Frequently Asked Questions (as of April 5, 2021)
- Questions About Return to Campus, Teachers & Hybrid Schedule
- Questions About Travel, Safety & Testing
- Questions About Transportation, Parking & Lunch
- Questions About Senior Class Activities & Events
Questions About Return to Campus, Teachers & Hybrid Schedule
Question: What is the updated return schedule for students?
Starting Monday, April 26, students from both Middle and Upper School will have the opportunity to be back on campus for classes in person. Washington State has adopted the CDC's recent guidelines reducing the suggested social distancing from six feet down to three feet, making this reality viable. We have said from day one that if we can find ways to bring more kids on campus, more often, given safety protocols in place—we will.
New Schedule: When we return from Spring Break, we will have a full remote learning schedule through the week of April 19 - 23. Both Middle School and Upper School will be remote and we will not be able to offer Remote on Campus. This week will be a critical time for our safety and facilities teams to ready the campus for both divisions attending in-person learning. On Monday, April 26 both Middle and Upper School students will be on campus, attending an in-person Odd and Even Block Schedule (shown below). When on campus, we will continue a 4-day schedule with Wednesdays servicing on-campus advisory, conferencing and community time.
Question: What has been the decision making process for returning to campus?
Answer: Our current Return to Campus plan balances the guidance we’ve received from our board risk management task force which includes the following individuals: Darryl Rawlings (chair), Mari Anderson (lead staff), Doug Ambach (staff), Halsey Bell, Nathan Every, Mike Myint, Rob Phillips (Head of School), Makenzie Porter, Cheryl Scott, David Sheppard, and Aravind Swaminathan. You can contact the task force directly with specific questions or concerns by emailing Mari Anderson. The task force also takes into strong consideration the Governor's Reopening Guidance, WA Department of Health guidance, public health consultations, the lagging and predictive health indicators from King County, IHME, our insights into our student wellness, and our evaluation of the significant mitigating measures we’ve put into place for the safety of students, faculty, and staff to support their readiness and comfort in returning. We are fortunate to have insights from multiple perspectives to help guide our decision making.
The decision to Return to Campus is one that lives with the school after taking these perspectives into account and understanding the uniqueness of our student population, our size, our campus, our faculty and staff, and our measures we’ve put in place supporting the safety and well-being of this SAAS community. While it might be easy to compare what other Seattle-area schools are doing and the pace of their reopening plan, there are so many varying factors that are necessary to consider with our unique campus and the size of our student body.
We appreciate and hear that our decision and no decision will completely align with any one stakeholder perspective of what is safe, preferred, aggressive enough, conservative enough or necessary as we start the new year.
Question: What is the plan for Wednesdays on campus in the new schedule?
We have received a lot of feedback surrounding the decision to continue a 4-day academic week, or switch to a 5-day week. We have weighed many factors and reflected on the input provided by our community. At this time, we will retain the 4-day block schedule—but with the addition of on-campus engagements for students on Wednesdays, if preferred. Students also have the option to continue their remote status for clubs, conferencing and advisory times. What does this all look like? Bear with us, we know there are a lot of moving parts. There will be more details and information forthcoming on the schedule for these Wednesdays; in the meantime, we want you to know that you have the choice to remain remote or attend remote on Campus starting on Wednesday, April 28. We thank each of you that voiced your concern, as nothing remains more true to our mission than our community questioning and contributing to this changing world.
Question: What if we don’t feel comfortable sending our student back to campus?
We understand that while many in our SAAS community are ready for both divisions, faculty and staff back on campus—you may not be. We are not here to make critical safety decisions for any student, any family, nor any faculty member. It is imperative that during this process we remain empathetic to the spectrum of other's experiences. This is part of our commitment to an inclusive community and a recognition that this pandemic may be impacting individuals differently. For the remainder of this school year, we honor our students, faculty and staff's personal choices surrounding their decision to return to campus.
Question: How will the classrooms look for students during in person versus remote?
Families and students should be aware that our goal remains to deliver high quality instruction that captures the intellectual engagement and challenge that is a hallmark of a SAAS education. We also recognize the ways in which a socially distanced classroom and the realities of concurrent in-person and remote teaching will fundamentally change the way in-person and remote learning looks, feels, and sounds.
Classrooms have undergone significant changes in how they are laid out in order to support physical distancing requirements and safety. This will be different for teachers and students alike as they return in person. Some classes, based on the number of students enrolled and the physical size of the space, will be in one classroom with one teacher. Other classes, which are larger, may be divided into two classrooms with a teacher in one space and a classroom assistant in the other. Teachers may rotate between those two classrooms in support of the lesson plans for that block.
Seating charts will be created for each classroom to support contact tracing, in case of an exposure, and to limit exposure. Seating charts are common with some of our teachers and will be a new approach to others.
Question: Will all of the teachers be back on campus for this new schedule?
Teaching faculty, like students, may elect to teach work remotely for the remainder of 2020-21 school year. In order to facilitate in-person learning, students and families should expect a Classroom Assistant (CA) to support in-person instruction. These additions to the SAAS staff function as monitors in the classroom, supporting those teachers who are teaching remotely or those classes that require two classrooms to accommodate the number of students in a class safely. Classroom Assistants will not serve as instructional assistants or learning support.
