The health and safety of our students, staff and families is of utmost importance. We will continue to be vigilant to limit the transmission of COVID-19.
2022-23 School Year COVID Protocols
Again, this year will be different from the last two pandemic years. As we are learning to live with COVID, guidance from Santa Clara County Department of Public Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the California Department of Public Health has changed as well. MVWSD’s response for the 2022-23 school year is based on this guidance and our desire to present to our families and staff members the resources and information needed to decrease COVID’s impact on our health and well-being.
COVID is still present at high rates in our community. With your support, MVWSD will work to manage this disease in sustainable and adaptive ways while continuing to provide resources to support healthy learning environments.
MVWSD’s 2022-23 COVID plan highlights are:
(details are available in the text below)
Masking is required indoors for students and staff (Details below) and
* Required at large events (assemblies, concerts, etc)
* Required in buses
* R
equired for students participating in wind instrument or choral music
* Required for visitors and volunteers.
* Our mitigation strategies such as hand washing/ sanitizing, cleaning protocols and high-quality air filtration will continue.
* Sick individuals who test positive or are symptomatic should mask and be isolated for 5 days (after positive test/onset of symptoms) or more (see more information below).
* No on-campus, pooled testing program for students and staff this year. The state is no longer supporting/recommending this program for all California schools. Instead, students will bring home rapid antigen tests for use before returning from school breaks. Without in-school testing, MVWSD’s online Pooled Testing COVID Case Dashboard will not be available.
* MURs will be open for meal distribution to students. Outdoor seating areas will be maximized for eating times. Physical distancing during lunch is not required (but is good practice), and could be reinstated as a requirement by the principal in the case of high transmission rates.
* Students who play aerosol-generating instruments (including recorders) in grades 4-8 and participate in singing/choir will be required to use regular masks (student provided) and instrument masks and bell covers (MVWSD provided). (Details below)
* Parents and children who are not in class may be on campus inside the fences until the bell rings at the start of the day, and can return to campus inside the fences after the dismissal bell rings.
* Volunteer guidelines remain in effect. Frequent volunteers are required to mask and to apply to receive a badge and submit proof of COVID vaccination. For details, click here.
MVWSD’s 2022-23 COVID plan details
Masking
Mandatory indoor masking will be required for individual schools and/or the District when the following risk levels are reached.
CDC data shows community transmission level as “High;” set by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines
Individual schools will resume required masking indoors for a minimum of a 14-day period, when:
* Within the past 14 days, three or more cases in an individual classroom or stable group have occurred in the school, AND more than 5% of the school population (students and staff) is infected. OR,
* In a 3 consecutive-day span, 10% or more of the student population is absent each day due to illness.
We will continue to monitor the COVID-19 community level according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and detailed data from Santa Clara County and regularly report out to the Board of Trustees and the community.
Rationale: Without regular, pooled testing on campus, it’s more difficult for MVWSD to reduce COVID transmission. Masking is an effective method - in addition to other layers of prevention like air filtration and vaccination - of preventing severe illness. In “High” transmission, CDC states: “Wear a well-fitting mask indoors in public, regardless of vaccination status or individual risk (including in K-12 schools and other community settings)”
Masking helps:
* ensure that staff are well enough to keep classrooms open for all students
* students attend school as regularly as possible and continue to make academic gains after closure
* protect immunocompromised individuals in our community
COVID Isolation for Students
Keep your children home if they have any symptoms and get them tested for COVID-19.
If your child's test is negative, he/she may return to school 24 hours after fever ends.
If your child's test is positive, your child should stay isolated at home for 5 days since symptoms began AND at least 24 hours after fever resolves and other symptoms improve. Click on “Absence” at the top of your school's website to log your student's positive Covid test. He/ She should wear a mask for 10 days when around others. Students should test at home on Day 5 and stay at home until they test negative or reach day 10.
If your child is sick or needs to quarantine, please contact your child’s teacher to get missed assignments. Our schools are not offering concurrent, online instruction to students at home.
All household members of the COVID-19 case should monitor for symptoms, and get tested 3-5 days after potential exposure. Instructions on how to isolate and quarantine can be found at sccstayhome.org. Anyone who develops COVID-like symptoms needs to be tested right away.
COVID Tests
Parents are no longer required to submit COVID test results in order for students to return to school after their positive case. As a result of infrequent and self-reported case data, the online MVWSD COVID Case Dashboard will not be available this year. However, detailed, county-wide data is available here.
Students will not be required to present a negative COVID test result before starting school. However, MVWSD will provide at-home rapid tests for students to take the night before Day 2 of school. As supplies allow, MVWSD will provide at-home rapid tests to families to administer before returning to school after breaks throughout the school year. We strongly encourage families who have either been traveling or are concerned about a potential exposure to get tested as a preventative measure.
