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CISD COVID-19 Guide (2022-23)
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Castleberry Independent School District COVID-19 Planning Guide (2022-23)

SPANISH TRANSLATION: The full guide is available in Spanish. Click here to access. TRADUCCIÓN AL ESPAÑOL: La guía completa está disponible en español. Haga clic aquí para ingresar.

The development of this guide is to provide pre-K through grade 12 (K-12) school leaders guidance around policies, practices, and strategies that districts and schools must implement and recommendations they should consider to optimize education and promote health and safety.

Use this guidance document in combination with the additional guidance provided by the Texas Education Agency, which includes both strategies for implementation of health guidance in schools, as well as other non-health related considerations for the 2022-23 school year.

COVID-19 Program Coordinators:

COVID-19 program coordinator - Identify a point of contact for each school building in collaboration with building administration and/or district school nurses. This person will communicate concerns, challenges, and lessons learned related to COVID-19 preventive activities as needed with staff, students/families, school and district leadership, and local health officials.

Castleberry ISD district administrators participate weekly in Judge B. Glen Whitley’s Health Guidance for Tarrant County Schools telephone conference and the Texas Education Agency Superintendent’s telephone conference to learn the latest recommendations to keep students, staff and families within the district safe.

Castleberry ISD Task Force Coordinator:  Lenny Lasher (817) 252-2077

Campus

COVID-19 Program Coordinator

Office Phone

A.V. Cato Elementary

Dr. Jennifer Turner

(817) 252-2411

Castleberry Elementary

Ruby Jackson

(817) 252-2311

Joy James Academy

Shannon Shea

(817) 252-2507

Irma Marsh Middle School

Cameron Marshall

(817) 252-2218

Castleberry High School

Duran Johnson

(817) 252-2111

Alternative Learning Center

Pascal Licciardi

(817) 252-2392

Technology Building

Cassi Sweet

(817) 252-2082

Social Distancing and Minimizing Exposure:

Social distancing (also called physical distancing) means keeping space between yourself and other people outside of your home. Social distancing is a critical tool in decreasing the spread of COVID-19.

In this planning scenario, schools should create as much space between individuals as possible during the day, recognizing that it is not always feasible to have 3 feet of social distancing during primary instructional time in the classroom.

Personal Protection Equipment (PPE):

Castleberry ISD is HIGHLY ENCOURAGING mask wearing for the safety of students and staff members. Masks are being provided to anyone who may need one.

Cloth face coverings should not be placed on:

Personal Hygiene / Campus Clinics:

Respiratory Hygiene/Cough Etiquette:

The following measures to contain respiratory secretions are recommended based on guidance outlined by the CDC for all individuals with signs and symptoms of a respiratory infection.

Cleaning and Materials Handling:

Castleberry ISD has developed a targeted cleaning process that specifically addresses COVID-19.

Ventilation Upgrades:

Castleberry ISD has made ventilation improvements to locker rooms. In addition, UV lighting has been installed in the locker rooms and is scheduled to run nightly.  

According to TEA, Improving school Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) has been shown to decrease respiratory-related illness infection rates and positively impact student attendance. This includes reducing rates of COVID-19 but extends to reducing the spread of other respiratory illnesses (common cold, flu, etc.) and reducing the severity of asthma symptoms.

Monitoring and Excluding for Illness:

Regular screening for symptoms and ongoing self-monitoring throughout the school day can help to quickly identify signs of illness and help reduce exposure. Staff and students should be encouraged to self-monitor symptoms throughout the day. Staff or students who develop symptoms during the school day must notify school health services or another identified point of contact in the school building immediately.

COVID Symptoms for Screening:

Note: It’s at the discretion of the campus nurse and/ or athletic trainer to evaluate and decide if the signs and symptoms are COVID related. (Per TEA Public Health Guidance; August 5, 2021)

Cough

Muscle Pain

Sore throat

Shortness of breath or difficult breathing

Headache

Loss of taste or smell

Chills

Fever

Diarrhea

Responding to a Positive COVID 19 Case:

CDC definition: To be considered exposed to COVID-19, you need to have prolonged close contact with a person who has the virus.  Close contact includes living in the same household, caring for a sick person with the virus, being within 3 feet of a sick person with the virus for at least 15 continuous minutes without the use of a face covering, or being in direct contact with secretions from the sick person.

Vaccination Clinics:

Castleberry ISD, in partnership with Tarrant County Public Health, has hosted several vaccination clinics in the district to provide eligible students and staff members an opportunity during the day to get vaccinated.

Contact Tracing:

As a reference, close contact determinations are generally based on guidance outlined by the CDC, which notes that individuals who are vaccinated are not considered close contacts. Given the data from 2020-21 showing very low COVID-19 transmission rates in a classroom setting and data demonstrating lower transmission rates among children than adults, school systems are not required to conduct COVID-19 contact tracing. If school systems are made aware that a student is a close contact, the school system should notify the student’s parents. Parents of students who are determined to be close contacts of an individual with COVID-19 may opt to keep their students at home during the recommended stay-at-home period. (Per TEA Public Health Guidance; August 5, 2021)

In accordance with the TEA Public Health Guidance (as of August 19, 2021; revised August 23, 2021):

Staff Who Have COVID-19 or Who are Close Contacts:

Similar to students, school systems must exclude staff from attending school in person who are actively sick with Covid-19, who are suspected of being actively sick with Covid-19, or who have received a positive test result for Covid-19. Staff may return when the re-entry conditions have been met:

For staff who (vaccinated or not) who meet the close contact threshold with a Covid-19 positive individual, it is recommended that the staff remain off campus during the stay-at-home period.

For staff who meet the close contact threshold with the Covid-19 positive individual, if these staff continue to work on campus, rapid testing must be performed at the start of the day, at least once every other day until the end of day 10.

To simplify, staff who are close contact (follow in this order):

  1. Q: Was the staff member/s wearing a mask?        

A: Yes - Not considered close contact

Note: A student or staff member who is considered a close contact and was wearing a mask and/ or is fully vaccinated (without symptoms) is not required to quarantine.  (Definition of fully vaccinated is 14 calendar days after the final vaccine dose)

CDC Close Contact Definition: To be considered exposed to COVID-19, you need to have prolonged close contact with a person who has the virus.  Close contact includes living in the same household, caring for a sick person with the virus, being within 3 feet of a sick person with the virus for at least 15 continuous minutes without the use of a face covering, or being in direct contact with secretions from the sick person.

Handling suspected or confirmed positive cases of COVID-19:

Visitor Information

Volunteers:

http://www.castleberryisd.net/UserFiles/Servers/Server_825719/File/Family/Family%20Engagement/English%20Volunteer%20Forms_accessible2.pdf

Transportation:

Continuity of Service

Castleberry ISD ensures continuity of learning to support students and families affected by COVID-19 in the following ways:


Guide Update Log

Updated: July 25, 2022