COVID-19
Information
Contents
Health & Safety Protocols
Exposure Management
Core Mitigation Strategies
ESLA’s 2022-2023 campus plan adheres to all guidelines from national, state, and local health officials to provide a safe environment for all students, employees, and visitors. The plan implements multiple layers of COVID-19 mitigation strategies to effectively limit the cases and transmission of COVID-19 on the school campus. ESLA’s core mitigation strategies include masking, physical distancing, hand and building hygiene, ventilation, and screening for symptoms and close contacts.
ESLA conducts routine on-campus COVID-19 testing clinics for all students and employees. All ESLA employees are fully vaccinated. The School requires that all eligible students receive a COVID-19 primary series and a booster vaccination no more than 20 days following their eligibility.
Health & Safety Protocols
SELF-SCREENING
The Los Angeles Department of Public Health (DPH) strongly recommends all schools comply with daily screenings. Anyone coming to ESLA’s campus for any reason for any period of time must comply with screening for COVID symptoms.
Guidelines for Students & Employees:
Before entering the campus, a student or student’s guardian / ESLA employee must fill out ESLA’s COVID-19 Daily Health Screening via the ParentLocker app. This form resets daily and must be filled out for each entry onto campus. Students and employees must complete the form every day they are scheduled to be on campus.
If the student / ESLA employee has at least 1 symptom consistent with COVID-19, refer to the Self-Screening Containment Protocol for further guidance.
Upon arrival on campus, the student / ESLA employee will need to show proof that the Daily Health Screening is completed to the administrator on duty at drop-off or the front desk.
MASKS
Everyone is required to wear a surgical, KN95, or N95 face mask at all times indoors, unless actively eating or drinking. Staff may remove their face masks when working alone in a private office with closed doors or when they are the only individual present in a larger open workspace.
Masks are not required outdoors.
Additional Resources:
PHYSICAL DISTANCING
When possible, students and staff are to remain at a three-foot distance in classrooms and on campus, except during lunch when all individuals must adhere to COVID-19 Lunch Protocols (outlined below).
Classroom capacity has been reduced, and furniture has been adjusted to reflect the three-foot physical distancing objective.
Developmentally appropriate activities will be arranged for smaller group activities to adhere to the physical distancing objective.
To avoid crowding on stairways and hallways, faculty and administration monitor spaces both during and especially between class periods to ensure the physical distancing objective is honored.
Restrooms & elevators: Each space has a designated capacity posted.
COMMUNAL LUNCH PROTOCOLS
Lunch is provided outdoors as much as possible. Middle School students eat in the East Lot, and Upper School students eat in the West Lot. In the case of inclement weather, students and staff are distributed by grade level and assigned to a room, and physical distancing is increased.
Masks:
Everyone is required to wear their mask except when actively eating or drinking.
Students and faculty delivering announcements during lunch may remove their masks outdoors when addressing the crowd but must maintain an eight-foot distance while speaking.
Seating & Physical Distance:
Students are assigned seating by grade level.
Students must maintain an increased distance from each other when actively eating or drinking outdoors.
Students are called to the buffet line one row at a time, and kitchen staff serve freshly prepared food to each student individually.
AIR CIRCULATION & FILTRATION
All HVAC/ventilation systems have been adjusted to operate to their safest capacity.
Computer-controlled HVAC systems are routinely checked, and filters are changed periodically according to manufacturer standards.
Where possible, windows and doors will be kept open. Please note that open windows and doors will be closed if they pose a safety or health risk to children using the facility (e.g., allowing in smoke, pollen, or other elements that may exacerbate asthma symptoms) or to protect privacy and confidentiality.
CLEANING & DISINFECTING
High-touch areas—such as door knobs and handrails—and restrooms will be cleaned and disinfected multiple times throughout each day according to CDC guidelines.
Desks and shared school materials will be disinfected after each class.
All classrooms are supplied with disinfectant wipes and sanitizer.
Each classroom will be cleaned and disinfected every evening according to CDC guidelines.
SIGNAGE
Informational and directional signage is placed throughout campus to ensure students, staff, and visitors adhere to COVID-19 guidance.
Hand Hygiene:
ESLA community members are encouraged to review CDC guidelines on hand washing and hand sanitizing. Signs are posted above sinks throughout campus.
Frequent hand washing is encouraged.
Hand sanitizing stations are installed throughout campus.
No-touch light switches, faucets, and towel dispensers are installed throughout campus.
Restrooms:
Each grade level has assigned restrooms with clearly marked signage.
Staff have assigned restrooms with clearly marked signage.
All individuals must use only the restrooms assigned to them.
Physical Distancing:
Signage is posted throughout campus to reinforce physical distancing protocols.
VISITORS
At this moment, only essential visitors are allowed to come to campus, except when ESLA hosts special school events on campus.
An essential visitor is defined as follows: (1) A parent/guardian of an ESLA student whose physical presence on campus is required. (2) An individual whose physical presence is requested on campus to provide support to student’s or staff’s emotional, mental, or physical wellbeing. (3) An individual whose physical presence is invited on campus to develop, promote, or implement ESLA’s mission or curriculum.
To enter the campus lobby, the visitor must fill out ESLA's COVID-19 Daily Health Screening. The visitor must present proof of the completed COVID-19 Daily Health Screening Form to the Front Desk Receptionist when checking in.
The visitor must register in ESLA’s Visiting Log in the campus lobby when they arrive, and must check out when they leave.
When on campus, the visitor must adhere to ESLA’s physical distancing and masking guidelines at all times.
Fully Vaccinated visitors must attest to being fully vaccinated on ESLA’s COVID-19 Screening Form.