Click here to learn more about how and when and where to get tested.
Visitors and Trips
* After school PTA / School activities are permitted on campus.
* Spectators are allowed at events, both indoor and outdoor (performing arts and athletics). Indoor masking is required.
* Field trips are allowed. Indoor/in-vehicle masking is required.
* School visitors and volunteers are required to wear masks and present proof of vaccination (including booster) when checking into the office.
Mitigation strategies
* Physical barriers at reception desks and library desks will be removed. Student desk shields will not be used.
* Cleaning: Daily cleaning and sanitizing protocols with an emphasis on high-traffic areas will continue.
* Our schools’ HVAC systems have MERV-13 filters, which is the highest-grade filter available for our units, or air purifiers with filtration ratings at least as high as the MERV-13. Additionally dampers on all of our units are maximized to take in as much outside air as possible. Portable HEPA filters are in every classroom and office area. Our District works with mechanical engineers who advise us on settings and upgrades.
Music
Students opting to play aerosol generating instruments (including recorders) in grades 4-8 will be required to use instrument masks and bell covers. Families will be provided one set of these items to use for the school year. Students in choir programs or singing in elementary music classes will be required to wear their regular, school-day mask. Staff is encouraged to hold these classes outside when possible.
Mask recommendations
Public health officials recommend upgraded masks that include double masking (surgical mask + cloth mask), fitted medical masks (surgical masks) and respirator masks (N95s, KN95s or KF94s). Please see “Choosing Your Mask” here.
Vaccinations
MVWSD is strongly encouraging all eligible individuals to get vaccinated (and boosted as applicable). They are free and convenient. Please see: covid19.sccgov.org/covid-19-vaccine-information
Close contact notifications
Parents of students and staff members who are identified as a close contact at school to a positive case will be notified. A close contact is someone who has been within 0-6 feet of the positive case for more than 15 minutes over a 24-hour period indoors during the two-day period prior to the start of symptoms (or two days before the positive COVID-19 specimen collection date). Typically, these are the children in the positive case's classroom, in addition to any individuals who have been in small groups with the positive case.
If you do not receive a letter, you have not been identified as a close contact of a positive individual during their infectious period. Due to self-reported positive case data from families and the numbers of positive cases at any given time, MVWSD will employ the “group contact tracing” notification method for close contacts. It’s possible that entire grade levels or schools would receive a close contact notification at one time.
Staff Isolation
Staff members should stay home if they have any symptoms and get tested.
If negative, he/she may return to school 24 hours after fever ends.
If positive, he/she should stay isolated at home for 5 days after a positive test and/or onset of symptoms.
AND at least 24 hours after fever resolves
and other symptoms improve.
He/ She should wear a mask for 10 days when around others.
If positive, email [email protected] with the date of the positive test and enter absences into the Frontline system.
First, staff should test at home on Day 5. If symptoms are resolving and you test negative, then….
Employees must test at the District Office prior to returning to work. Tests should be scheduled for day 5 in order to return on day 6 with a negative result.
All household members of the COVID-19 case should monitor for symptoms, and get tested 3-5 days after potential exposure. Instructions on how to isolate and quarantine can be found at sccstayhome.org.
COVID Symptoms
People with COVID-19 have had a wide range of symptoms reported – ranging from mild symptoms to severe illness. Symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure to the virus. Anyone can have mild to severe symptoms. People with these symptoms may have COVID-19:
Fever or chills
Cough
Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
Fatigue
Muscle or body aches
Headache
New loss of taste or smell
Sore throat
Congestion or runny nose
Nausea or vomiting
Diarrhea
(Source: CDC)
Archived communications
Masking Update, May 13, 2022 -
Spanish/español
Masking Update, April 26, 2022 -
Spanish/español
Masks and Protocols Updates, March 24, 2022 -
Spanish/español
Mask Update, Mar. 11, 2022 -
Spanish/español
Mask Update, Feb. 28, 2022 -
Spanish/español
COVID Update, Jan. 14, 2022 -
Spanish/Español
COVID Update, Jan. 13, 2022 -
Spanish/Español
COVID Update, Jan 10, 2022 -
Spanish/Español
Changes in Pooled Testing Notification - Jan. 5 (
en español)
Student At-Home COVID tests - Jan. 5 (
en español)
Return to School: COVID Safety- Jan. 1 (
en español)
COVID-19
MVWSD has a variety of educational resources and protocols to help keep students and staff members safe from the transmission of COVID-19.
How you can protect yourself from COVID
Our own MVWSD school nurses give important tips in this video series. Please review and practice with your family.
Handwashing video
(
Handwashing video Spanish)
Face masks and social distancing video
(
Face masks video Spanish)
Signs and symptoms of COVID-19
(
Signs and symptoms of COVID-19 Spanish)