• Physical Distancing – Friends School will follow the health department’s current social/physical distancing recommendations for schools. Masks will be worn when it is difficult for students to maintain distance (see below). No large gatherings be held on Friends School campus during COVID-19.
• Masks/PPE – Colorado is under a mandatory statewide mask order. All staff, students over age 3, and anyone visiting our campus will be required to wear a mask while inside our buildings as per the Boulder County Health Department’s guidelines. Masks for students are not required outdoors as long as physical distancing is maintained.
• Vaccinations – as in any year, all students are required to have a fully-updated immunization record or exemption form before the start of each school year.  If your child’s physician is not providing physical exams during this time, please provide Friends School with written notice from your physician of one of the following: 1) an extended expiration date on the most recent physical form, or 2) written verification that your child has a physical scheduled for the future.
• Hand hygiene – All Friends School students, employees, and approved visitors will follow a hand washing or sanitizing protocol throughout the day.
• Temperature and Symptom Screening – Daily temperature and symptom screening (and reporting) will be required of all students, faculty, and staff upon arrival at school. Individuals who are ill, have symptoms, or who have been in contact with anyone who has been exposed to COVID-19 may not come to campus.
• Sanitizing and Disinfecting – Door handles, light switches, sinks, sink handles, table and desk tops, backs of chairs, and other frequently touched areas will be sanitized on a continuous basis throughout the day. Disinfecting the classroom will be done at a minimum during times when the students are out of the classroom. The scope of Friends School’s contract with its cleaning company has been expanded to include nightly disinfection of all touched and flat surfaces. 
• Air filtration measures/ventilation – Fresh air is extremely important to us. Windows in all classrooms and throughout our buildings will remain open as much as possible. Continually-running bathroom exhaust fans will run throughout the day in the elementary building. Partitions will be added in bathrooms allowing for doors to stay open while privacy is maintained. Any room that has filtered intake air that is able to be equipped with a HEPA filter will be equipped with a HEPA filter. The school is procuring air purifiers for our classrooms where forced systems are not present. For safety reasons, individual exterior classroom doors may not be propped open.
• At Risk Population – Immunocompromised individuals and those with underlying health risks or who live with them are encouraged to take extra precautions to protect themselves from getting COVID-19. Please discuss your health concerns and risk with your healthcare provider. 
• Travel Considerations (Students, Staff, Families) – In order for our community to be as safe and successful as possible, students, staff and families are encouraged not to travel to areas of high COVID-19 activity. If travel is unavoidable, please take the necessary precautions and follow quarantine protocols to protect yourself and the larger Friends School community. 
• Illness Protocol – Individuals who are ill, have symptoms, or who have been in contact with anyone who has been exposed to COVID-19 may not come to campus. Friends School will follow the protocol for responding to suspected COVID-19 in our community  as set forth in the CDPHE “Cases and Outbreaks in Schools” document dated 7/30/20 and all updates thereafter.

Please also see “Campus Operations” for specific building-related safety issues.

• Pods
  Across preschool to 8th grade, we have established pods of students, ranging from 5 to 16 students, which are smaller than the norm because we feel that this is best for our community. The purpose of pods is to minimize interactions across groups of students. Two key benefits of this include 1) reducing exposure to illness and, 2) permitting Friends to potentially only need to close affected pods should someone become ill rather than closing the buildings for the whole school. 
• Phases of Learning
  Our goal is for as much in-person learning as possible. Being together is important for children and adults and we plan to have as much in-person learning as possible this year. We are fortunate that our facilities lend themselves to creating outdoor learning spaces and providing separate areas for pods of students to use indoors. Doing this will help to minimize interaction across groups and will help to keep our community as safe as possible. 

Phase 1 – Full Remote Learning (Stay-at-Home Order) – We will enter Phase 1 if the state or local officials issue a Stay-at-Home order or if we have an outbreak within our school community and health officials direct us to close our buildings. While in Phase 1, all academic content lessons, including music and Spanish, will take place on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Special subjects such as art and PE may take place on Wednesday when classroom teachers and core subject teachers have time to prepare and respond to student work and/or host individual check-ins with students and/or families.

Phase 2 – On Campus Hybrid Remote Learning (Safer-at-Home Order) – In Phase 2, we will minimize the number of teachers who interact with students in person. This means that some classes will be taught via Zoom even while students are on campus. In-person special teaching will be on a rotation to ensure contact with every teacher over time. 

Phase 3 – On Campus Learning with increased health protocol (Protect Our Neighbors Order) – In Phase 3, we will limit interaction with different teachers, but most if not all special subjects will be taught in person. Phase 3 continues to keep interaction low, increasing the number of adults interacting with pods of students in a week. 

Under phases 2 and 3, our teachers will primarily focus on students who are on campus, in person. Curriculum, including appropriate lessons and assignments, will be available in Google Classroom (K-5) or Schoology (MS).  Where possible and appropriate, we will incorporate students in video conferencing who are not on campus. 

Phase 4 – In-person learning with no restrictions – Phase 4 indicates a return to school with no COVID-19 restrictions. 

• Hand hygiene – All Friends School students, employees, and approved visitors will follow a hand washing or sanitizing protocol throughout the day.
• Physical Distancing – Physical distancing will be attended to on all of our campuses. Signage and dividers will be placed at appropriate locations. No large gatherings will be held during COVID-19.
• Building Entry/Exit – Students will use  individual exterior classroom doors as primary entrance and exits.
• Drinking Fountains – Students may fill their bottles in our touchless drinking fountains. No touching or drinking from fountains or sinks. Students in K-8 should bring a full water bottle each day, with their name clearly visible. 
• Families and Visitors – Friends School will allow for one adult to accompany their Preschool or Pre-Kindergarten child to drop off and pick up each day. These adults will be included in the morning health screening, and will be required to wear a mask and physically distance on campus. In all other grades, we ask that family members remain in the car and children will walk to their classroom independently. Any outside tutors or evaluators may meet with children via Zoom, schedule and space permitting. 
• Gatherings, Assemblies, Field Trips – no in-person gatherings until further notice. Field trips will be determined on a case-by-case basis and communicated by the Division Heads. 
• Bus transportation will not be offered during the COVID-19 pandemic due to physical distancing constraints.