COVID-19 Resources for Educators

What are the possible regional opportunities based on infection rates?

In principle, we could follow a regional reopening strategy, but this would require input from the Ministry of Education.

If physical distancing can be maintained (2 metres), do children in Grades 4 to 12 or staff have to wear masks in private schools?

As stated in the Guide to Reopening Ontario's Schools, private schools should adopt this guidance in this document. Even if physical distance can be maintained, masks should still be worn by both students and staff.

How will private schools access personal protective equipment (PPE) for staff and the cloth masks for students Grade 4 to 12?

Communication protocol for school staff

Perform daily self-assessment

All students, staff, bus drivers, and visitors to schools must perform a daily self-assessment for symptoms of COVID-19. Staying home when sick is important to help stop the spread of COVID-19 and other viruses in our community.

Staff who have COVID-19 symptoms should:

• Stay home
• Report illness-related absence to school administrator(s)
• Get tested for COVID-19 at the assessment centre
• Continue to remain in isolation at home and follow directions from the assessment centre and public health

Daily attendance reporting

Daily attendance reporting:

• Schools should not report all instances of ill individuals in the school setting to public health.
• School attendance records will be completed by school administrators, as per school board process.

Responsibilities if a student becomes sick at school

• Teacher or staff alert the administrator(s)
• Administrator(s) coordinates the immediate student pick-up and designate an area to isolate the student until parent, guardian, or caregiver arrive.
• Administrator(s) advise student, and any staff attending to them, to use provided personal protective equipment (PPE).
• If required, administrator(s) should advise all staff of the concern, while protecting confidentiality and responding with sensitivity.
• Administrator(s) will coordinate environmental cleaning and disinfection of the space and items used by the individual.
• Administrator(s) will report in the daily attendance tracking.
• Administrator(s) will contact the supervisory officer, as required, to make them aware of the situation.

Responsibilities if a staff member becomes sick at work

• Staff member must alert administrator(s)
• Staff member must immediately leave the school or isolate from other staff and students.
• Administrator(s) to ensure supervision of students.
• Staff members must seek guidance from health care provider or visit assessment centre for COVID-19 testing.

Key communication requirements

If a school is made aware of a positive diagnosis of COVID-19, it is essential that key information, pertaining to staff and students, be available to public health quickly for the purposes of contact tracing.
This information needs to be accessible by school administrators on short notice, during school, and outside of school hours.

Please prepare to have the following information available:

• Attendance records for specific dates that public health requests.
• Class lists and seating charts for every class.
• Names, date of birth, and address for each student.
• Up-to-date contact information for the parent, guardian, or caregiver of each student, and contact information for staff.
• Name and contact info for any staff or outside visitors, who are not on the class list, that interacted with the class on the dates provided (e.g. rotary teachers, service providers).
• Before and after program childcare lists (with names, date of birth, contact information).
• Transportation lists and seating charts (regular and after school program busing) with names and contact information.
• Special assignments and programs.
• Records of essential visitors.

If a positive case is identified

• Public Health will be responsible for conducting case and contact management measures. Measures will also be taken to ensure privacy and avoid disclosure of details to the school community that would lead to the identification of a COVID-19 laboratory confirmed case.
• School boards and schools will post information, if there is a confirmed case of COVID-19 that involves a student or staff member in a school setting. Information provided to school communities will not identify the student or staff member that has received a positive COVID-19 test.
• Public health will provide schools with a letter, that can be used to communicate with their school community. The purpose of this communication would be to provide reassurance and guidance and will not provide specific information or identifying details.

Who is considered an essential visitor?

An essential visitor is anyone who is delivering an essential function (i.e., school board staff, fire department, public health staff, maintenance staff, etc.).

Only essential visitors are permitted on school property. Essential visitors must complete a self-assessment screen for COVID-19 symptoms before arriving and entering school. If they have any signs or symptoms, essential visitor must not enter the school. All essential visitors should complete a log at entry and exit.

Parent and guardian entry should be restricted to essential reasons to come to the school.

 Can parents drop off items or attend a meeting at school?

Boards will need to determine what is an essential reason for a parent to drop in or visit the school. Boards can use similar pick up procedure used at the end of June (e.g., scheduling times).

Will every student have to complete an active screening daily before entering a school building?

Yes, parents and guardians will perform daily screening of their child(ren) for COVID-19 symptoms before leaving for school using a self-assessment checklist.

When should students who take the school bus be screened?

