Current COVID-19 Protocols

Sent via email to all current parents, faculty, and staff.

I hope you and your family have enjoyed a restful and joyful Christmas break and feel refreshed as we start a new year. Like many of you, I enjoyed time with my family while at the same time closely watching the latest developments in our country’s struggle to put the pandemic behind us. I write to inform you about how ESD will move forward when we return next week.

We have decided that we will maintain our previously announced “mask optional” policy in all three divisions. While data shows that COVID infections are on the rise in Dallas County and in our ESD community, there remain very low rates of serious health outcomes, particularly among those who are fully vaccinated and the very young.

In addition to announcing this decision, I have four strong requests of our community:

• COVID, seasonal flu, and other respiratory viruses are prevalent and will remain so for another several weeks. All of us should be vigilant about checking our health on a daily basis. Community members should exercise extreme caution and stay home (or keep their children at home) if they are experiencing ANY symptoms of respiratory illness. This is one important way we will keep each other healthy.
• All community members should self-report to their divisional nurse and quarantine if someone in their home is COVID symptomatic and/or has tested positive. We are currently evaluating the new CDC quarantine guidelines to determine whether they are appropriate for ESD.
• While mask-wearing is optional, we strongly encourage and support those who wish to wear one. I have two parents in their late 80’s whom I visit on a regular basis. Because of this situation, I will be wearing a mask in group situations and in meetings where physical distancing is challenging. Other community members may have similar circumstances. We need to take care of each other by being respectful of mask-wearing decisions and requests for distancing and masking by people with whom we have contact.
• Let us exercise grace and patience as we continue to navigate this difficult situation. Please understand that if in-person learning becomes jeopardized or a more dangerous variant emerges, we may need to re-institute masking, remote learning, and/or other health protocols. Of particular concern are possible staffing shortages similar to those that other organizations and companies have experienced.

Please join me in praying that this Omicron surge subsides quickly. This variant is particularly vexing because, while less dangerous, it seems to evade previous mitigation measures. The pandemic continues to put enormous strain on our children, our community, and our country, not only in its health and economic impacts, but also in the way it has caused division over health protocols. I ask that we rise above our differences, respect each other and the decisions we make.

Sent from Head of School David Baad via email to all current parents, faculty, and staff.

As we prepare to leave for a joyous Christmas break, I write with two updates. First, we intend to transition to a mask-optional policy at ESD for all students, employees, and visitors effective January 4, 2022. We are excited to take one more step toward completely normal school activities. More details follow below. Second, all ESD parents and employees are invited to a community gathering on January 26 at which I and other school leaders will discuss the school year and address questions. Specifics about the event will be emailed to parents, faculty, and staff on January 4, 2022.

Health and Safety Policy Update

The Health and Safety Committee and the Executive Leadership Team have determined that with widespread access to vaccines across almost all age groups and the rates of serious health outcomes from infection being low - particularly for the very young and those who are fully vaccinated - that it is now prudent to make mask wearing optional across all divisions. We support our constituents who choose to remain masked and expect all community members to respect one another’s masking decisions. We will continue to monitor the health news and reserve the option of reinstituting masks in the unlikely event that a high rate of serious health outcomes reappears. Please assume that we will be mask-optional unless you hear from me again just before school starts back in January.

With this change in masking policy comes additional adjustments to two other health and safety guidelines:

• Lunch in all three divisions will return to pre-pandemic schedules and protocols. There will be no limit to the number of people at each table. The upper school will also return to one lunch period. Please look for updates from your division head with specifics.
• Congregational singing will return to all three divisional daily worship services.

We will continue the following until further notice:

• Our quarantining policy will remain in place. Please report COVID positive cases to our nurses. Following CDC guidance, we will continue to quarantine siblings and any other close social contacts and maintain the COVID dashboard on our website.
  • If your child is fully vaccinated, please upload a copy of their CDC vaccine card via Magnus or send a copy to your division office. Fully vaccinated individuals might not be required to quarantine, per CDC; however, documentation must be on file before contact tracing begins.
• We will continue to COVID test before all overnight trips.
• We will continue to offer only bread at Eucharist.

For those interested, ESD is hosting a vaccination clinic on January 2, 2022, from 4:00 - 6:00 p.m. All community members and loved ones, ages 5 and up, are welcome to participate if they would like. Click here to sign up and for details.

As we move through the Advent season, my hope for all in our community is that you experience the loving and healing presence of God during this Christmas break. We wish all a peaceful and prosperous New Year and look forward to seeing everyone in January.

Sent via email to all current parents, faculty, and staff.

Many thanks for the patience and cooperation our community has shown throughout the pandemic. We are happy to have returned to mostly normal operations this year and are pleased to announce that beginning Monday, November 1, we will take another step in easing our pandemic-related health practices.

We have made the decision to use these updated protocols for the following reasons:

• The four metrics referenced in my communications at the beginning of school have returned to near July levels — the point at which we relaxed protocols in the summer.
• All of our seventh through twelfth graders and employees have had ample opportunity to be vaccinated, and we are hopeful that our younger students will soon have the chance as well.
• Vaccines are not available yet to our youngest students. Data show that the Delta variant is more transmissible to unvaccinated children than the COVID variants prevalent last summer.
• COVID-19 transmission appears to be very low within our school activity, particularly in the older grades.
• Our dining commons has an extremely effective air circulation and disinfectant system.

