are responsible for the daily cleaning of their mask. Face coverings have been shown to reduce the risk of virus transmission and are required by the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) for all children five years and older.  For more information on masks, including effective wearing and cleaning, please visit the MDH website.

• Everyone on campus (all adults and students grades K-12) is required to wear a face covering that fully covers both the mouth and nose every day.
• Bandanas, gaiters, and other face coverings that are not properly fitted around the mouth and nose are not permitted.
• Faculty and staff will model face covering wearing.
• Students must come to school wearing a face covering.
• SPA has a limited supply of single-use face coverings in case a student’s face covering is made unwearable during the course of the school day.
• Parents are responsible for cleaning their students' face coverings daily.
   

Our Health Offices on both campuses will be staffed  to meet current health and wellness demands. Students with daily medical needs (such as medications and chronic illnesses) will continue to use the existing Randolph and Goodrich Campus Health Rooms, now designated “well student” Health Rooms. 

Any student exhibiting symptoms of illness will be escorted to the new Health Room on each campus, designated the “symptomatic Health Office.” On the Randolph Campus, the symptomatic Health Office is located in the Huss Center in the former dressing room location adjacent to the Auditorium.  On the Goodrich Campus, a new Health Office has been constructed adjacent to the Sarah Converse Auditorium.  Procedures for students who are ill are detailed below in the "When to Stay at Home" section.
 

To protect the health of our whole community, we ask that families limit all non-essential travel while school is in session. This is to protect possible transmission to members in our community, but also the risk of transmitting COVID beyond our community to vulnerable adults in the homes of our community members. 

Students who travel across state lines by air, train, or bus must quarantine for 14 days upon their return and attend school using the Distance Learning format. Students traveling by car across state lines must adhere to the COVID protocols of wearing masks, social distancing, and frequent hand washing per CDC travel precautions. If in your judgement you are unable to do so, or come into prolonged close contact with others outside of your household (such as at an athletic competition, tournament, or other event), your student should utilize the Distance Learning option upon return and monitor for any emergent symptoms over the 14-day period following your return. Students quarantining and in Distance Learning due to travel cannot participate in athletics or other in-person activities.

We understand that travel may be required of a parent or guardian for their business.  Parents and guardians who must travel for work are encouraged to follow their workplace guidelines for travel, including any quarantine recommendations or requirements upon return.  It is not necessary for a student to quarantine due to the travel of a parent or guardian in this case. Should a household member test positive for COVID, develop COVID-like symptoms that are not attributable to another health condition, or be awaiting the results of a COVID laboratory test, we require household members, including all siblings, to remain at home for the designated period of time (please consult the MDH exclusion decision tree).

Some types of travel and activities that put your student at higher risk for exposure to COVID-19 and require quarantine before returning to school include:

• Traveling to an area that is experiencing elevated levels of COVID-19 spread, as designated on this map from the Brown University School of Public Health. Any area designated as "orange" or "red" on this map is considered to have an elevated level of risk.
• Attending a large social gathering such as a wedding or funeral.
• Attending a mass gathering such as a sporting event, concert, or parade.
• Being in crowds, such as in restaurants, bars, airports, bus and train stations, or movie theaters.
• Traveling on a cruise ship or river boat.
• Visiting a college campus where your visit involves close contact with others or more than 15 minutes inside a campus building. Please use your best judgement in these situations and err on the side of caution.

If you participated in any of these higher-risk activities, or think that you may have been exposed before or during your trip, take extra precautions to protect others for 14 days after you arrive home. This includes staying at home as much as possible and may include participation in Distance Learning.

In the weeks prior to the start of school, families can help by adopting some of the routines and practices that we will follow when school starts, including:

• Using the Magnus app for a daily temperature check and symptom screen;
• Incorporating handwashing breaks in your daily routine;
• Wearing face coverings in public;
• Maintaining 6’ social distancing in public.

Families should also continue normal well-child practices, including continuing regular doctor visits and well-child appointments, keeping immunizations and physicals current, and encouraging physical activity and time outside.
 