Parents and guardians will be expected to screen children prior to getting on the school bus.

How would active screening be done with children as young as Kindergarten?

Screening will be completed by parents/guardians at home prior to arrival at school.

How do we plan to support parents and families who do not have the capacity to screen children prior to attending school (i.e., languages, literacy)?

Parents and guardians should be provided with family friendly screening tools. These may include use of pictures, referral to the provincial on-line screening tool and multiple languages. Additionally, posting signage regarding screening at entrances will remind everyone to not enter without screening.

How will students enter school?

Students should maintain physical distance when lining up to enter the school. Different entrances for different cohorts can be used. Screening should be completed prior to attending school. Signage at each entrance will indicate screening requirement. Attendance should be logged for staff and students in case of need for contact tracing.

Resources:

• COVID-19 Reference Document for Symptoms
• Ontario’s COVID-19 Self-Assessment
• COVID-19 Screening Poster

Will the local Medical Officer of Health be supporting mandatory masks in schools?

Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health should provide guidance on masking in schools.

Would the Ministry of Health decrease/remove physical distancing requirement if masks were used and additional safety measures were in place?

Distancing between cohorts or individuals needs to be maintained in combination with other safety measures.

What is the difference between a medical mask and a face covering?

The two different types of medical masks you may have heard of or seen used are N95 respirators and surgical or procedure masks. Surgical or procedure masks are usually blue and are typically used for medical use (Level 1). Surgical/Procedure masks are the type of masks that school staff will be provided with to wear at school. N95 masks are not required to be worn in a childcare setting or schools. N95 masks are needed by health care workers in a health care setting where they are dealing with patients and have a higher risk of being exposed to COVID-19.

Students will wear non-medical masks or face coverings. This type of mask is an added way to protect others, particularly where physical distancing may be challenging. Wearing a non-medical masks or face covering will protect others from the infectious droplets of the person wearing it. Do not use masks with a ventilation valve because it allows droplets to escape.

Resources:

COVID-19: Non-medical Masks and Face Coverings

Can staff wear a face shield rather then a medical mask?

Is it safe for students in K to Grade 3 to wear face coverings?

Face coverings are an inexpensive, acceptable, and non-invasive measure to helps prevent your respiratory droplets from your mouth and nose from reaching others or landing on surfaces. Face coverings are especially important in situations where you can’t maintain physical distancing of 2 metres (e.g., in some classrooms where students will have recurrent interactions with one another).

It is recommended that most school aged children and youth, including those with underlying health conditions or allergies, can safely wear a mask: 

• WHO Annex: Advice on the use of masks for children in the community in the context of COVID-19 - The World Health Organization and UNICEF 
• COVID-19 How to safely use a non-medical mask or face covering  (2020-07-20) - The Public Health Agency of Canada
• Caring for kids: Non medical masks and face coverings for children during COVID-19 - Canadian Pediatric Society 

Teach children how to safely use a mask and practice at home. Spend time at home (without masks) connecting with your child to support their development and well-being. Warm and responsive parenting builds a strong foundation for developing trust, self-control, and healthy relationships.

Face coverings should not be placed on or used by:

• a child under the age of two.
• a child under the age of five whether chronologically or developmentally and they refuse to wear a face covering and cannot be persuaded to do so by their caregiver.
• persons whose ability to breathe in any way is inhibited by wearing a face covering.
• persons for who any other medical reason cannot safely wear a face covering such as, but not limited to: respiratory disease, cognitive difficulties, or difficulties in hearing or processing information.
• persons who are unable to apply or remove a face covering without assistance, including those who are accommodated under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) or who have protections under the Ontario Human Rights Code, R.S.O. 1990, c.H.19, as amended.

Do split classes of grade 3 and 4 have to wear masks?

Yes. All students in a split class should wear masks.

How does staff ensure they can provide accessible instruction to student who use facial expression to communicate and understand others?

Staff and students can consider using masks with clear windows. A face shield alone does not provide enough protection compared to a mask with a clear window. 

"Medical masks" will be provided to school staff. What is a medical mask?

A medical mask is a surgical disposable mask (usually blue) that is rated (Level 1), not a cloth mask or face covering.

What will the enforcement be for a parent or student who refuses to use mask?

Enforcement will be responsibility of the school. 

What are the reasonable exemptions on the requirements to wear masks? 

