Our first line of defense is you. We all must change our bar for when we choose to stay home and when we keep our children home. If there is any sign of potential illness that could be COVID-19, your child must not come to school. We as a community must work in partnership to safeguard our AOS family. To that end, we ask that all families adhere to this community commitment.
MASKS
AOS is a fully mask-optional campus. As it always stands with COVID-19, we remain prepared to increase mitigation measures should case counts rise.
HAND WASHING & SANITIZING
We have installed sanitizing stations around campus, and students are regularly encouraged to wash/sanitize their hands.
COVID-19 SYMPTOMS
If any child exhibits COVID-19 symptoms, we call their parents and expect the child to be picked up immediately. People exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms will be required to test (PCR or rapid) or complete five days of isolation in order to return to campus. The details surrounding returning to campus can be found
here.
Under no circumstances will any person be allowed to return to campus with a fever. Students must always be fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication before returning, regardless of test results. If the twenty-fourth hour post-fever falls during a school day, please wait until the following school day before your child returns.
Any absence from camp, regardless whether it is caused by COVID-19, must be reported to the Health Clinic. If the absence is related to illness, one of the camp nurses will follow up with the family. Any reports of illness submitted to the Health Clinic over a weekend or holiday will be addressed during the next business day. In such instances, families should plan to keep children home until one of the nurses can speak with you and provide the necessary next steps.
People with COVID-19 have had a wide range of symptoms reported, ranging from mild symptoms to severe illness. Symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure to the virus. People with these symptoms may have COVID-19:
TESTING POSITIVE
We adhere to the CDC guidelines and allow people to return to campus 5 days after testing positive as long as they are asymptomatic or their symptoms are resolving. (If symptoms still persist, ten days of isolation still applies.) Note that students must always stay home for 24 hours after a fever resolves regardless of the type of illness.
Click here for a complete list of protocols for those who have tested positive.
CLOSE CONTACTS
Our complete list of protocols for those identified as close contacts can be found
here.
QUARANTINING
Click
here for a complete list of protocols for those who are identified as close contacts.
COMMUNICATING POSITIVE CASES
When we have a positive case on campus, only the parents of the children in the shared camp will receive a direct notification via email as soon as we are notified of the positive case. Identities of those who test positive for COVID-19 will be kept confidential.
COVID-19 RESPONSE TEAM
AOS created a COVID-19 Response Team to quickly engage the situation from all angles if a COVID-19 case is suspected or confirmed in our community. Emily Benton leads this team, and it includes members of the Administration Team and our school nurses. This team meets regularly to review and assess our COVID-19 policies.
REPORTING ABSENCES
All absences, regardless of whether or not they are related to COVID-19, must be reported to the Health Clinic via email:
clinic@aoshouston.org or phone: 713-470-5614. Please report all absences by 9:00 AM the day of the absence.
The Campus
BUILDING CLEANING & DISINFECTING
All classrooms are adequately equipped with disinfectant wipes for teachers to use throughout the day to spot clean surfaces as needed, and classrooms, restrooms, offices, and other common spaces are cleaned nightly per our standard practice.
HEALTH CLINIC & QUARANTINE ROOM
The Health Clinic is divided into two separate areas. In one room, nurses will tend to minor cuts and bruises, etc. The other room will serve as a quarantine room for any student exhibiting potential COVID-19 symptoms. Routine, standard cleaning will be conducted after a student is seen in the clinic.
VISITORS & AUDIENCES
The AOS campus is now fully open to visitors and audience members only for invited guests. Camps who will host visitors or audiences will give families more information about the campus visit. All visitors and audience members will check-in before being allowed to enter campus.
WATER FOUNTAINS
Water fountains will be turned off, but bottle filling stations will remain on.