Teachers will facilitate the learning and accomplishment of the learning goals unique to their class to the best of their ability. We do not expect sameness between the experience of those students who are choosing to remain in remote learning and those choosing to attend school in-person. For example, students learning remotely when it is their grade level’s turn to be on campus may find themselves watching a lesson within their Zoom class. Teachers will work to incorporate those students into the fabric of an activity, though their attention will necessarily be focused on the classroom management and instruction required of socially distanced teaching. Our top priority is to make accessible and support student learning
Question: If a student elects to be remote during this new schedule, can they decide to come in person at a later date?
Answer: Yes, students can choose between in person or remote learning options throughout the hybrid time period. If a student is currently remote and would like to attend in-person at a later date, we ask that we receive notification of this change the week before the start of their next in-person session. Students should inform their division leadership of a desire to attend classes remotely before the start of Hybrid or inform them of any changes needed during Spring Tri.
Questions About Travel, Safety & Testing
Question: What are the travel restrictions and current guidelines required for students returning to campus?
Answer: All members of the SAAS community should avoid nonessential travel, particularly via means that place people in close confinement, and particularly to areas with known high COVID counts.
For adults and students who have not been fully vaccinated:
SAAS travel guidance (below) is the same and aligns with CDC travel guidance. Test post 5 days of travel; return after negative.
For adults and students who have been fully vaccinated:
Travel guidance post vaccine has been updated. You do NOT need to get tested or self-quarantine before or after travel if you are fully vaccinated unless required by the destination of travel.
People are considered fully vaccinated:
2 weeks after their second dose in a 2-dose series, such as the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, or 2 weeks after a single-dose vaccine, such as Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen vaccine
If you don’t meet these requirements, you are NOT fully vaccinated. Keep taking all precautions until you are fully vaccinated.
· For adults and students who have recovered from COVID in the last 3 months -
You do NOT need to get tested or self-quarantine before or after travel if you have recovered from COVID-19 in the past 3 months.
- All students, faculty, and staff who plan to return to in-person events on campus AND plan to travel via means that result in close contact with other commercial passengers (domestic or international) will be required to contact SAAS Safety to provide information regarding nature and locations of their travel. Depending on the nature and location of travel, traveler(s) may be requested to either:
1. Self-quarantine upon return for a period of 14 days before returning to in-person, SAAS events, OR
2. Provide proof of a negative COVID-9 test that has been obtained no earlier than 5 days after the last date of travel. - Students, faculty, and staff who have traveled internationally will be required to self-isolate for a period of 14 days or per the alternate time frame designated by Public Health. Students, faculty, and staff traveling any time after October 1 who plan to attend in-person extracurricular activities, athletics, Retreats on Campus, and/or class are required to contact safety@seattleacademy.org about the nature and locations of their travel.
Question: Will you provide free COVID tests for students, faculty and staff prior to returning to campus?
Answer: Yes! Seattle Academy, in partnership with The Altius Institute and Remote Medical International, will provide a free, COVID-19 PCR testing opportunity for all students, faculty and/or staff on the Seattle Academy campus.
Our community has seen how masking and testing can make a difference in the battle against coronavirus. These testing events will provide a baseline COVID-19 status for students prior to returning to an in-person, campus hybrid schedule. This will support a safer return to campus for our SAAS community by being able to identify asymptomatic carriers in an effort to catch the virus early, before it spreads. Testing is optional, but we strongly encourage everyone to participate.
Question: Why is this necessary? And is this testing on campus required before returning?
Answer: Testing is optional, but we strongly encourage everyone to participate. Testing will help identify people who have contracted the coronavirus but are asymptomatic and therefore might not otherwise be tested. This will support a safer return to campus for our SAAS community by being able to identify asymptomatic carriers in an effort to catch the virus earlier, before it spreads.
Question: What happens after you receive results from the on campus COVID testing site?
Answer: You will receive instructions on how to retrieve your results. Seattle Academy will also receive the results. Information will be provided to public health agencies as required by law. Everyone who tests negative can return to school in person as planned. If tests results are positive for COVID-19, the person taking the test will be asked to isolate and/or quarantine per the CDC and/or the Washington Department of Health guidelines which SAAS follows. They will be contacted by Seattle Academy and by public health to begin contact tracing protocols. Once the isolation and/or quarantine period has ended and they show no symptoms of COVID-19, the individual with the positive test will be allowed back on campus for their in-person hybrid schedule. If a student feels well enough at any time during this, they are welcome to attend their classes remotely. Documented test results obtained at lab testing sites outside of this Seattle Academy event will be accepted and added to the SAAS community health information for tracking.
Question: Are there COVID testing requirements for faculty prior to returning to campus?
Answer: Covid testing will not be required for faculty at this time, but we strongly encourage it, especially with testing options provided by Seattle Academy. Faculty and staff have been offered COVID-19 PCR testing on a weekly basis since September and will continue to have this option until the end of this school year. Over 1,000 tests have been administered with a .37% positivity rate reflecting which is far below target rates for concern outlined by public health.