If the visitor joins ESLA for refreshments or meals, they must provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test—an antigen or at-home COVID test administered 24 hours before the visit, or a PCR COVID test administered within 48 hours of the visit—by emailing test results to COVID@es-la.com.
Unvaccinated visitors must provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test—an antigen or at-home COVID test administered 24 hours before the visit, or a PCR COVID test administered within 48 hours of the visit—by emailing test results to COVID@es-la.com.
A negative COVID-19 test result is required for all children visitors who are currently enrolled in school.
BEST PRACTICES
In all school programming, admin and faculty maximize the use of outdoor space and alternative larger gathering spaces in order to promote physical distancing.
Designated adults are located in hallways to monitor and ensure social distancing, mask guidelines, and bathroom occupancy rate.
Students are asked to bring water bottles to campus and are instructed to refill them using the campus drinking fountains. Students may not drink directly from fountains.
Students are asked to bring or are provided with their own school supplies to limit sharing physical materials with others.
Assigned seating is required for all students. As students enter classrooms, teachers remind students to disinfect their desk & shared materials with a Clorox wipe before sitting down.
Exposure Management
SELF-SCREENING CONTAINMENT PROTOCOL FOR SYMPTOMS CONSISTENT WITH COVID-19
During Self Screening, if you report experiencing ONE or MORE symptom(s) consistent with COVID-19, please abide the following protocols:
OPTION 1: Consult with a Medical Provider for Further Evaluation
If your medical provider clears you and confirms you do not have symptoms consistent with COVID-19:
Report your status to COVID@es-la.com.
You may return to campus the following day.
If your medical provider confirms that you do have symptoms consistent with COVID-19, ESLA requires that you get a PCR COVID-19 test. Please see OPTION 2 below.
OPTION 2: Get a PCR COVID-19 Test
Recommended testing resources: Same Day Testing, Community Based Testing
If you test NEGATIVE for COVID-19:
Stay home until your symptoms have improved and you are fever-free without using fever-reducing medications for 24 hours.
Report your status to COVID@es-la.com. You may return to campus once the Campus Health Coordinator clears you.
If your symptoms worsen, please seek advice from your medical provider.
If you test POSITIVE for COVID-19 and have symptoms, you must isolate yourself until:
At least 5 days have passed since your symptoms first appeared.
At least 24 hours have passed since you have been fever-free without the use of fever-reducing medications.
You produce a negative result on a rapid or at-home COVID-19 test.
Your symptoms have improved. If your symptoms have not improved, please continue to isolate.
Report your status to COVID@es-la.com. You may return to campus once the Campus Health Coordinator clears you.
If your symptoms become severe, please seek advice from your medical provider.
See the official L.A. County Isolation Instructions for more information.
CONTACT TRACING & EXPOSURE MANAGEMENT PLAN
If an individual is on-campus when informed of testing positive for COVID-19, the Campus Health Coordinator will immediately escort the individual to the isolation room until they are able to leave campus.
If an ESLA student or employee tests positive for COVID-19, the Campus Health Coordinator will immediately begin communicating with them in order to begin Contact Tracing procedures. The Campus Health Coordinator will email all established Close Contacts with instructions for next steps (outlined below) and will complete required L.A. County reporting procedures.
Close Contact Definition
A person is considered a Close Contact, and is therefore considered to have been exposed to a case during the infectious period, if at least one of the following criteria are met:
The individual shared the same indoor airspace (masked or unmasked) for 15 minutes or more over a 24 hour period.
The individual had unprotected contact with the infected person’s body fluids and/or secretions, for example, being coughed or sneezed on, sharing utensils or saliva, or providing care without wearing appropriate protective equipment.
The infectious period is defined as beginning two days before symptom onset, or, if the infected person did not have symptoms, two days before their COVID-19 test date.
Protocols for Close Contacts
Unless you recovered from COVID-19 within the last 90 days, you must take a COVID-19 test and report results to COVID@es-la.com.
Recommended Testing Resources: Same Day Testing, L.A. County Testing
1. If you recovered from COVID-19 within the last 90 days:
Report your status to COVID@es-la.com. You may return to campus once the Campus Health Coordinator clears you. You will likely not be asked to produce a test result; health officials advise that immediate reinfection is extremely rare and those who have recently recovered may produce false positive test results.
If you develop ANY symptoms, please isolate yourself at home and email COVID@es-la.com for more information.
2. If you are fully vaccinated, are experiencing NO symptoms, and test NEGATIVE for COVID-19:
You do not need to quarantine. Report test results to COVID@es-la.com and the Campus Health Coordinator will clear your return to campus.
It is important to still monitor your health for symptoms of COVID-19 for 14 days. If you develop symptoms, please quarantine until symptoms improve and email COVID@es-la.com for more information.
3. If you tested positive for COVID-19 AND have symptoms, you must isolate yourself until:
At least 5 days have passed since your symptoms first appeared AND
At least 24 hours have passed since you have been fever-free without the use of fever-reducing medications AND
Your symptoms have improved AND
You produced a negative COVID test (rapid antigen or at-home) that was collected on Day 5 or later.
4. If you tested positive for COVID-19 but do NOT have symptoms, you must isolate yourself until:
At least 5 days have passed since your initial positive test was taken AND
You produced a negative COVID test (rapid antigen or at-home)that was collected on Day 5 or later.
Report your status to COVID@es-la.com. You may return to campus once the Campus Health Coordinator clears you.
If your symptoms become severe, please seek advice from your medical provider.
See the official L.A. County Isolation Instructions for more information.
Contact Information
Please direct all questions to COVID@es-la.com.