STAFF MEMO
TO: ALL TEACHERS, FULL-TIME AND PART-TIME
FROM: KATIE HARBISON, PRESIDENT
DATE: MAY 13, 2020
The Board of Directors and administration of Chambliss Center for Children have been working hard to determine the best timeline for the reopening of our childcare center. After many discussions and meetings, we have come up with a schedule that we hope will be both helpful to our families and safe for our staff to return to work.
First, I want to assure you that we have spent a lot of time reviewing the CDC guidelines for the opening of childcare centers and making plans for our specific site. We have developed many new protocols that are outlined on the attached pages. You should read these new safety protocols thoroughly and sign and date the last page. You will need to put that in Elena Quintiana’s mailbox in the main building on your first day back at work.
We will be holding a mandatory training on these new procedures on Wednesday and Thursday of next week to make sure you are comfortable with implementing all of them. You will also get to choose a cloth mask that you must wear each day. There is more information about mask wearing and other procedures on the attached pages.
You can also work in your classroom on Wednesday or Thursday (when you are not in the mandatory training) to make sure it’s ready for children to arrive on Friday, May 22nd. Full-time staff will still receive 24 hours of gifted sick leave next week, and part-time staff will receive 12 hours. This should cover you until we start back to regular work on Friday, May 22nd. You should clock in and out when you attend training and when you work in your classrooms prior to opening.
Finally, in order to ensure that we are doing everything we can to keep you safe, we are going to require everyone to have a negative COVID-19 test before returning to work. We realize that this does not mean that someone can’t contract the virus after testing, but it is one more way to keep the virus out of our buildings and to help you feel comfortable about returning. We will be providing this to you, free of charge, on our main campus on Thursday, May 14th, and Friday, May 15th. You should have your test results back by Monday or Tuesday. You will receive a call with your results. I’m sure you have a lot of questions about testing, so I have attempted to answer some of them at the end of this memo.
Here is a summary of what you need to plan for:
Thursday, May 14th, 1:00-6:00 pm and Friday, May 15th, 9:00 am- 5:00 pm: Galen Medical Group will be on campus to administer testing for all staff members
Tuesday, May 19th: All test results will be given to Chambliss Center by Galen or you must produce a written letter stating your negative result.
Wednesday, May 20th, 1:00-3:00 pm: Mandatory staff training in the gym for all Nursery, Tumbler, & Toddler department teachers
Thursday, May 21st, 9:00-11:00 am: Mandatory staff training in the gym for all Runabouts, PreK, School Age, and Night Dismissal department teachers
Friday, May 22nd: Report to work for reopening at your normal time, taking into account the new procedures attached
I hope that you all have had some quality time with your family and friends and are ready to get back to work and into a more normal routine. I would ask that you continue to take precautions to limit your exposure to other people by staying home as much as possible when not at work. We are all part of a family as we come back to work together in the same buildings. Your decisions about who to socialize with affect all of us. Wear a mask in public. Limit shopping trips. Wash your hands often. And keep your distance from people outside your home if you must be around others. Please help us protect our own families by making wise decisions.
Thank you for your perseverance through this difficult time. It was not something we could have ever expected to happen. I appreciate all of you who volunteered to work while we were caring only for a small number of children. I hope that you have felt valued and supported as we have continued to do all we could to maintain your employment and your normal pay. I look forward to seeing your (masked) faces again soon!
Do I have to get tested on campus or can I go somewhere else?
Galen Medical Group will be providing our onsite testing. You do not have to take advantage of this free testing if you feel more comfortable getting your test through the health department or another medical provider. However, you will need to produce official results in writing to Kim Borrego by the end of the day on Tuesday. We cannot let anyone attend training or come into the buildings until we have a confirmation of your negative test results.
What kind of test will be done?
The test will be done through your nasal passage. It will be slightly uncomfortable, but you should not be scared. I’ve talked to several people who have had it done, and they have assured me that it is not a horrible experience.
Can I bring someone with me?
You are welcome to bring someone with you, but he/she cannot be tested unless they are also an employee. Galen has a list of employees, so they will be checking you in from that list. You should remain in your car the whole time.
When can I go get the test done?
Galen will have their stations set up on Thursday (5/14) from 1:00-6:00 pm and on Friday (5/15) from 9:00 am-5:00 pm. Simply drive into our parking lot and you will be directed towards the line. Please be patient and know that they are trying to test hundreds of staff members including our main campus, thrift stores, administrative staff, and off-sites who are all required to get testing done as well. I would guess that Thursday would have fewer people given the short notice, so you might want to try for Thursday if you want to avoid a line.
Do I have to pay anything?
No. If you carry medical insurance, Galen will file this on your insurance. They have told me that insurance is covering this completely, but if you get some sort of bill, please bring that to us so that we can reimburse you for it. If you do not have medical insurance, Chambliss Center for Children will cover the cost. We will be in touch with you about how to do that after testing is done. No money will be required at the point of testing.
What if I don’t want to get tested?
Testing is required for you to return to work. You should take advantage of this opportunity for testing right here on our campus. It will be much easier to know that you are not carrying the virus and that your coworkers aren’t either. Again, this won’t ensure that you can’t contract the virus after testing, but it’s a way for us to prevent bringing any people back to work who already have the virus.
New Procedures for Early Childhood Education Programs
Effective 5.22.20
Check In
· Before entering the building, everyone will be required to stop at one of our two temperature stations before entering. If there is a line, families must keep 6 feet distance from each other while waiting in line. The temperature stations will be open from 6:30-10:30 am. If you are arriving at another time, you MUST go to the front office to check in first. If you are arriving before 6:30 am, after 6 pm, or on a weekend please check in with Night Dismissal.
