Health and Safety

At Launch, collaboration with families is one of our highest priorities.  We know that to best support our student we must know and collaborate with families.  During these challenging times, we want to ensure that we keep family communication and collaboration stronger than ever, while also ensuring that we support our entire community in remaining healthy and safe.  As such, we are updating our policies for all visitors to the building.  Our intention in implementing these policies is to ensure the health and safety of our students, staff and families, which is always our #1 priority.  The intention is NOT to discourage family participation in the life of the school.  We encourage all families to take advantage of the many ways we offer to engage with the school, even in a remote setting.  The policies and procedures below apply to all visitors to the building.

• Families who wish to meet with teachers or school administrators are encouraged to call or email to schedule a virtual appointment.  Virtual appointments, scheduled through Google Meet or Zoom, are the safest and fastest way to meet with any member of the school community.
• While safety protocols are still being implemented to combat the coronavirus, family visits to the school will be by appointment only, and then only authorized if there is a critical need to do so that cannot be met with a virtual meeting.  This will be rare.
• We will be establishing ways for families to “visit” classrooms and see student classes, presentations and performances virtually, to ensure that families are still connected to the life of the school.
• If a visit to the school is approved, all visitors must first undergo a temperature check prior to being granted access to the building, and all visitors must wear a mask at all times and must maintain social distancing.  Any visitor unable to meet these requirements will not be granted access to the school building.

• At all times students and staff must maintain 6 feet of separation between other persons.
• The school model has been modified to limit the number of students in the building.  All classes are taught remotely and families may select to keep their children home or send them to school to a personalized learning station.
• The total number of students coming to the school on a daily basis will not exceed the recommended maximum number determined by the NYCDOE
• If more families select to send their children to the building than can safely be there, Launch will work to establish alternate sites.
• Students who come to school to log on to their synchronous remote classes will be assigned to classrooms with no more than 10 total students.
• Personalized learning stations are set up to ensure 6 feet of space between students and supervising staff members and all desks are facing away from one another or facing the wall.
• Movement throughout the building will be limited and students will remain in their assigned classrooms throughout the day.
• Tape will be placed on the floor to indicate proper social distancing in all appropriate areas, including arrival areas, bathrooms, hallways and classrooms.
• Breakfast and lunch procedures will ensure that students are a minimum of 6 feet away from one another while they eat.

These procedures only apply to students whose families elect to send them to the building to be supervised while they log on to their remote instruction, as well as supervising staff members.

Staff Arrival Procedures

• Staff Arrival Time: 7:40-7:55
• Entrance: Main Building Entrance for PS 243
• Procedure:
  • Step 1 - Check-In using the automated Launch clock-in system and answer the daily screening questions if you have not already completed them
  • Step 2 - Temperature Check - All adults will be screened
  • Step 3 - Mask Distribution - All adults receive a mask if they do not have one

Student Arrival and Dismissal Procedures

• Student arrival will take place between 8:00-9:00am each day to allow for social distancing during arrival procedures
• Each grade level will have a dedicated entrance for arrival and dismissal
• All families will be required to answer daily screening questions prior to arrival
• All students will undergo a temperature check upon arrival and will receive a mask, if they do not already have one of their own.
• Specific arrival and dismissal schedules for students can be accessed HERE.

• Students will receive nearly all of their instruction, as well as breakfast and lunch, online in the same classroom each day with the same pod of up to 10 students.
• Self-contained students who are learning in the building may transition for recess and PE if the weather allows.
• When students do transition, they will line up and move through the hallway and down the stairs in a socially distanced manner, with students keeping 6 feet in between themselves and others in line.

• Common spaces, such as the cafeteria, auditorium and gym may be used on a rotating basis with PS 243, Launch’s co-located school
• The gym will not be used for physical education
• Restrooms will generally be assigned for use on a rotating basis and by pod.
  • If a student needs the restroom at a time other than the scheduled times for their pod, they will be granted access so long as it is not already in use.  Specific times for use are meant as a guide to help streamline usage.

• Breakfast and lunch will be provided by the NYCDOE 
• Launch will rely on NYCDOE SchoolFood to ensure that service personnel follow appropriate guidelines for safety as recommended by the NYCDOH.  The school will train school staff as needed to reinforce the protocols adopted by food service and custodial personnel to ensure healthy, safe meals and the least disruption to the instructional day.

