Health and Prevention Guidance For the 2021- 2022 School Year

Face masks are mandatory for all students, staff, and visitors in Preschools, Elementary Schools and Middle Schools. Face masks will continue to be strongly recommended for staff, students, and visitors in High Schools.

Individuals will be physically distanced by three feet when possible.

Desk and table sneeze guards will be available for students and staff upon request, including in the school cafeterias.

Increased hand washing will continue to be emphasized throughout the school day. Hand sanitizer will continue to be placed in classrooms and throughout the buildings. Students will be encouraged to sanitize their hands throughout the day. 

 Routine cleaning protocols will continue throughout all school buildings and buses.  

Olentangy Schools continues to encourage our community to get vaccinated against COVID-19. The Ohio Department of Health provides information on the benefits of the vaccine in a school environment. (See Page 3) Visit gettheshot.coronavirus.ohio.gov to find available vaccination locations in our area. The COVID-19 vaccine is not required for staff and students.  

Similar to other vaccination clinics provided by the Delaware Public Health District, an Olentangy Schools facility may serve as a vaccination site.

Per federal requirement, face masks will be required to be worn by all students, staff and school bus drivers while on the bus.

Hand sanitizer will be available on all school buses. 

Students will have an assigned seat and will be seated up to the bus capacity. 

Each bus will continue to be cleaned and disinfected daily. 

Essential visitors and volunteers will be permitted into school buildings, determined by the building principal. Any visitors/volunteers are recommended to wear a mask or facial covering and follow social distancing guidelines; 3 feet where possible.

Essential visitors are visitors necessary to conduct the business of the school. Essential visitors include parents/guardians participating in curriculum night, parent/teacher conferences, and other events to learn about educational learning and activities that are happening in their child’s classroom.  

The building HVAC systems will continue to be programmed to bring in more outside air throughout the day. Final air filtering for district school buildings is through a MERV 13 filter, which is rated for bacteria and virus carriers.  

Water bottle filling stations will be open for use. Water fountains will continue to be closed. 

In order to provide sufficient information for contact tracing, preschool, elementary and middle school students will sit at assigned lunch room tables. High school students will continue to scan QR codes to track lunch room seating.

Table dividers will be available for students upon request.

Students will be encouraged to wash their hands and/or use hand sanitizer before lunch periods. 

Everyone is encouraged to do a self-assessment before entering an Olentangy facility. 

Families are asked to do a daily self-assessment at home and not send students to school if they exhibit any symptoms of illness not explained by a diagnosed, non- communicable condition.

Since COVID-19 spreads so rapidly, it is encouraged that students (and their caregivers), staff and volunteers conduct daily health assessments prior to reporting to a district facility which should include taking a temperature and assessing symptoms. 

• It is recommended that staff and students stay home if they exhibit one or more of the following symptoms if not explained by a diagnosed, non-communicable condition: cough, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing or loss of taste or smell, fever (over 100.4 degrees), chills, rigors, myalgia, headache, sore throat, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fatigue, congestion or runny nose. 

If your child has a known exposure to a COVID-19 positive person, please see guidance on the Delaware Public Health District's Guidelines for Quarantine after Exposure flowchart.

Anyone exhibiting symptoms of illness should not enter an Olentangy facility. 

If you suspect your child has COVID-19 or COVID-19 like symptoms please contact your primary care provider for guidance.

If you would like a rapid COVID-19 test, parents may request one from the school clinic.

Anyone who is exhibiting symptoms of illness should complete a self assessment discussed in the self- assessment tab above.

Consult your pediatrician if you suspect your child has COVID-19 or COVID-19 like symptoms or if you have questions/need guidance about COVID-19 testing.

Consult your pediatrician or health care provider if you suspect your child may have a communicable illness (ex. strep throat, rash).

If your child tests positive for COVID-19 or any other communicable disease, please report this to your child’s school.

Your child may return to school after being free of symptoms and/or fever (over 100.4) for 24 hours without the aid of over the counter medication.  Please refer to health protocols in the Olentangy Schools student handbook .   

The Delaware Public Health District will conduct all contact tracing for highly infectious diseases. District nurses have been trained in this process. Diagnostic and screening testing will continue to be available at nursing clinics. 

Staff members and students should continue to report symptoms and positive COVID-19 test results. Our schools are required to report known cases to the DPHD for anyone physically in our buildings. As is the current DPHD policy, fully vaccinated individuals will not need to quarantine if exposed to a COVID-19 positive individual unless symptoms are present.

Olentangy Schools has resumed sending classroom notification e-mails to parents and staff members when there is one or more positive and/or probable cases of COVID-19 in a classroom setting. COVID-19 is a class A communicable disease, and Olentangy Schools communications follows the District’s communicable disease notification process, which is established by the DPHD based on the Classification of Reportable Infectious Diseases in Ohio (ORC 3701-3). The classroom notifications from Olentangy Schools provide awareness for parents, staff and students; they are not a quarantine notice. Families will be notified separately by the Delaware Public Health District and/or Olentangy Schools if their child has been identified as a close contact and would need to quarantine. 

Olentangy Schools follows the Delaware Public Health District guidance for quarantining individuals who have come into close contact with a person who is positive for COVID-19.  The DPHD is adopting the new Ohio Department of Health “Mask to Stay/Test to Play” quarantine alternative for non-household contacts. If eligible, healthy students can remain in the classroom environment by wearing a face mask, self-monitoring for symptoms, and Covid testing when needed.  

When a parent is notified by Olentangy Schools or the DPHD that their child has been identified as a close contact, they will be presented with the option to either keep their child home, or their child may remain in school if they wear a mask for the duration of the assigned quarantine. This does not apply to positive cases, and students with face mask exemptions must still wear a mask in this quarantine alternative. 

In order to return to school while under quarantine students must adhere to the following:  

1. Wear an appropriate mask at all times while on school grounds.   

2. Students may remove their mask to eat or drink.  

3. Students may not participate in activities more prone to the spread COVID-19 without a mask unless they can maintain six feet of distance (e.g., singing, playing a wind instrument, athletic activities). 

4. Students may not otherwise break quarantine.  

5. Monitor for symptoms and if symptoms develop immediately

     a. Notify their school, and   

     b. Isolate at home following normal isolation procedures.  

 Asymptomatic contacts may continue to participate in extracurricular activities if they do the following:  

• Wear a mask when able.  

• Test on initial notification of exposure to COVID-19.  

• Test again on days 5-7. If they are negative at this time, they will test out of quarantine.  

Mask to stay/Test to play cannot be applied for Household Contacts.  For Household Contacts, quarantine must be in the home and last 10 days beyond the last contact with a positive case.

All necessary accommodations will be determined through the IEP or 504 team process to ensure each individual student has full access to their curriculum. 

Olentangy Schools Student Well-Being Resources 

You can request a mask for your child.

Students will not be required to wear masks at recess. Mask breaks in a classroom will be up to the teacher to address.

Face masks will not be worn during strenuous physical activity but worn during other times in PE.

Masks are not required at recess.

Our school counselors are always available to help struggling students who don't understand why they have to comply with school rules; and support their social and emotional needs.

Our school counselors are always available to help struggling students who don't understand why they have to comply with schools rules; but school attendance remains compulsory.

Building administrators