COVID-19
PVSchools remains committed to ensuring the health, safety, and well-being of students, staff, and the community. PVSchools continues to maintain a multi-layered approach to mitigation protocols.
PVSchools Prepared
- Face Masks
- Hand Hygiene
- Classrooms and Campuses
- Health Screening
- Quarantine and Isolation
- Visitors
- Cleaning
- Positive Cases
- Symptoms at School
- Transportation
- Social Emotional Well-Being
Face Masks
Beginning Aug. 19, 2021, until further notice, cloth face masks, covering the nose and mouth, are required to be worn by all vaccinated and unvaccinated persons, including, but not limited to, staff, students, vendors, visitors, and volunteers while indoors and at any school site. A limited opt-out option for students and staff is available, by contacting the school office and requesting the appropriate form.
All vaccinated and unvaccinated persons, including, but not limited to, staff, students, vendors, visitors, and volunteers, are required to wear a cloth face mask, covering the nose and mouth, while in any district vehicle, including district buses or vehicles rented or leased by the district.
Face masks are not required during rigorous physical exertion.
Hand Hygiene
Classrooms and Campuses
- Where possible, student seating will be arranged to maintain social distancing. Desks will be faced in the same direction, rather than facing each other, or students will sit on only one side of tables, spaced apart.
- Where possible store belongings in individually labeled containers, cubbies, or areas.
- Assigned seating in classrooms will be implemented to assist with contact tracing.
- Where possible, social distancing will be maintained in open areas, such as hallways, stairwells, gyms, and playgrounds.
- Students will be encouraged to bring their own water bottle to minimize use and touching of water fountains. Water bottle filling stations are being added to each site.
- To limit exposure to other students and staff, recess will be separated by classes and grade-level cohorts.
- Signage will be posted in all rooms and common areas explaining hygiene practices to prevent spread.
Health Screening
- Students should stay home if they feel ill or are exhibiting COVID-19-like symptoms.
- Parents and guardians should assess their child’s health daily prior to heading to school or the bus stop. See Health Screening Checklist below.
- At the beginning of each day, as students enter the classroom, teachers will informally screen students for COVID-like symptoms. If the teacher has concerns, they will contact the school nurse prior to sending the student to the Nurse’s Office.
- Students will be reminded of proper respiratory hygiene, including:
- Avoiding touching the eyes, nose, and mouth.
- Covering the mouth when coughing.
- Covering the nose when sneezing and safely discarding tissues.
We all must work together to make our school campus as safe as possible for students, teachers, and staff. While PVSchools is taking measures to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19, we need our families to do the same.
- Take your child’s temperature every day prior to coming to school and conduct a daily screening of your child for COVID-like symptoms prior to your child arriving at school.
- Keep your child home from school if they have any of the following symptoms that are not related to an already diagnosed condition or illness:
- Fever of 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit or higher
- Chills
- Cough
- Sore throat
- Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
- New loss of taste or smell
- Muscle or body aches
- Headache
- Congestion or runny nose
- Nausea or vomiting
- Diarrhea
Quarantine and Isolation
If a student tests positive for COVID-19, regardless of vaccination status:
- Must isolate for 5 days.
- Once asymptomatic or as symptoms are resolving (without fever for 24 hours), wear a mask when around others to minimize the risk of spread for 5 additional days.
If a student is a close contact and remains asymptomatic with current vaccination or a positive COVID-19 case within the last 90 days:
- May continue to attend school.
- Wearing a mask is recommended for 10 days.
- COVID-19 test recommended after 5 days.
If a student is a close contact and remains asymptomatic without current vaccination or a positive COVID-19 case within the last 90 days:
- Encouraged to quarantine for 5 days. May return to school after quarantine, wearing a mask for the next 5 days.
- If quarantine is not feasible, students can return if they wear a mask for 10 days.
- COVID-19 test recommended after 5 days.
If a student is a close contact and is symptomatic:
- It’s imperative that students and staff stay home if they are exhibiting any COVID-like symptoms.
- COVID-19 test recommended. If positive see, “If a student tests positive for COVID-19, regardless of vaccination status” above.
- Once asymptomatic or as symptoms are resolving (without fever for 24 hours), wear a mask when around others to minimize the risk of spread for 5 additional days.
Visitors
- Access on campus by visitors or volunteers will be limited to those supporting the educational program.
- All visitors or parents/guardians are required to report to the front office and not go beyond unless it is for the safety or well-being of their child.
- All vaccinated and unvaccinated visitors and volunteers are required to wear a cloth face mask, covering the nose and mouth, while at any school site.
Cleaning
Positive Cases
- If the school is notified of a student who has tested positive the school nurse will inform the parent that the student must remain isolated and be 24 hours fever free without the use of fever-reducing medication and have improved symptoms and had 10 days elapsed since the student first had symptoms before returning to school.
- The school nurse will contact MCDPH per the ADHS Emergency Measure Reporting Cases protocol.
- MCDPH may follow up with the family and school regarding contact tracing and secondary measures.
- Principals will send notifications to the entire school when there is a positive case on the campus. In addition, if a student had close contact with a person who has tested positive those families will receive a separate notification. Per MCDPH, close contact is within 6 feet of a person with COVID-19 while infectious for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period or had physical contact with a person with COVID-19 while infectious.
- Under the authority and direction of the MCDPH, students that had close contact with the positive case are to quarantine themselves for 10 days at home and monitor for symptoms before returning to school. If they become symptomatic or are to test positive, they are to isolate themselves for 10 days at home, be fever-free for 24 hours without the use of medication, and have had symptoms improved before returning to school. Should they test negative 5 full days after exposure and have had no symptoms the student is to quarantine for 7 days. More information on quarantines can be found on the MCDPH website.
