Plan for 2021-22

In 2021-22, Boys' Latin of Philadelphia will return to in-person teaching and learning. The health and safety of our students and staff is our top priority. Our plan addresses this priority and the school's mission: preparing boys for success in college and beyond. Please learn more below.

Overview

The Boys' Latin of Philadelphia Health and Safety Plan serves as our local guidelines for all instructional and non-instructional school reopening activities. As required, our plan is tailored to the unique needs of our school, responsive to feedback from the school community, approved by the school's board of trustees, submitted to the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE), and shared with the public via our website.

Our plan was originally approved on July 27, 2021. As required, we will review our plan at least every six months during the period of the school's American Rescue Plan (ARP) Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) grant. The school will also review and update its plan whenever there are significant changes to public health recommendations for K-12 schools. Like the development of the plan, all revisions will be informed by stakeholder input, approved by the board of trustees, submitted to the proper authorities, and shared with the school and broader communities.

Our plan is grounded in best practices to ensure the health and safety of students and employees. To learn more about our plan as of January 13, 2022, review each section below. To download the most recent version of the Boys' Latin of Philadelphia Health and Safety Plan, please click here.

Plan

Face Masks

The school requires the universal, consistent, and correct use of well-fitting face masks with proper filtration to prevent the transmission of COVID-19 through respiratory droplets. A clean reusable or new disposable face mask that completely covers the nose and mouth must be worn during all indoor and outdoor school activities regardless of vaccination status. Gaiters and bandanas are prohibited. Face shields may only be used in addition to a face mask. According to infectious-disease specialists, single-layer cloth masks can block larger droplets carrying the virus but are not as effective in blocking smaller aerosols or particles carrying the virus. Pairing cloth masks with surgical models or wearing a surgical mask or KN95 or N95 is recommended.

Face masks are checked at the point of entry. Face masks may only be removed during indoor and outdoor school activities, briefly, while actively eating or drinking at designated locations and times.

One reusable Boys' Latin mask is provided to each student and staff member. Single use masks are available onsite.

Physical Distancing

A physical distance of three feet is maintained between students and other students, and six feet between employees and students and other employees. Visitors to the school are limited and all visitors physically distance from others.

The school maximizes physical distancing to the greatest extent possible. To support this, signs and floor decals are located throughout each school building, serving as visual cues for students, employees, and visitors. The maximum occupancy for safe use in accordance with physical distancing guidelines is posted. In classrooms, desks are forward-facing and three feet apart. Physical distancing is followed in entryways and hallways. Dining Hall occupancy is capped at 75 percent of the maximum occupancy. In settings where physical distancing of three feet cannot be achieved, other mitigation measures - facing the same direction, opening windows, double-masking - are increased.

Sanitizing, Disinfecting, and Ventilation

The school teaches and reinforces handwashing and respiratory etiquette. Students, employees, and visitors must wash their hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Hand sanitizer containing at least 60% alcohol is available outside of each classroom and office for use when handwashing is not possible. Extra hand hygiene encouraged especially when infection or germ-spread is likely. Students, employees, and visitors are encouraged to cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue when not wearing a mask and immediately wash their hands after blowing their nose, coughing, or sneezing.

Touchless sinks, drinking fountains, and soap, hand sanitizer, and paper towel dispensers are available throughout each school building.

The school expanded its contracted cleaning services to support additional sanitizing and disinfecting. The school facilities are thoroughly sanitized over the summer to prepare for the return to school. Cleaning supplies used meet OSHA and CDC requirements for COVID-19. High-touch areas prioritized during the school day. The school is closed between 6:30PM and 6:30AM to allow for thorough nightly cleaning. Classrooms and offices are equipped with disinfectants.

To improve ventilation, the HVAC system in each school building is enhanced with hospital-grade filters, ultraviolent germicidal irradiation lights, and increased maintenance.

Health Monitoring and Screening

The school abides by, to the maximum extent possible, any contact tracing, isolation, and quarantine requirements issued by local, state, and/or federal authorities.

Prior to departing for school, students, employees, and visitors are expected to complete a self-check for COVID-19 symptoms and stay home when sick or following a suspected or known exposure to COVID-19. The school employs a flexible attendance policy to encourage adherence to this policy. Suspected or known cases are reported to the school. Employees or visitors who develop COVID-19 symptoms while at school are required to leave the school’s property immediately. Students who develop COVID-19 symptoms while at school are isolated immediately and the student’s emergency contact is contacted to retrieve the student from the school isolation space as soon as possible.

The school provides COVID-19 testing once (minimum) or twice (maximum) weekly to mitigate the spread of virus to all employees and students with the consent of their parents/guardians. The school’s weekly testing program utilizes a pooled PCR test. The members of presumptive positive and inconclusive pools are automatically retested via an individual PCR test to isolate the positive individual(s). In alignment with PDPH guidelines for schools, in January 2022, Boys’ Latin will begin offering the test-to-stay option to close contacts. The school’s test-to-stay program utilizes the Abbot BinaxNOW rapid antigen test.

The school collaborates with the local health department, the Philadelphia Department of Public Health (PDPH), to the extent allowable by privacy and other applicable laws, to confidentially provide information about students and employees diagnosed with or exposed to COVID-19. The school monitors the number of COVID-19 cases among students and employees, the number of students and employees in quarantine, and levels of community transmission.

Students and employees who have tested positive for COVID-19 must isolate for a minimum of 10 days (minimum of 20 days if immunocompromised), which means staying at home and away from others. In the event the positive student or employee was in school during their infectious period, the school identifies and quarantines close contacts. Please note that fully vaccinated close contacts who are not experiencing one or more COVID-19 symptoms do not have to quarantine but are encouraged to seek testing three to five days following exposure and monitor for symptoms for 14 days following exposure. Unvaccinated or partially vaccinated close contacts may end the 10-day quarantine early if they test after Day 5 and receive negative results, then they may return to school after Day 7. Per the PDPH, a close contact is someone who was within six feet of an infected person for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period, masked or unmasked.

In the event of a known or suspected exposure to COVID-19 outside of school, student and employees are requested to report the exposure to the school so that the school may identify the appropriate quarantine protocol in alignment with PDPH guidelines for schools.

Vaccination

Becoming fully vaccinated against COVID-19 is the number one way to protect students and employees and reduce interruptions in learning. Anyone who is eligible should be vaccinated. At this time, Boys' Latin strongly encourages, but does not require, students and employees to receive the COVID-19 vaccination and booster.

In the future, the school seeks to offer vaccination clinics on one or multiple occasions to allow students and employees to receive the COVID-19 vaccine and booster at school.

In This Section