• Launch will continue to provide metrocards issued from the NYCDOE for any student who lives more than one mile from the school and elects to come to school for supervision while they engage in remote learning.
• For any student whose family elects in-person supervision at the school or any alternate site, Launch strongly recommends walking to school or the alternate site for any student who is safely able to do so.
• For any student who must take public transportation, the wearing of masks, social distancing, and hand and respiratory hygiene are strongly encouraged.

School Policy and Procedure for Providing Accommodations for Students and Staff Who Are High Risk or Living With a Person Who is High Risk

Most staff will teach their classes remotely from home and will not often by required to be in the building.  For times when staff will need to be in the building, the school will take the following steps:

• Accommodation request forms will be distributed to all staff and families.
• Any staff member who requests an accommodation will be granted one should the request fall within the accommodation guidelines.
• For those planned activities that are in-person, any request by a family who wishes for a student to not participate in-person for any reason related to the COVID-19 outbreak will be granted.

School Policy for Afterschool Programs

• Launch is working with its after-school provider, Good Shepherd Services, to determine the feasibility of providing safe afterschool options for students.
• Launch will make this determination in conjunction with compliance with all applicable regulations and in collaboration with the NYCDOE.  Any afterschool program that is offered will follow the same guidelines for exposure prevention -- masks, social distancing, limited cohorts of students -- as followed during the school day to the extent possible as recommended by NYCDOH.
   

• All students, staff and visitors will be required to wear masks at all times while inside the building and while on school property.  This is true even while maintaining social distancing of 6 feet or greater from others throughout the day.
• Masks will be available for distribution each morning and will be a standard part of morning arrival.
• Students may where their own mask brought from home as long as it meets the mask requirements shared with families (washed if it is a cloth mask, completely covers mouth and nose).  If the mask does not comply, students will be required to take a new mask upon arrival.
• If a student needs a new mask during the day, a mask will be brought to the student by a member of the office staff.
• If a student, staff member or visitor refuses to wear a mask, they will not be allowed to enter the building.  If a student removes a mask during the day, outside of designated “mask break” times and without a medical exemption or other clear and reasonable need to do so, and refuses to put it back on, the student will need to go home and will only be allowed to return with a mask.
• Students who are exempt from wearing a mask for health purposes or other reasons will engage in instruction each day that is fully remote.
• Mask breaks will be built into the schedule two times per day (not including lunch, during which time students will not wear masks).  During these brief mask breaks, all students and staff will maintain social distancing of at least 6 feet. 

• Launch will ensure that it maintains on-site, every day, enough masks to distribute to every student and staff member that is scheduled to be in the building, with a limited additional supply for visitors.
• Any staff member that is assigned to engage in an arrival procedure that puts that staff member within close contact of students (ex. taking students temperatures with no-touch thermometers) will be provided with additional PPE such as a face shield or other protective equipment.

• The school will instruct students during the first weeks of school on proper hand and respiratory hygiene, as per guidance from the CDC.
• Students will be instructed to wash hands at the sinks in their rooms upon entering the classroom in the morning, after lunch, and any time after they use the bathroom.
• Students will use hand sanitizer at the start of each block.

• Each student that is supervised in the building will have their own personal learning station that only that student will use (no other students will sit anywhere other than their own station)
• Students will wipe down their own personal learning stations in the morning when they arrive, after lunch, and in the afternoon before they leave
• Teachers will wipe down all other hard surfaces in a room at the end of the day after students are dismissed (tables or chairs they have used, counter space, etc.).
• Any student who is coming to the building to learn will be assigned their own computer. Students will wipe down keyboards at the start and end of each day as an added safety precaution.
• For multi-subject students who are learning in a classroom each day, teachers will wipe down desks and chairs in the morning and afternoon each day, and students who are able to do so will wipe down their own desks and chairs after lunch.

• All classes will be taught remotely for most students and materials will not be shared.  For self-contained students learning in the building, materials will not be shared and each student will be responsible for maintaining the materials provided. 
• For students learning in the building, any library books that are checked out will be disinfected with Clorox wipes upon return
• For students learning in the building, paper will not be passed during class.  All paper materials will be distributed by the teacher or picked up by students using the classroom procedure.
   

• The school will instruct students during the first weeks of school on proper hand and respiratory hygiene.  The school will instruct staff and students using CDC guidance on hand washing and guidance on respiratory hygiene and cough etiquette.
• The school will clearly post signage in highly visible locations, including entrances, classrooms, restrooms, hallways and administrative offices that promote protective measures and describe how to stop the spread.