There are many external risks beyond our control, but we can mitigate preventable risks by keeping students home if they are not feeling well. Families should familiarize themselves with the Minnesota Department of Health Decision Tree (see flowchart below), which outlines the protocols to follow if your student is experiencing COVID-like symptoms, has tested positive for COVID, or has had close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID.

According to the MDH Decision Tree, students MUST remain at home for the following reasons:

• Presence of COVID-like symptoms: At this time, given the levels of transmission in Ramsey County, students who experience one or more symptoms will be excluded from school, with evaluation and testing strongly encouraged, regardless of whether the symptom(s) is (are) "less common" or "more common" with COVID-19.   The student should stay home at least 10 days since symptoms first appeared AND until no fever id present for at least 24 hours without medication AND improvement of other symptoms. Siblings and household members also should stay home  for 14 days; if the symptomatic child receives a negative test, or an alternative diagnosis, then siblings and household contacts may return to school.
• Students with COVID-like symptoms that are determined by a medical professional to be caused by something other than COVID-19 (e.g., strep throat, seasonal allergies, etc): Stay home until symptoms have improved and follow specific return guidance from the health care provider. If symptoms related to a pre-existing condition change or worsen, talk to a health care provider to determine next steps. Siblings and household members DO NOT need to stay home.
• Positive COVID-19 test: Student must stay home from school for 10 days from the onset of symptoms. Symptoms must be improving prior to returning AND fever must be resolved for at least 24 hours without the aid of medication. Siblings and household contacts must also remain at home and quarantine from all activities for 14 days. 
• Quarantine due to close contact criteria and possible exposure: Student must stay home from school for 14 days from the date of exposure and is encouraged to get tested for COVID-19. Siblings and household contacts DO NOT need to stay at home or quarantine UNLESS a positive test result is received, at which time siblings and household contacts must stay home and quarantine from all activities for 14 days from the positive test. 

We will also use the Minnesota Department of Health Decision Tree to guide our protocols for students who become ill while they are at school. Any student exhibiting symptoms of illness will be escorted to the new Health Room on each campus, designated the “symptomatic Health Office.” On the Randolph Campus, the symptomatic Health Office is located in the Huss Center in the former dressing room location adjacent to the Huss auditorium.  On the Goodrich Campus, a new Health Office has been constructed adjacent to the Converse auditorium.  

The Health Assistant will assess the student's symptoms outside of the office. In instances where COVID-like symptoms are present, the student's parents will be notified and asked to pick the student up as soon as possible and within a 30- to 60 minute timeframe. Symptomatic students will need to continue to wear their mask or face covering and remain in the Health Office isolated from others until picked up to go home. 

The Health Assistant will complete a School Exclusion form with detailed instructions for parents, which may include:

• Consultation with health care provider to rule out alternative diagnosis or confirm COVID-19.
• Monitoring of symptoms for indicated amount of time.
• Continued daily health screens submitted through Magnus Health app.
• Expected date of return to school and criteria for school re-entry.
   

Contact tracing is a critical tool in keeping the SPA community safe. It is vital that students, parents, and staff are forthcoming about close contacts as agreed upon in our Shared Commitment to Community Health. When people are unwilling or unable to disclose their close contacts, effective contact tracing may become difficult.. Without community cooperation, our approach to identifying individuals who may have had a true encounter is “precautionary” at best and will increase the number of students who are not eligible for in-person learning.  With accurate reporting and cooperating, we will be able to limit contact tracing and isolation to truly exposed individuals. Members of the SPA staff are completing a contact tracing course through Johns Hopkins University. These staff members will be on hand to help state officials complete contact tracing in a timely and confidential manner with SPA students, staff, and faculty, who have potentially been exposed.

If SPA is notified by a family or the Minnesota Department of Health that a student has tested positive for COVID-19, we will follow the guidance outlined in the Governor’s Safe Learning plan, as noted below:

When a confirmed case of COVID-19 is identified in a school community, it is important for [schools] to work closely with local public health and MDH officials through the Regional Support Teams to identify whether the person who is ill was present on school grounds while infectious and whether that resulted in any close contact exposures among students or staff. Because of the potential for asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic transmission of COVID-19, it is important that close contacts of students or staff with COVID-19 are quickly identified, informed of the need to quarantine at home, and encouraged to seek testing even if they are not showing any symptoms. In general, testing of close contacts should not occur until either a person becomes symptomatic OR at least 5 to 7 days have passed since their last exposure to the confirmed case to guard against a false negative test result, which can occur when a person is tested too early in the incubation period. Even if a close contact tests negative, they must remain in quarantine for a full 14 days as some people develop infection at the end of their incubation period. The CDC does not recommend universal testing of all students and staff.

