Our Commitment to Keeping Students Safe

Around Campus

• Oakland School will post signage throughout campus – consistent with recommendations from the CDC and the Virginia Department of Health – to remind students and staff to:
  • Follow proper hand washing and hand sanitizing procedures;
  • Practice social distancing;
  • Follow proper coughing and sneezing etiquette;
  • Wear appropriate face coverings when entering buildings.
• Hand sanitizer and disinfectant spray bottles will be placed throughout campus.
• High-traffic areas and high-touch surfaces will be cleaned and sanitized multiple times throughout the day.
• Students, staff, and visitors will wear face masks in the presence of others and in public settings where social distancing measures, as required by Virginia law, are difficult to maintain.

Daily Arrival for Summer Program

• Students arriving between 8:00 am and 8:30 am should go to the drop-off area at the Summer Program (signs will be posted for the first few days of camp). Parents should pull into the driveway at the Summer Program and pull up to the marked temperature-screening stations and stop.
• The student’s temperature will be taken by the school nurse or a designated staff member and they will be screened for COVID symptoms while still in the car.
  • If the student’s temperature is below 100°, the student may get out of the car and report to the General Area at the summer program until class begin at 8:30 AM.
  • If the student’s temperature is 100° or higher but they are not presenting any symptoms of the COVID-19 virus, the student will be directed to go home and not return until being fever-free (without the use of fever-reducing medication) for 72 hours and with a doctor’s clearance.
  • If the student’s temperature is 100° or higher or they are presenting symptoms of the COVID-19 virus, they will be required to meet the requirements outlined in the “Returning To School” section.
• Parents shall remain in the car in the student drop-off area. If you have papers/forms to drop off or need to speak with someone at the Big House, please drive around to the Big House to park and put on a face mask before coming inside.
• For those students arriving after 8:30 am, parents shall drive directly to the Big House. Upon arrival, please park, put on a face mask, and walk your student inside to have their temperature taken.
• All staff and school visitors shall report directly to the Big House once arriving on campus to have their temperature taken.

Academic Classes

• Oakland School is preparing to have academic classes outside as much as possible to take advantage of our tranquil setting and fresh air. Classroom canopies will be installed around campus prior to the beginning of the summer program.  All students will be assigned their own clipboards and other materials for each class.  Outdoor mini-desks will be provided.  A blanket or cushion will come in handy for sitting and should be carried in the student’s backpack.
• If academic classes must be held inside due to weather or for other reasons, windows and doors will remain open for to allow for increased ventilation when possible. Classrooms will be configured according to recommended social distancing guidelines.  All staff and students will wear masks when inside.  Desks, door handles and other surfaces will be wiped down between classes.
• Each classroom – whether inside an academic building or outside under a canopy – will be stocked with hand sanitizer and disinfectant.

Summer Program Classes

• Summer program classes will be held outside as often as possible; if classes must be held inside due to inclement weather or excessive heat, alternative spaces may be utilized with windows and doors remaining open for to allow for increased ventilation.
• Equipment and supplies will be thoroughly cleaned and sanitized by residential staff between classes. High-traffic areas, such as the pool changing room, will be cleaned and disinfected between and during camp classes.
• Each summer program class will be stocked with hand sanitizer and disinfectant.

The Dining Hall

• Students and staff members will wash their hands before/after meals. An additional handwashing station has been set up outside the rear entrance to the dining room.
• All students and faculty shall enter the dining hall though the rear entrance and follow the social-distanced marks on the floor to the service area.
• Diners must fill water bottles prior to meals as cups and pitchers will not be provided during meal service.
• The food service line and a condensed salad bar will be served by masked and gloved dining employees.
• Students and faculty will wear face coverings in the dining hall unless eating.
• Multiple lunch shifts may be utilized to allow for proper social distancing depending on camp attendance and building occupancy guidelines.
• Three seating areas – the dining room, the rear porch, and the Bright Leaf picnic tables – will be available and staff members will direct students where to sit. The physical layout of the dining room has been modified to provide appropriate physical distancing.  Chairs shall not be moved in the dining hall and students and staff will only sit at marked seats on the porch and the Bright Leaf picnic tables.  During periods of inclement weather, additional seating will be made available downstairs in the Oakland Room to provide for adequate social distancing.
• At the conclusion of each meal, dining room staff will thoroughly clean and disinfect all high touch areas of the dining room.

The Barn

• All student riders will need to purchase a rain protector (Oakland School will be pre-ordering these) for your saddle to be used with each lesson.
• Oakland barn staff will take care of all tacking-up and wiping down of reins and other riding materials between classes.
• All students will have their own labeled hooks for their personal riding gear.
• Changing areas will allow for appropriate social distancing.
• Gloves will be worn for clean-up or barn work.
• Each student will be assigned a personal grooming kit.