• As a public school that is co-located in a NYCDOE building Launch will rely on NYCDOE custodial engineers and follow directions from NYC Division of School Facilities (DSF) to ensure that ongoing cleaning and disinfection of all classrooms., shared spaces and outdoor facilities meets standards as prescribed by the NYCDOH and CDC.
• Launch will engage in additional cleaning and disinfecting as noted previously in this document.
   

• Families will be instructed on how to observe for signs of COVID-19 
• Each morning, prior to arrival, all staff members and families who are sending children to the building to log on for their remote instruction will be asked to affirm that they are healthy and are not demonstrating any known signs or symptoms of COVID-19, as well as periodically answer other questions about possible exposure to COVID-19.  Any student or staff member stating that they are not healthy will be required to stay home.
• Temperature checks will occur each morning as part of the arrival routine for all students who are coming to the building.
• Staff will also be required to undergo a temperature check upon arrival.
• Any student or staff member with an elevated temperature of 100 degrees or more will either be sent directly home or will be sent to a dedicated isolation room until such time that they can be picked up.
• If a student or staff member begins to feel sick during the day, they will be sent to the nurse to be evaluated and, if sick, will be sent immediately home or wait in the isolation room until such time as they can be picked up.

• Staff will observe for signs of illness during the day, including the following, as per CDC guidance:
  • 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
• If a student is exhibiting signs or symptoms of sickness, they will be escorted, using social distancing, immediately to the nurse.  Based on the nurse’s assessment, the student may be sent to a dedicated isolation room in the school until the student can be picked up by a parent or guardian.  If the nurse is not available, students will be sent home for follow up with a healthcare provider.
• If a staff member is exhibiting symptoms, they will be sent immediately home and next steps will be determined based on symptoms and Launch screening policies.
   

• Launch will continue to practice required safety drills, including fire drills, lockdown drills and shelter-in-place drills.
• These drills will be modified so that they are practiced while maintaining social distancing during the drill.
• All students and staff who are in the building will receive training on how to properly conduct the drill while maintaining social distancing.
• If an actual safety-related event occurred, such as a fire or a lockdown, social distancing would not be required to be maintained.

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• Launch will consult with its assigned NYCDOH nurse to determine which staff and students presenting symptoms should be referred for COVID-19 tests.  COVID-19 testing is available across New York city and unless determined otherwise by NYCDOH, students and staff will continue to use their own doctors or clinics/hospitals of their choice.
• If Launch students and staff were to require large-scale testing, the school will follow directions from NYCDOH regarding where testing should happen and communication to the school community.
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• Launch will follow all metrics as set by NYCDOH if cases in NYC are increasing beyond an acceptable level and modify any in-person contact with students and families as necessary.
• Because Launch’s instruction will be fully remote, student learning should proceed smoothly in the case of a district-wide shutdown.

If a student or staff member has a confirmed case of COVID-19, the school will take the following steps:

• The school building will close for 24 hours for a deep cleaning, with no disruption to remote learning.
• The school will contact the NYC Department of Health, if this has not already taken place, and the DOH will conduct contact tracing.

A student or staff member with a confirmed case of COVID-19 may return to the building after the following is true:

• It has been at least ten days since the individual first had symptoms
• It has been at least three days since the individual has had a fever (without using fever reducing medicine); and
• It has been at least three days since the individual’s symptoms improved, including cough and shortness of breath

If the student or staff member is confirmed to NOT have COVID-19, then they may return to the building after the following is true:

• Once there is no fever, without the use of fever reducing medicines, and they have felt well for 24 hours;
• If they have been diagnosed with another condition and has a healthcare provider written note stating they are clear to return to school.
   

• Students or staff that have been exposed to COVID-19 will be required to stay out of the school for 14 days.  Launch will consult with the NYCDOH or NYC Trace to determine who is an “exposed” individual and must stay out of school.

• The school will cooperate with NYC’s Test and Trace Corp. program and any other mandates required by the NYCDOH.

• Launch will work with the NYCDOH to determine what conditions would trigger a classroom, section or full school closure and the amount of time of the closure.

• DOH will provide all the PPE and supplies necessary for outfitting the school health office, including but not limited to eye protection, gloves, gowns and masks.