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.

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 the CDC 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 staff. To learn more about our plan as of July 27, 2021, 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 Coverings

The City of Philadelphia identify schools as high-risk settings, in which everyone is required to wear a mask while indoors. 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. Masks will be checked at the point of entry. Masks are worn at all times in all indoor classroom and non-classroom settings, including school vans, by all students, staff, and visitors. Masks may be lowered only for eating and drinking at designated times and in designated spaces.

Masks are not required in all outdoor settings, however, are still duly encouraged when other safety measures are not easily accessible.

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

Physical Distancing

The school maximizes physical distancing to the greatest extent possible. To support this, signs and floor decals are located throughout the school buildings, serving as visual cues for students, staff, and visitors. The maximum occupancy for safe use in accordance with physical distancing guidelines is posted outside of each room. 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. A physical distance of six feet is maintained between staff and staff and students when masks cannot be worn, in common areas, and during activities when increased exhalation occurs. Visitors to the school are limited and all visitors physically distance from others.

Sanitizing, Disinfecting, and Ventilation

The school teaches and reinforces handwashing and respiratory etiquette. Students, staff, 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 room for use when handwashing is not possible. Extra hand hygiene is encouraged especially when infection or germ-spread is likely. Students, staff, 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 are prioritized during the school day. The school is closed between 6:30PM and 6:30AM to allow for thorough nightly cleanings. Each room is equipped with disinfectants.

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

Health Monitoring and Screening

Prior to departing for school, students, staff, 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. Staff members 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 promotes diagnostic and symptom screening by students and staff who are symptomatic or have a suspected or known exposure to COVID-19 prior to arriving at school. The school provides COVID-19 testing once (minimum) or twice (maximum) weekly to mitigate the spread of virus to all staff and students with the consent of their parents/guardians.

The school collaborates with the health department, to the extend allowable by privacy and other applicable laws, to confidentially provide information members of the school community who are diagnosed with or exposed to COVID-19. The school monitors the number of COVID-19 cases among students and staff, the number of students and staff in quarantine, and levels of community transmission.

Healthy individuals (not displaying symptoms) who are exposed to COVID-19 must quarantine, which means staying at home and away from others. Sick individuals (mild or severe symptoms) who have tested positive for COVID-19 must isolate, which means staying at home and away from others.

Please note that a close contact is someone who was within six feet of an infected person for a cumulative of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period. In the K-12 indoor classroom setting, the close contact definition excludes students who were within three to six feet of an infected student where both students were engaged in consistent and correct use of well-fitting masks and other K-12 school prevention strategies were in place. This exception does not apply to staff or visitors in the indoor classroom setting.

In This Section