Beginning Monday, November 1, we will implement the following policies by division:

Upper School

• All students should bring a mask to school each day.
• Masking is recommended but not required while engaged in school activities.
• Lunch dividers will be removed in the dining commons; however, seating will remain limited to six students at a table.
• Congregational singing during daily worship will remain suspended.
• At their discretion, teachers may require that a student wear a mask when working with them in a tutoring or other one-on-one situation.

Middle School

• All students should continue to bring a mask to school each day.
• For seventh and eighth graders: masking is recommended but not required while engaged in school activities.
• For fifth and sixth graders: masking will remain required in all indoor spaces and in buses, except when in physical education classes.
• Chapel seating will be temporarily changed to space fifth and sixth graders from seventh and eighth graders.
• Congregational singing during daily worship will remain suspended.
• Lunch dividers will be removed in the dining commons; however, seating will be limited to six students at a table.
• At their discretion, seventh- and eighth-grade teachers may require that a student wear a mask when working with them in a tutoring or other one-on-one situation.

Lower School

• Masks will remain required for all students in indoor spaces, except for physical education classes.
• Congregational singing will be allowed in All Saints Chapel (with masks).
• Lunch dividers will be removed in the dining commons; however, seating will be limited to six students at a table.

After our younger students have had ample opportunity to receive the soon-to-be-approved vaccine for 5-12 years olds, we anticipate moving to lifting masking requirements for them as well. We hope this can happen by the time we return to campus in January.

Everyone — volunteers, parents, employees, and guests — should abide by the masking requirement in the division or grade level in which they are working or visiting. This includes abiding by an employee’s request to mask during a parent/teacher meeting. The masking requirement also remains in effect for parents attending daily worship in the lower or middle school.

The choice to wear a mask for seventh through twelfth graders and the employees who work with them may differ. In keeping with ESD’s Code of Conduct, we ask that everyone be respectful of the decisions made by those around them and engage in no judgmental behavior regarding others’ choices.

Vaccines are the best defense we have in ensuring that our students and teachers have a completely uninterrupted school year. ESD encourages in the strongest possible terms that all eligible community members receive a COVID-19 vaccine as soon as possible.

If your child is fully vaccinated, please send their vaccine information to your division’s nurse, Lower School Nurse Carla Thomas, and Middle and Upper School Nurse Marcia Biggs, so that we can keep track of community vaccination rates. This data will help inform our decision process moving forward. A more fully vaccinated school population may allow us to lift restrictions sooner.

We will suspend the use of the daily Ascend health screening application until further notice. Please keep the link; depending on how conditions develop, we may reinstate it later in the year.

It is still imperative for all students and employees to do a health check each morning before coming to school. Those experiencing any symptoms of COVID-19 should stay home, inform the appropriate school nurse, and contact their physician.

Should your student be sent home during the school day with new or unexpected symptoms, they might be required to provide a negative PCR test and/or a doctor's note before returning to school.

Any community member who tests positive for COVID-19 must report their positive result to the appropriate school nurse, quarantine for at least five days, be fever-free for 24 hours before returning to school, and wear a mask while on campus for an additional five days.

Unvaccinated close contacts have two options for quarantine:

1.  Provide negative PCR test results taken on day five and return the same day with a well-fitting mask for an additional five days OR

2.  Return on day 11 with no testing required.  

Fully vaccinated close contacts do not need to quarantine, but are expected to wear a well-fitting mask for 10 days after the date of last exposure. 

Should local conditions change, these protocols will be reconsidered. 

We will also continue to update the community on cases through the COVID dashboard on our website.

A remote learning option will be offered to any student who will miss school because they are COVID-positive or are quarantined because of close contact with a COVID-positive individual. Remote learning platforms will vary by division; please contact your division head for details. Otherwise, all students will be expected to participate in person.

We are excited to welcome parents back to campus. For volunteer opportunities, please visit the ESD Volunteer Portal or contact ESDPA Volunteer Coordinator Kara Axley.

Health and safety education and training for all faculty, staff, students, and parents will continue as needed.

• Outdoor tents will be available for music and band classes to consider reduction of transmission via droplet spread and for outdoor socialization.
• Enhanced cleaning and sanitizing will continue per CDC recommendations.
• Frequent handwashing is strongly recommended and encouraged.

At the current time, we are not anticipating an interruption in athletics, arts, and club activities.

• Before and after school programs, including Kids On Campus, are scheduled to operate as normal.

Overnight trips

• Pre-travel testing will be considered for all trips that consist of multiple days of travel and/or the destination necessitates the use of air travel. 
• If testing is required, all participants (chaperones and students alike) will be tested on the ESD campus the day of departure with a rapid antigen test, regardless of CDC vaccination status or prior antibody test submission.

• An exemption from the required testing will be considered if documentation of a recent (within 90 days) positive case of COVID is on file in the clinic. Documentation must be received at least 24 hours prior to the testing date and must be approved before any exemption is considered.

Chaplains and counselors are available for support to our community members in person or virtually as needed. Please reach out.

• In person, Daily Chapel will resume for all divisions.

• Eucharist will also resume with serving bread only and being dispensed by vaccinated individuals. 

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