· All children and staff will have their temperature taken. If the temperature is found to be 100.4 degrees or higher, he/she will not be allowed enter the building. Staff should inform their supervisor via text if they have to go home. The new requirement is that staff and children must be fever-free for 72 hours (without medication) before returning to work or care. We recommend contacting your physician if you have other symptoms or the fever persists.
· Parents will be given a piece of paper with the child’s temperature on it that should be turned into the child’s teacher upon arrival at the classroom. Children will not be allowed to enter the classroom unless the parent has a temperature slip for that child. Staff will also be given a temperature slip that must be turned into their team leader before reporting to their classroom. Team leaders will be keeping a chart with their department’s temperatures in a secure location.
· Anyone (age five and over) entering the building is required to wear a clean mask or face covering of some sort. Staff and enrolled children age five and over will be given a clean cloth mask to wear for the day upon entry. Those masks must be returned upon exiting so that the masks can be washed and disinfected. Staff and children can wear their own masks as long as they are cleaned each day following CDC guidelines. Masks will be treated as part of the dress code for staff and not wearing one will result in disciplinary action.
New classroom procedures
· Shoes will not be allowed inside any classroom. Children and staff should leave shoes in the hallway before entry. Socks should be worn each day and should be provided by parents. We suggest that children wear non-slip socks to avoid injury. Children will put shoes back on to go outside and when leaving for the day.
· Children and teachers must wash hands every 30 minutes each day. Each classroom will have a chart for a teacher to initial that this was done as scheduled.
· Teachers are encouraged to have multiple shirts or smocks available to wear each day so that they can be changed if soiled. Changing shirts between close contact with children will also decrease the potential for germ spread. If staff members need a clean shirt, please contact Kim Borrego to be loaned a shirt to wear. Those borrowed shirts should be returned to the dirty basket along with dirty facemasks at the end of the day.
· Classrooms will not allow visitors of any kind. This includes volunteers, family members, friends, co-workers, birthday parties, etc…. until further notice.
New cleaning/safety procedures
· Please remember to keep six feet distance from others whenever possible. In order to encourage social distancing, we ask that no more than one person enter any office at a time.
· We ask that families send only one authorized adult to pick up and drop off children to decrease the traffic inside the buildings.
· We encourage you to pay your child’s fees over the phone via credit card to limit the number of people going to our front office. Check or money order payments may be put inside the payment drop box in the main hallway outside Kim Borrego’s office. Receipts will be sent via email whenever possible. NO CASH PAYMENTS WILL BE ACCEPTED UNTIL FUTHER NOTICE.
· Masks must be worn by all adults and children age five and over at all times inside the building. This includes when picking up children and coming in to the office. Please keep your mask snug and covering your nose and mouth.
· Hand sanitizing dispensers are located on the wall inside all entrances and exits. Adults are encouraged to use those.
· Staff will disinfect high-touch surfaces three times each day, especially door knobs, light switches, key pads, and other hard surfaces.
· We have recently retained a new cleaning company that will also have daily responsibility for wiping down high-touch surfaces inside and outside of classrooms.
· We have purchased a new Clorox disinfecting fogging machine that will be used each weekend until the threat of COVID-19 has substantially decreased. This machine should kill any germs that are present in our buildings.
· Whenever possible, children will be kept with the same staff members all day to minimize the mixing of children and staff. Playground and gym times will also be staggered to prevent the mixing of classrooms.
If you are sick
· It is important that no one enter the building if they are sick or have been exposed to someone who is presumed to have COVID-19. Staff should immediately communicate to their supervisor if they are feeling unwell or have a child who is not feeling well.
· Children who present any symptoms of sickness will be isolated and parents will be called immediately. We ask that you make every effort to quickly pick up your child so that we can minimize exposure to other staff and children.
· Staff and children must be fever-free for 72 hours (without medication) before returning to work or care. We recommend contacting your physician if you have other symptoms or the fever persists. Staff and children may be required to obtain a doctor’s note before returning.
If there is a case of COVID-19
· If a staff member, child, or close family member develops COVID-like symptoms or is diagnosed with COVID-19, we ask that you inform Kim Borrego or Sumer Arispe as soon as possible.
· Depending on the exposure of that person, the agency could temporarily close classrooms, close the childcare center, and/or send staff home to quarantine. We will quickly communicate these kinds of measures to parents and staff. Parents, please make sure your cell phone number and email address is updated in the front office as the messages will be sent via text or via recorded phone messages. Staff, please make sure your supervisor has your updated phone number.
· We will follow CDC guidelines to safely clean and disinfect the areas of our buildings/campus that might have been exposed to the virus.
Nikki Miller will serve as our “Safety Queen” during this time to ensure that all safety procedures are being followed. We understand that this will take us all some time to get used to. We ask for your cooperation and patience as we are implementing all of these procedures in accordance with CDC recommendations and to keep you safe. If you see anyone who is not following the new safety protocols, please report this to Nikki in the front office as soon as possible.
PARENTS:
I understand these new procedures and agree to follow them. If at any time, it is deemed by Chambliss Center for Children staff that I am not adhering to these procedures, I realize that I could be prevented from entering the buildings. In some circumstances, my child could also be terminated from care.
STAFF:
I understand these new procedures and agree to follow them and enforce them, when necessary. If at any time, it is deemed that I am not adhering to these procedures or I am not acting in a way to ensure the safety of myself, my co-workers, or children, I realize that I could face disciplinary action up to termination.
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Signature Date