Question: What is the name of the online tool that we use for health screening students and faculty?
Answer: We are asking all families, faculty, and staff to submit a COVID-19 symptoms pre-check form each morning that they plan to be on campus with our Safe Access program. It is a web-based service that provides another layer of safety as we return to campus. The service will ask parents/guardians to go over a quick health assessment with their student each morning they plan to be at SAAS.
Question: Can you explain what upgrades have been made to campus in regards to ventilation and air circulation?
Answer: SAAS has completed HVAC Audits in all buildings and we have implemented MERV 13 filters, air changes per hour modified to support a COVID learning environment, expanded use of outside air/ventilation protocol, installed GPS Air Scrubbing units (similar to those used on aircraft) on all owned buildings, additional air purification units added in designated classrooms, coil cleaning,filtration gaps sealed, and modified the building management system for 24 X 7 air flow to purge the buildings.
Question: How does contact tracing work at SAAS?
Answer: There are ten steps that are taken when a report of symptoms and/or a confirmed positive test occurs.
- Report received of symptom onset and/or COVID positive test
- Individuals are instructed to isolate, seek appropriate medical attention, and test offsite to confirm COVID status (if not already completed).
- Interview individual for close contact information per CDC definition of close contact.
- Notify close contacts to begin isolation or quarantine for 14 days. Encourage testing after a prescribed time frame based on last contact.
- Notify Public Health (if positive case) and participate in a parallel contact tracing process. Public Health expectation is for schools to not wait until their process begins to start internal tracing protocol due to their backlog and inability to quickly respond.
- Initiate specific sanitation protocol.
- Monitor all for recovery, symptom onset or worsening, and/or any subsequent positive cases.
- Offer and provide support and availability for questions.
- Communicate, as appropriate, to those in a specific classroom or group as awareness, inform of steps that have been taken, confirm that they are not considered close contacts, confirm next steps regarding their quarantining or not, offer contact information for questions, and commitment of ongoing communication should conditions or consultation change.
- Update summary school health information and communicate appropriately.
Question: What is considered a close contact? If a positive occurs will everyone be sent home?
Answer: A close contact is defined per CDC guidelines as someone who was within 6 feet of an infected person for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period starting from 2 days before illness onset or, for asymptomatic patients, 2 days prior to test specimen collection.
Typically, a positive case would not cause a full classroom or the full school to go on quarantine. There are specific thresholds defined by public health on when/if that would be necessary. Individuals who have tested positive and are considered close contacts by the CDC definition would be sent home to isolate or quarantine depending upon their status. In a classroom setting, that may mean those immediately surrounding a student as verified by attendance and the seating chart may be defined as a close contact and asked to quarantine.
Questions About Transportation, Parking & Lunch
Question: What are the parking options for Upper School students when returning to campus?
Answer: Juniors and Seniors who signed up for parking in August still have spaces available to them and will be receiving a parking pass before hybrid begins. Parking will be first come/first served in the 16th Avenue parking lot and Copy Mart at 11th & Madison if you have a parking permit displayed in your car. A waiting list has been created. Please contact transportation@seattleacademy.org to add your student to this waiting list.
Question: Will there be transportation offered before and after school in hybrid? If so, how much does it cost and how does one sign up?
Answer: Yes, bus transportation will be offered at various locations in and surrounding the Seattle area. Please sign up using this link for your route and stop. Starting in hybrid, families needing transportation will be charged a $250 flat fee for services during the Spring Tri. $125 will be charged at the start of Spring Tri covering bus transportation (morning and evening) from February 25 until Spring Break. An additional $125 will be charged to families for transportation after Spring Break until the end of the school year.
Question: What will be the plan for lunch on-campus? Will there be lunch for sale, where will the students eat and how will safety protocols apply when eating on campus?
Answer: To ensure the most up-to-date safety measures on campus, we have rethought and reconfigured the dining experience and decided to deliver meals to each classroom for both Middle School and Upper School students. This way, students can maintain physical distancing while eating safely. To make this type of service possible, families and students will need to preorder their meal choices at the beginning of each week. For preordering deadlines and additional information, please visit our Lunch On Campus webpage.
Question: What is the plan for snacks during the day?
Answer: Students will have an opportunity to eat a snack during Advisory and Conferencing time each morning that they are on campus for the Hybrid Schedule. Students may eat the snack that they brought from home. Students may pull their masks down to eat and drink in classrooms during snack time. Masks should be worn if when not eating or drinking.
Questions About Senior Class Activities & Events
Question: Regarding the Senior Project, why keep seniors off campus when they’re just getting back?
To view all of the Senior Project options and to learn more, please visit the Class of 2021 web page.
Question: What will the commencement ceremony look like for the Class of 2021?
We are actively working with McCall Hall to produce a graduation ceremony that honors and celebrates the Class of 2021. Much of what we are working towards is contingent on what is permitted through public health guidance. We plan to keep everyone updated on the final plan as soon as we are able.
We will continue to update this FAQ page as new information arises.
If you have additional questions, please feel free to reach out to safety@seattleacademy.org or communications@seattleacademy.org.