Wellness and Health Care Policy

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To assure the health and well being of children and staff at our preschool please keep your child home when they are ill. If your child becomes ill while at the preschool, we will call and expect you to come and pick them up within 30 minutes. If the parent(s)/ guardian cannot be reached within 20 minutes we will begin to contact emergency contacts listed on the child information card and expect your child to be picked up from the center within 30 minutes after contact. To minimize sickness in our preschool by preventing the spread of germs, we must exclude children and staff who show the following symptoms of illnesses and diseases:

• Vomiting

• Diarrhea-more than 3 in one hour. Your child must be diarrhea free for 24

       hours before returning to the center.

• Fever of 100.4 degrees or above

• Any undiagnosed rash or type of skin disruption

• Pink Eye

• Impetigo

• Chicken Pox

• Hand-Foot-Mouth

• Strep Throat

• Severe Coughing

• Thick nasal drainage

• Croup or Bronchitis

• Any Communicable Disease (i.e. COVID-19)

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Children sent home due to the above may need to be seen by a Doctor. Children must remain at home until symptom free for 24 hours or longer as described below. Children having temperatures of 100.4 or above may not return to the preschool until their temperature is normal for 72 hours without the aid of any fever reducing medication. If the child is seen by a doctor and is diagnosed with an ear infection, the child may return to the preschool in less than 72 hours with a doctor’s note.

In certain situations when an illness is contagious and communicable, a doctor’s note stating the child is no longer contagious will be required. If your doctor has prescribed an antibiotic, your child must be on the medication for 24 hours before returning to the school.

If the preschool becomes aware that a staff member, volunteer, or child in care has contracted a communicable disease we will inform all parents/ guardians on the name of the communicable disease the children were exposed to, a list of symptoms, and preventative measures as recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

 

 

COVID-19 Policies and Procedures:

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Grace Beginnings Preschool will be proactive in screening for COVID-19 related symptoms. Please review and be familiar with the symptoms related to COVID-19.  Alert the school immediately upon suspicion of COVID-19 related symptoms in your child or other household members, or a close contact or household member with a COVID-19 positive test result. The school will work closely with the Kent County Health Department, and a Michigan childcare licensing consultant for further actions as needed.

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Symptoms of COVID-19:

• Cough

• Fever of 100.4 or above

• Diarrhea

• Vomiting

• Shortness of breath. 

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Daily health screenings parent/ caregiver must answer the following questions:

• Has your child or adult(s) in the household been in close contact with a person who has COVID-19?

• Has your child or adult(s) in the household felt unwell in the last 3 days? (cough, temperature, diarrhea, vomiting, shortness of breath?)

  • If Yes, the child(ren) cannot enter the school.

  • If No, the child(ren) child may enter the school.

• Children and caregiver will have their temperature taken via touch less thermometer daily at drop off.

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COVID-19 Testing:

If a child is sick, presenting with symptoms of COVID-19 they should go to their medical provider and get tested for COVID-19.

1. If the child tests negative for COVID-19, they must be symptom-free for 24 prior to returning to care.

2. If the child tests positive for COVID-19, the child can return to care when he/ she has been fever free without taking any fever reducing medicine (i.e. Tylenol) AND other symptoms are improving (such as shortness of breath) AND at least 10 days have passed since symptoms first appeared.

If a child was in close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19

1. The child must quarantine for 14 days beginnings on the last day of possible exposure.

2. If a household member was the close contact, the household member must be fever free for 72 hours without taking any fever reducing medicine, AND other symptoms are improving AND at least 10 days have passed since symptoms first appeared before the child can start the 14 days of quarantine to monitor for symptoms.

3. If they do not develop symptoms in these 14 days, they can return to care.

       If your child’s doctor has released your child to be in childcare/ school documentation must be submitted to the school before your child may             return.

 

*The above-mentioned protocols and policies apply equally to both the children in attendance, their household family, as well as preschool staff and their household.

 

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Extended School Closures

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If the school becomes aware of a child in care that has tested positive with COVID-19 the school will contact Kent County Health Department as well as a Michigan licensing consultant for further steps. If the school is instructed to close for less than 14 days at any given time/ duration throughout the year, tuition will be due accordingly as stated in your enrollment contract. If your child is excluded from school based on symptoms of or related to COVID-19, possible exposure from a close contact or household member tuition will continue to be charged in full regardless of nonattendance per our current policies. All policies are listed in full in the parent handbook provided to you upon enrollment and signed by you in agreement of its policies therein. The school will extend the school year to make up lost time if 14 or more days have been lost due to health-related closures as instructed by The Kent County Health Department and/ or Michigan licensing consultant. Per our current policies natural or other unexpected closures will not be made up and tuition is due accordingly.

 

Reporting an Illness

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A parent must call the school (616-534-0805) and either leave a detailed voice mail OR speak directly to the director when calling to report a child’s illness/ absence from school. Email/ text messages are NOT acceptable forms of communication when reporting and illness.  When reporting a negative COVID-19 test result, documentation must be submitted to the director prior to your child returning to class.

 

Preparedness and Response Plan

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• Families will pick up and drop off their child through the main entrance to the school remaining masked and/or socially distanced (6 feet apart) from other households while waiting for their daily health screening. Markers to help families remain distanced have been placed on the ground outside of the main entrance to the school.

• Children will be taken to the restroom prior to class and must at least wash their hands before heading to the classroom.

• Children will be asked to wash their hands in the classroom after sneezing, placing their hands in their nose/ mouth, or anytime their hands become visibly soiled.

• Children will be distanced during our large group times, and during snack.

• The classroom will be fogged with a disinfectant solution daily after children have left the premises. Common touch points will be wiped with disinfectant daily and as needed throughout the day. Any toys placed in a child’s mouth will be immediately removed and disinfected before returning it to the classroom.

• Classrooms are equipped with medical grade air purifiers, which circulate and filter the air in the entire classroom once every 30 minutes.

• Children who become visible ill during class will be excluded from the class and remain in the front office while being supervised until they have been picked up by an approved parent or guardian.

• If staff become ill/ must be excluded from school we will call a substitute teacher. If they are unavailable to substitute until regular staff are well and able to return the school will close until it can maintain proper student- teacher ratios in accordance with Michigan Childcare Licensing rules.