Reasonable exemptions include:

• Respiratory conditions that interfere with a person’s ability to breath while wearing a mask such as severe asthma.
• If a person is not able to remove a mask if required.
• Anxiety and behavioral conditions such as a child with autism spectrum disorder with significant sensory concerns.
• Wearing a mask or face covering interferes with a necessary medical device.

Can school staff and students continue to participate in school recycling programs (i.e., separating the recycling in a central location so that it is ready for the custodian)?

The current guidance does not state a physical distancing requirement except when a student is ill and all objects within 2 metres of the student should be cleaned. Do boards need to be more vigilant about physical distancing now that it is "as much distancing as possible" and not a stated distance (e.g., 1 metre or 2 metre?) and everyone is masked?

At public health we continue to advocate to maintain physical distance where possible. 2 meters represents the Canadian standard to minimize the risk of COVID-19 transmission. It is recognized that is not always operationally possible and other measures are provided such as masking and cohorting to limit the risk of transmission within a school community. The use of as much distance as possible will reduce the risk of transmission in proportion to that distance. We recommend a balance of providing for as much distance as possible while allowing necessary operations in the school. 

The Ministry of Education is asking for regular class sizes and the guidance states that larger classes should be moved to spaces like the gym, libraries. How do they know when the class is too large and should be moved?

The determination of classes being too large for a space or the movement of classes will need to incorporate operational requirements. 

How can we safely move through the school when hallways are not exactly 2 metres wide?

How can schools continue to provide physical education classes safely?

Recommend promoting physical activity in general as this will promote the health of the students. For physical education classes and extracurricular sports, the equipment should be cleaned after each use. Practice physical distancing as much as possible, and hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette should be maintained during physical activity.

At what grade level and when should we try to “enforce” physical distancing more clearly? 

At current capacity and classroom layouts, physical distancing would be difficult to maintain for primary (K to 3) and junior classrooms (4 to 6). It is recommended that physical distancing be maintained for learners in grade 7 and above.

Consider the use of visual cues for younger students, to promote physical distancing (i.e., footprint decals, pool noodles for safe spacing, tape to outline areas of play, etc.)

For junior students use of physical cues as noted above as well as strict cohorting with attempted distancing indoors, but no prohibition on play. 

 How can schools ensure safe drop-off and pick-up?

Identify locations and times for drop-off and pick-up and plan staffing requirements for monitoring student arrivals and departures via private transportation and active travel (e.g., walking, wheeling).

Create signage or landmarks to make drop-off and pick-up locations easy to identify.

• Separate cohort entrances (if applicable and possible)
• Outdoor drop-off and pick-up (unless there is a need for parent/guardian to enter the school)
• Staggering entry or limiting the number of people in entry areas
• Physical distancing and directional ground markings

How often should surfaces be cleaned and disinfected?

Since high touched surfaces are most likely to be contaminated, these should be cleaned and disinfected, twice during the day. At a minimum, at the end of each day, when visibly dirty, and between cohorts. Examples of frequently touched surfaces include: door knobs, handles, locks, light switches, phones, individual desk surfaces, touch screen surfaces, faucets, sinks, and toilet handles.

Disinfecting after cleaning will kill most of the germs that were left behind. Cleaners and disinfectant products and methods already used by schools are effective against COVID-19. Only use disinfectants with Drug Identification Number (DIN) and labelled as a broad-spectrum viricide. Low-level hospital grade disinfectants may be used. Check expiry dates and always follow the manufacturer’s instructions. Particular attention should be paid to contact time, dilution, material compatibility, shelf-life, storage, first aid, and PPE for person cleaning.

Resources:

Cleaning and Disinfection for Public Settings - COVID-19

Hard Surface Disinfectants and Cleaners

If a desk is used only by a single student does it need to be disinfected twice per day, or just between cohorts?

There are no specific guidance for desks, however if only one child is using a desk it is not required that it be disinfected twice per day but it is recommend that it be cleaned and disinfected between cohorts. 

Should logs be kept for cleaning and disinfecting high touch surfaces?

It is recommended that a schedule is set and that they develop a cleaning and disinfecting log to track and demonstrate cleaning.

 How often do washrooms need to be cleaned?

 How to prevent mixing of cohorts in washrooms and change rooms?

Consider trying to limit number of students using the washrooms at the same time and ensure a plan to prevent mixing of cohorts in washrooms and change rooms.

How should teaching staff and students cleaning and disinfect shared equipment (i.e., learning resource items, music class, art class, foods room, science labs, computers, and chrome books)?

Recommend shared items be cleaned between users where operationally feasible. If shared items cannot be cleaned between all users a means of hand hygiene should be available.