In addition to the identification and notification of close contacts, school districts and charter schools should consider the questions outlined below in consultation with health officials to determine whether additional mitigation strategies are needed to protect the school community.

• How many cases are there, and are they close in time together, or spread out over several weeks? Sporadic, single confirmed cases are not necessarily worrisome on their own, especially if students or staff did not attend school while infectious or the potential exposures in the school setting are limited (e.g., few classrooms or activities are impacted). Multiple cases that are identified closer together in time (e.g., within one week) could indicate that a significant unidentified exposure occurred and/or that a higher level of transmission is occurring.
• Are new cases traceable to the school community or are they likely the result of a different exposure (e.g., household exposure, travel)? It is concerning to see cases that can be clearly traced back to an exposure within the school setting, as it may be an indication that transmission is occurring between members of the school community. Cases that can be traced back to a different exposure such as a cluster of cases within a household or a likely exposure to a positive case while traveling indicate that attendance in school was not the likely source of illness.
• Where are the cases occurring, and do they have any common themes? If cases seem to be concentrated based on a common trait such as a physical location (e.g., confined to one building within a school) or to a specific group within the school (e.g., a cluster of cases among food service workers), it may be possible to narrow down the exposure source and take more specific actions that do not necessarily require a change in the learning model used for the school or school system as a whole. Finding common themes among cases may also aid a school’s efforts to modify practices to help prevent similar future exposures.
• How many close contacts does each case have? Cases that have limited numbers of close contacts in the school setting (e.g., few classrooms or activities are impacted) are less likely to result in a needed shift between learning models for the whole school. Cases that have many close contacts across multiple classrooms and activities, or potential exposures in common areas or at larger school based gatherings/events where close contacts are not readily identifiable may complicate the ability to identify all or most close contacts, and may have a larger impact on the school community as a whole.
• Are students, parents, and staff forthcoming about close contacts? When people are unwilling or unable to disclose their close contacts, it may be difficult to ensure that contact tracing can be effectively completed. When contact tracing cannot be fully completed, it is possible that exposed persons may not exclude for the recommended quarantine period of 14 days and could go on to develop symptoms of illness while in the school setting, thereby resulting in additional exposures.
• Is there other significant COVID-19 transmission in the surrounding community (e.g., a cluster of cases at a large local employer) that will likely impact families and staff? For example, in communities that are currently experiencing or have very recently (within the last 14 days) experienced an outbreak in a large local employer or other setting where the families of many students and/or spouses of many staff work or visit, the nature of the community outbreak may increase the potential for community transmission in the school setting.
• Are you able to maintain your current learning model based on staffing? Staffing is a critical component of school operations. When adequate staffing to support an in-person or hybrid learning model cannot be achieved, it may be necessary for schools to transition to an alternative learning model. 
   

Keeping students at home if they are ill, test positive for COVID-19, or are exposed to a positive case is crucial. We also understand that some families may opt to keep their students at home for all or part of the school year due to individual or family health considerations.

All students will be able to fully and actively participate in instruction remotely, using the Seesaw platform in the Lower School and the Google Classroom platform in the Middle and Upper Schools. In addition, "Owl cameras” are being installed in every SPA classroom in every division. The Owls are smart conference cameras designed by Owl Labs which capture 360° video and audio. The Owls are "smart" in that they automatically shift the camera to focus on whoever in the room is speaking, whether the teacher or a classmate, allowing users to engage with the classroom experience more fully. Visit the Owl Labs website and click on "See It In Action" to watch a demo video of the Owl in use in the classroom.

Information and demonstrations of the various tools and software used for Distance Learning will be part of orientation; division-specific information will be sent to parents in August.