Boarding Students

• Sleeping quarters for boarding students will be configured according to recommended social distancing guidelines. Bunk beds will not be utilized and sleeping arrangement will be organized so as to maximize individual space.  Windows will remain open – when possible – to allow for increased ventilation.
• Residential staff will be responsible for assigning restroom schedules for each dormitory so that adequate social distancing guidelines are maintained.

What To Do If You Have Or Suspect You Have COVID-19 Symptoms

At Home

• Any student or staff member who is experiencing symptoms while at home shall remain at home and notify school administration as soon as possible. The school administration will provide direction, in accordance with CDC and VDH guidelines, as to what the next steps should be before the student or employee may return to school.
• Students and staff members who are not experiencing symptoms themselves but have had close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 (or is experiencing symptoms) shall also remain at home and notify school administration for direction as soon as possible.

At School

• Any student or staff member who is experiencing symptoms of the COVID-19 virus shall report immediately to the nurse’s station where they will have their temperature taken and be evaluated by the school nurse.
  • If the individual’s temperature is 100° degrees or higher but they are not presenting any symptoms of the COVID-19 virus, the student will be directed to go home and not return until being fever-free (without the use of fever-reducing medication) for 72 hours and with a doctor’s clearance.
  • Any individual who has a fever of 100°F or greater or is experiencing any COVID-19 or flu-like symptoms will be required to leave school until the requirements outlined in the “Returning To School” section are met. Students experiencing symptoms will be kept isolated in separate rooms at the nurse’s station until a parent or guardian can pick them up.

The Director of Operations, in consultation with the Head of School and the School Nurse and following the guidance set forth by the BRHD, will have the discretion to make the necessary adjustments to this protocol based on an individuals’ overall symptoms.

What If There Is A Positive Case at Oakland School?

Should a confirmed, positive case of the COVID-19 virus be identified at Oakland School, the following protocol will be followed:

• Oakland School will report the test result to the Blue Ridge Health District (BRHD) of the Virginia Department of Health so that their staff can then investigate and begin to manage the necessary contact tracing process.
• School administration, following the guidance of the local office of the Virginia Department of Health, will notify parents and staff members who may have come in close contact with the infected individual (for the purposes of this plan, a close contact is defined as any individual who was within six feet of an infected person for at least fifteen minutes). Oakland School will keep confidential the identity of the infected individual in accordance with the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and other applicable federal and Virginia laws and regulations.  Students and staff members identified as having come into close contact with the infected individual will be directed to remain at home until the requirements outlined in the “Returning To School” section are met.
• In the event that a staff member must remain at home for isolation, their classes and/or duties will be divided and re-assigned to the remaining Oakland staff until they return to school.
• Areas of the campus used by the infected individual will be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected in accordance with CDC and Virginia Department of Health guidelines.
• Any decisions involving potential temporary closures will be made in coordination with the Virginia Department of Health.

Returning To School

In accordance with guidelines issued by the CDC and the Virginia Department of Health, Oakland School has established the following procedure to determine when students or staff members who have either tested positive for the virus or screened positive for COVID-19 symptoms may return to school.  Prior to returning to school, any student or staff member must provide documentation from a healthcare provider clearing them to return to school AND meet one of the following two requirements:

• Testing-based requirements: any student or staff member who is known or suspected to be infected with the COVID-19 virus may not return to school until resolution of fever (without the use of fever-reducing medication) and improvement of any respiratory symptoms (such as cough or shortness of breath) AND a negative COVID-19 test.

OR

• Symptom-based requirement: any student or staff member who is known or suspected to be infected with the COVID-19 virus may not return to school until at least three (3) days have passed since recovery (resolution of fever without the use of fever-reducing medication and improvement in respiratory symptoms;) AND, at least ten (10) days have passed since symptoms first appeared.

Any student or staff member who is known to be infected but is asymptomatic, may not return to school until at least ten (10) days have passed since the date of their positive COVID-19 test assuming they have not subsequently developed symptoms.  If symptoms have developed, they must meet either the testing-based or symptom-based requirement before returning to school.

Students or staff members who are experiencing certain symptoms of the COVID-19 virus that may be attributable to another illness or conditions – such as seasonal allergies or the common cold – may return to school after being fever-free (without the use of fever-reducing medication) for 72 hours and with a doctor’s clearance after consulting with school administration (to include the Head of School, the Director of Operations and the School Nurse).

The Director of Operations, in consultation with the Head of School and the School Nurse and following the guidance set forth by the BRHD, will have the discretion to make the necessary adjustments to this protocol based on an individuals’ overall symptoms.