The following additional modifications to our protocols are taking effect immediately. We will continue to use multiple mitigation strategies for safety and will reverse some or all of these updated protocols if we go back to medium or high community transmission. We appreciate your patience as we continue to evaluate our procedures with the best interest of our entire community in mind.
Indoor Masks Remain Through Remainder of School Year: To follow up on our original communication regarding indoor masks (click here in English or Spanish), based on the amount of positive cases we have seen in the last four weeks, we will continue to require indoor masks through the end of the school year.
Simplified Contact Tracing in the Event of a Positive Case: In our current environment, detailed contact tracing is increasingly complicated and a less effective measure of reducing spread. As a result, we are simplifying our approach to contact tracing in the event of a positive case on campus. Restrictions on physical distancing, masks, cohorting, visitors limits, and vaccination requirements across DC have significantly decreased. Mundo Verde has also loosened some of these restrictions in line with current Department of Health guidelines and the current level of community spread. Our COVID-19 team will continue to interview COVID-19 positive individuals to identify potential close contacts. However full classes (both daytime and extended day) will be presumed close contacts moving forward if the COVID-19 positive individual was in that space during their infectious period. To reduce virtual learning participants, decrease partial/full class closures due to quarantine and potentially identify spread more quickly, the COVID-19 team will increase our Test to Stay (TTS) program.
Test To Stay for ALL Students and Staff: Any identified student or staff close contact from a school exposure or a community exposure who is unvaccinated or not up to date on their doses must participate in the Test To Stay program to remain in school. In addition to continuing to wear masks, participants in test to stay are required to get rapid tested twice during their participation in TTS, remain symptom free, and cannot participate in extra activities, such as extended day programs. Full details on TTS protocols can be found on our Health and Safety Routines. (This updates from the previous requirement that test-to-stay would only be implemented for staff and PreK).
Students who do not wish to participate in Test To Stay must follow current quarantine guidelines and will not have access to virtual learning during the quarantine period.