If materials (e.g., playdough, water, sand, art supplies) are offered, they should be provided for single use (i.e., available to the child for the day) and on an individual basis.

Resources

Hard Surface Disinfectants and Hand Sanitizers

How do we safely use shared spaces (i.e., classroom and then before and after program, gym, library, cafeteria)?

Promote physical distancing as much as possible. Keeping a 2 metre distance from others helps to reduce the spread of illness; however, it is not always practical in child and youth settings. Layering of multiple mitigation measures in these circumstances strengthens the risk mitigation potential overall.

Reinforce general practices to maintain physical distancing, such as replacing physical greetings like high fives, fist bumps and hugs with friendly verbal greetings or virtual high fives.

Restrict or manage flow of people in common areas including hallways, entrances/foyers (e.g. with entry and exit procedures) by using visual cues to encourage physical distancing (e.g., accessible signage, floor markings). In narrow hallways or aisles, encourage unidirectional travel where possible by painting or placing arrows on the ground.

Postpone assemblies, team sports or extracurricular activities where physical distancing cannot be maintained.

Establish a process for essential visits (e.g., parents picking up children outside of drop-off and pick-up hours where physical distancing can be maintained.

Older children and youth:

• assess whether infrastructure can be enhanced, even temporarily, to provide more space, e.g., portables, repurposing existing space
• increase desk distance as much as possible between children and youth
• stagger break times where children come together (e.g., recess, lunch)
• install accessible signage or floor markings to restrict or manage flow of common areas including hallways, cafeteria, dining halls, foyers, atriums
• implement locker and change room policies if applicable

Can we use our playground and play structure?

In the Ontario Framework for Reopening the Province Stage 3, outdoor playgrounds and play structures are permitted to reopen. Routine cleaning of surfaces on playgrounds, including high touch surfaces made of plastic or metal requires soap and water but not disinfectant. Cleaning of wooden surfaces is not recommended.

Children should clean their hands before and after using the playground. Minimize physical contact between children. Playground users should maintain physical distancing at all times.

What are the physical distancing requirements in shared spaces (i.e., staff rooms, teacher work rooms, gym, library etc.)?

Can schools provide extracurricular school sports this year?

 How can we deliver music classes?

Most overall expectations for the Music strand can be met without the use of instruments in both the elementary and secondary Arts curriculum. A variety of delivery options may be considered to meet the music curriculum's overall expectations, which could include fully distanced learning, in-person teaching and instruction with lower-risk creative performance opportunities (e.g., in-school instruction in larger spaces, restricting the type of instruments in a group setting) or in-person teaching and instruction with no live performance.

Boards may choose to refer to the Ontario Music Educators' Association resource for suggestions on teaching music in line with current public health recommendations.

Can students use lockers or bring materials into class?

Lockers may be used as long as students continue to physically distance as much as possible. This may require student education, scheduled times, supervision or other appropriate measures which support physical distancing measures.  

Equipment and supplies brought to school by student can be brought into class for own use (i.e., pencils, school books).

Personal items being brought to school (e.g., backpack, clothing, sun protection, water bottles, food) should be labeled and stored separately in cubbies and designated areas or lockers.

Can support staff such as Special Education Resource Teachers (SERTS), Rotary Teachers and Educations Assistance (EAs) continue to provide support to students on a daily basis? 

If remote delivery is not possible due to operational constraints, support staff may come into the classroom, but the goal would be to limit the number of classrooms as much as possible. Such teachers should be limited by division (primary, junior, etc.), if they are going to be entering multiple classrooms (i.e., one support staff only works with all grade 9 students etc.). All staff should still maintain physical distancing, wear a mask and follow all other protocols.

How can lunches and prep time coverage be covered with a new teacher in the class?

Staff can attend class to provide lunch coverage or prep time coverage. All staff and students should practice proper hand hygiene, maintain physical distancing, and wear masks.

Stagger student and staff lunch times to accommodate for hand washing or alcohol-based hand rub (ABHR) use at communal stations (e.g., washrooms) and in shared spaces (e.g., cafeterias). 

Can School Board employees continue to supervise lunch hour to allow teachers their contractual uninterrupted lunch?

Yes, as long as School Board employees can maintain physical distancing, practice proper hand hygiene, and wear a mask or face covering.

Do support staff need face covering and masks if they can physically distance?

Can Educational Assistants (EAs) support students if they can maintain physical distancing and wear the necessary PPE?

