Pandemic Procedures and Protocols

Are you wondering what we are doing to prioritize your family’s health and wellness?  This document will guide you with information on our most updated pandemic policies and procedures.

 

Pandemic Procedures and Protocols

Leap Academy

Version 2.0

7/5/2020

 

What you should know about our modified policies and procedures:

 

Drop off and Pick Up

• Parents and guardians are prohibited from entering the building. Many rooms with outside door access are available for drop off and pick up.  See your Director for more information. 
• Adults must approach the center wearing a mask.
• Sanitize your hands upon approaching the building. Sanitizer will be stocked and available for adult use.  Parents and guardians may place sanitizer in the child’s hands. Center staff are prohibited by DCF from doing so.
• Please remain 6 feet apart from other families while waiting for assistance. Poly dots are placed outside to help keep kids and families distance.
• Please read the daily health check to ensure that your child meets the health requirements to enter the building. By dropping off your child, you are agreeing that these requirements are being met.
• Children will be fever swiped at the door prior to going to their classroom. 
• Please limit items brought into the building to include changes of clothing, indoor shoes, and one soft comfort item that is either kept at school with their nap items or must be washed daily at home. Nap items and swim items must be brought clean on Mondays and taken home on fridays. We cannot keep carseats in the building.

 

Modified Illness Policy

• Any child with a fever greater than 100.0 will be sent home for a minimum of 48 hours, and the last 24 must be fever free without the use of Tylenol or Motrin.  All siblings of the child with the fever must be out during that time as well. 
• Children who are required to be out due to a fever, but who return with respiratory symptoms, will be asked to stay out for at least an additional 48 hours and until all symptoms subside.  
• Children who are found to be ill during the day will be quarantined in an office with a closed door and parents are required to come pick them up immediately

 

Operating Hours and Group Sizes

• Current operating hours are 7:00AM-5:00PM to eliminate the need for co-mingling and allow adequate staffing.
• Group sizes will be limited to no more than 15 kids until further notice.  (Please note, most class sizes are smaller than this due to DCF licensing ratios).

 

Meals and Supplies

• While operating in tight budget constraints, Leap Academy is currently providing lunch and milk.  Meals are currently being served by teachers in individual containers.
• Parents are asked and encouraged to bring breakfast cereal, crackers, fruit and any additional requested supplies. Breakfast and snacks will be served by teachers and will also not be served family style.

  

Primary Exposure

• Should we have a case of COVID in the building, we will notify all parents immediately and close the building that day and for the next business day, sanitize, and wait for further direction from the Department of Public Health. 

 

Payment Policies

• In the case that the center is required by the Department of Public Health to shut down a room for a closure of longer than four days, payment will go as follows: for a first closure, families affected would not be required to pay tuition.  For any subsequent closure, families would be required to pay. 
• Families required to quarantine due to outside circumstances will be required to continue to pay.

 

Supply Requests

• As the center is currently operating on a shoestring budget, some additional operating supplies are being requested of parents and families.

 

Random Bits

• Tours will be given virtually when possible.  When an in-person tour is requested, it will be provided after hours.  
• Service calls, if necessary, will follow the same standard protocols.  When not available on off hours, service providers will wear a mask, have a temperature scan, and use hand sanitizer.  They will remain out of rooms where children are at all times. 
• When new families start, they will get one time to view their child’s classroom from the doorway (after requirements are met) and have an intake appointment.

 

What you can expect from our staff:

 

Staff are responsible for knowing and performing the following protocols.

 

New Procedures for Entering the Building

• Sanitize hands
• Wear a mask while entering and inside per DCF requirements
• Complete a staff daily health check
• Fever swipe
• Wash hands upon entering room
• Change or remove outdoor shoes

 

Enhanced Daily Procedures

• Prohibited from entering a room you are not working in for any reason
• Encouraged to stay on campus during the day
• No mixing of groups
• Staff are required to wear masks per DCF and Dane County requirements
• Where possible, increase airflow by propping outside doors where safe and opening windows
• Increase outside time with the help of your Director while limiting one group to a playground at a time
• Increase sanitizing and disinfecting efforts throughout the day
  • Sanitize toys, common surfaces, door handles and playground at nap time and in between groups that are sharing rooms (4k/school-age) 
  • Disinfect at the end of the day
• Catch your sneeze or cough in your elbow or mask and wash your hands
• Building will be sanitized with fogging machine and hydrolyte exelate at close each evening, while wearing protective suit, mask and booties.

 

Child-Related Procedures

• Teachers will assist children with washing their hands under running water with soap for a minimum of 20 seconds when entering the room in the morning and when exiting the room at the end of the day. These times are  in addition to the other typical times for washing, including but not limited to before and after meal times, after diapering and pottying, outdoor time and before and after playing in a sensory bin. 
• Avoid hugs and kisses from teachers and from child to child.
• The Curriculum Director will work with teachers to make modifications to typical sensory bin activities. Where deemed appropriate, large sensory bin activities with soap and water will be provided, such as car/dinosaur/pumpkin washing stations.  Children will be asked to wash hands before and after playing in the sensory bin.  Where deemed appropriate, individual sensory bin activities will be used.
• Leap Academy will make every effort to keep teaching teams in “pods” so unnecessary contact with adults does not take place.  Staff who do not have a reason for entering a room will be prohibited from doing so.  Administrators will sanitize hands before entering any room.  
• Rooms will operate with hallway doors closed at all times.
• Meals will be dropped off at the door.  Teachers serve meals – no family-style meals
• Nap mats should be 6 feet apart and kids will sleep head to toe. Nap mats are sanitized after each use.