- Facilities will conduct hydrostatic cleaning of exposed areas.
- If a staff member tests positive, the staff member will work with the Benefits Department (Human Resources) to follow protocols for when they may return to work and for MCDPH contact tracing.
Symptoms at School
- If a student presents COVID symptoms at school, the student will be placed in an isolation room in the Health Office away from the general population.
- The school nurse will utilize personal protective equipment and make an assessment of the student.
- The parent/guardian will be contacted to pick up the student.
- The student is to isolate themselves for 10 days at home, be fever-free for 24 hours without the use of medication, and have had symptoms improved before returning to school.
- COVID-19 testing is recommended.
- If the test result is positive, the student is to isolate themselves for 10 days at home, be fever-free for 24 hours without the use of medication, and have had symptoms improved before returning to school.
- If the test result is negative, the student is to isolate themselves, be fever-free for 24 hours without the use of medication, and have had symptoms improved before returning to school.
- Staff members presenting symptoms will go directly home and will work with the Benefits Department (Human Resources) to follow protocols for when they may return to work and for MCDPH contact tracing.
Transportation
- To comply with federal guidelines and better ensure federal funding, bus staff and students are required to wear cloth face masks on buses.
- Visible signage will be placed at the entry to each bus and students will be reminded not to ride if they are symptomatic.
- Students will be asked to comply with social distancing guidelines when waiting at the stop, during boarding, and while exiting the bus.
- Seating charts will be utilized, seating siblings together and implementing “neighbor” seating to provide consistency in seating and minimize movement within the bus.
- Designated cleaning time in route to ensure buses are disinfected twice daily.
- Families are encouraged to transport their children to school to reduce the number of students on a bus.
Social Emotional Well-Being
- Students’ social-emotional well-being will be assessed when schools reopen, with additional support provided for students showing signs of mental health concerns, including trauma.
- Schools will incorporate trauma-informed practices and social-emotional learning into classroom instruction in a manner that supports equity and inclusion and reflects cultural responsiveness.
Free Testing
PVSchools has partnered with a nationwide infectious disease testing firm to provide no-cost COVID-19 testing for students, their families, and district staff.
PVSchools has partnered with In Office Diagnostics (DX) to provide all students, their families, and all district staff the opportunity to be tested for COVID-19 without any out-of-pocket costs to families or the district. Testing is completely voluntary, and helps to identify and isolate infected individuals. All public health guidelines for quarantining still need to be followed.
Testing to diagnose COVID-19 is part of a comprehensive strategy and is being used in conjunction with mitigation efforts to reduce the spread (e.g., cloth face mask use, social distancing, hand hygiene); maintaining healthy environments (e.g., cleaning and disinfection, ventilation); maintaining healthy operations (e.g., scheduling, combination of online and in-person learning, cohorting); and following guidelines for quarantining and when someone shows symptoms.
Important Details to Know
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Testing is voluntary.
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Results are generally received within 36 hours.
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The cost of testing is covered with a combination of individual health insurance and Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding for uninsured individuals.
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Public health guidelines for quarantining still need to be followed at each school.
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Voluntary testing helps to identify and isolate infected individuals.
- Because appointments are not required, wait times can be considerably longer during high-traffic times.
- The testing site may close occasionally to reduce traffic congestion on 32nd St. The site will reopen when there is room for more vehicles.
Testing Site Location
The testing site at the District Administrative Center is located in the parking lot on the northwest corner. Enter the site from 32nd Street, by using the northernmost driveway.
Dashboard
Positive cases are listed in the dashboard by school and include all students and staff members attending in-person learning. Students enrolled in PVOnline will be included in the dashboard if they are participating in on-campus extracurricular activities at their home school.
In accordance with public health guidelines, cases included in the dashboard have been reported to the Maricopa County Department of Public Health (MCDPH).
This dashboard is updated once per week on Wednesday (when the district office is open).
Data is subject to change based on reporting of positive COVID-19 testing results. This dashboard shows a point-in-time and may not reflect current numbers.
All COVID-19 data shared by PVSchools is for informational purposes only. The district confers with MCDPH to track COVID-19 cases and trace close contacts.
PVSchools takes care in providing accurate and up-to-date information, while also respecting student and staff medical privacy rights. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and other privacy protection laws prohibit PVSchools from disclosing any personally identifiable information.
Visit the Maricopa County Epidemic Curve dashboard for more COVID-19 dashboard information.
MCDPH COVID-19 Dashboard
COVID-19 data by ZIP code, city, unified school district, and high school district or elementary school district can be accessed by visiting the Maricopa Schools COVID-19 Dashboard.
Resources
Included below are resources to help families navigate the COVID-19 pandemic.
Important Links
- 211 Arizona - Resources for physical and mental health, housing, help with bills, as well as information on food, disability, veteran, and substance abuse services. Also call, 602-263-8856.
- Teen Lifeline - A resource for youth mental health and assistance.
Talking with Your Child
- NASP - Age specific guidance for talking to your children about the pandemic.
- PBS - Ideas for talking to your child about Coronavirus.
- Talking to Your Child - Advice from child psychiatrists and clinical child psychologists regarding how to speak with children about Coronavirus and how to protect them from too much information.
- CDC - A guide to talking about the COVID-19 pandemic with children.
Activities
- Five Helpful Resources for Families - Free printables, videos, home schedule ideas, and more.
- 110+ Free Social Emotional Learning Resources - Activities and printable resources to help children and adolescents practice the skills of social emotional learning.
- 25 Mindfulness Activities for Children and Teens - Activities to help children and teens engage in mindfulness practices.
- 13 Gratitude Exercises and Activities - Gratitude exercises that can help children refocus the brain away from stress.
- 5 Yoga Moves for Kids - Kid friendly yoga videos that parents can join to promote calm.