Yes, EAs can still provide direct support and such work is likely crucial for these students. Staff should still maintain physical distancing and all other protocols. Consider cohorting EAs by student groups (i.e., one EA only works with the same cohorts etc.).

If an employee states they cannot return to work because they are immune compromised, what is the appropriate PPE required to make the workplace safe?

For general staff including those who may be immune compromised, provide the same guidance to ensure a safe workplace including maintaining physical distance where possible, frequent hand hygiene, staying home if sick, getting tested for COVID-19 if you have compatible symptoms, and use of personal protection equipment such as masks and eye protection where physical distancing cannot be maintained and ensured. 

What about staff who are pregnant, are they safe to return to work?

What is your definition of a cohort model?

Students remain in contact with only their classmates and a single teacher for as much of the school day as possible (cohort).

Cohort group does not mix with other cohort groups.

All members of a cohort (students/staff) should practice physical distancing (including between members of the same cohort) and infection prevention and control practices when possible.

Cohorts remain in the same classroom/space as much as possible.
If a different teacher is required, staff should come to the classroom to prevent student movement to other rooms.

Note: Boards are assuming that limit of 15 students per cohort is only for modified school day as there is not enough physical classroom space and staff to have classes of 15 students who attend 5 days per week.

Does cohorting and physical distancing (2 metre) apply to only modified school day?

In secondary schools, how can a teacher who moves from one class to another ensure they are not increasing their exposure?

Teacher should strive to maintain physical distancing of 2 metres, or as much as possible, wear a mask and practice good hand hygiene.

In secondary schools, will student transitions between class to class be reduce to prevent mixing of students? In a conventional model, students have 4 periods in a day over a 5 day week.

It is recommended that a group of students stay in one class and teachers/instructors move to them instead of the students to reduce transitions and mixing of student.

Are staff required to change their clothes before or after work?

There is currently no clear evidence demonstrating the transmission of COVID-19 by inanimate objects or fomites. Porous material such as fabrics in particular represent lower risk materials. It is not the recommendation of public health that individuals would be required to perform work functions in a separate set of clothing.

Will staff be provided health and safety training?

HPEPH will not be able to provide in person safety training. We are expecting to have an infection prevention and control recorded webinar available in the near future for staff and educators. We will have an infection control and prevention checklist available for schools to use prior to school reopening.

Is there consideration being given to school-based testing or to ask that all teachers have a negative test prior to return for school?

We expect further guidance on this. There may be further directions depending on epidemiology at the time, or provincial testing policy. Testing is a point in time and focus on screening is much more important. 

For the purposes of contact tracing, is attendance adequate or will contact information for students be required?

Daily records of anyone entering the school setting and their screening results must be maintained and kept on-site (includes staff, students, parents/guardians, and essential visitors). Each record should include:

• Name
• Contact information
• Time of arrival and departure

More details to come from the Ministry of Education.

What are schools reporting requirements if a student or staff have symptoms? 

More guidance is coming from Ministry of Education/Ministry of Health regarding details of outbreak management. Public health will lead outbreak management but will require support from the school (attendance records, contact information etc.). Daily records must be kept of anyone entering the school setting (name, contact information, arrival and departure time, screening completion, destination in building etc.). 

Should each school have an isolation room? What if several children are presenting with symptoms?

All schools are required to have a room that can be used should a student or staff member become ill.  PPE must be available in the room and the room must be cleaned after each use.

If a student begins to experience symptoms of COVID-19 while attending school, it is recommended that they be immediately separated from others in a separate room until they can get picked up by a parent or guardian. If more than 1 child is symptomatic at one time, children must maintain physical distancing while waiting to be picked up and consider use of PPE (i.e., masks) if tolerated.

Symptomatic staff should inform their administrator and immediately separate themselves. They should leave school and follow Public Health guidance regarding testing. 

Will schools be subject to inspections by Public Health Officers relating to COVID-19 measures prior to starting the year?

We are not currently aware of mandated inspections at this time.

Public health is working towards developing a school opening readiness assessment checklist for schools to use. This would not be an inspection but will support schools to ensure they are ready to welcome students.

All schools, elementary and secondary, work closely with Student Nutrition Ontario to provide nutritious snacks and food to students allowing them to concentrate on their academics. Will we still be able to provide this service and if so, how?

Student nutrition programs can continue to operate. All bins and containers for food must be disinfected prior to and after use. “Grab and Go” format is preferred.