Safety Protocol at Green Sprout Preschool in Responce to COVID-19:

I. Parent Drop-Off and Pick-Up Protocol 

New hours 8:30 am to 4:30 pm. We will have revised hours for the winter which will be extended until the end of the spring and possibly, beyond. The limited hours will help ensure that we can be fully staffed at all times and to properly clean and disinfect our classrooms and materials at the end of the day.

Each classroom will have an entrance and exit. Please use the door that is directly attached to your sprout's classroom for drop-offs and pick-ups. The only classroom without a door that leads directly outside is the Primary Room. All parents dropping off sprouts in the Primary Room will drop-off at the main entrance. 

Parents must wear masks at drop-off and pick-up. Parents are not allowed in the building. The only people allowed in the building are guides, admin and sprouts until further notice. Please try to avoid having anyone pick up your sprout except for individuals in their immediate family.  

As soon as sprouts enter the classroom, they will be asked to wash their hands with soap and water for 20 seconds. Guides will also be practicing excessive hand-washing and will be required to wear masks at the school until further notice. 

II. Social Distancing Strategies 

We will be avoiding any intermixing of classrooms. Unfortunately, we won't have any community outside time until further notice but this will help keep each individual class in its own safe and protected bubble. The CDC encourages children to spend as much time outside as possible so we will come up with a revised schedule and rotate time on the playgrounds, however, we also have designated outdoor spaces for each classroom. 

III. Health Screenings and Healthy Hygiene Behavior

Before entering the school, every child will have their temperature taken. If your child has a temperature of 100.4 or higher, they will not be able to come to school and we will ask you to monitor their symptoms at home. Depending on their symptoms, we may ask you to have your child tested for COVID-19 before returning to Green Spout. 

If you, your child, or someone in your family tests positive for COVID-19, you need to contact me immediately so that I can take the necessary precautionary measures which includes informing the Green Sprout community, childcare licensing and the Austin Health Department. 

IV. Food Preparation and Meal Time

We will be having assigned seating for all snack and meal times moving forward. Guides will be responsible for serving snack to sprouts and we will be using paper plates and paper towels for the foreseeable future to prevent the spread of germs. 

V. Cleaning and Disinfecting the Classrooms

Our limited hours will give our guides ample time to clean and disinfect the classrooms for the sprouts. We will be cleaning with extra vigilance and will be removing excess materials and works from the classrooms, including plush, soft and porous materials (i.e. stuffed animals and play-doh).

Our new protocol measures were put in place with direction from Texas Health and Human Services and The Center for Disease Control. Below is an additional checklist for families from Texas Health and Human Services: 

https://gov.texas.gov/uploads/files/organization/opentexas/OpenTexas-Checklist-Child-Care-Families.pdf

With all of that in mind, I want to also stress the importance of continuing to practice social distancing, wearing masks when in an enclosed space (i.e. the grocery store), washing hands frequently and making safe and responsible choices. We are not only responsible for our small family units at this time, but we are now all responsible for each other's safety. Please be mindful of this moving forward in the months to come.

---

Here are some links to articles in regards to Coronavirus and how it has impacted children in schools and at childcare centers: 

I. The New York Times: The Daily - Four New Insights About the Coronavirus ​        podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9yc3MuYXJ0MTkuY29tL3RoZS1kYWlseQ/episode/Z2lkOi8vYXJ0MTktZXBpc29kZS1sb2NhdG9yL1YwLzhlVUZYa1VCTzB4NUNIaGUwUFg1YzJJaW8yYktGaEJDSWdfakZVTDRZTzQ?hl=en&ved=2ahUKEwjQi6_l673qAhVPiqwKHaF-ABQQieUEegQIChAE&ep=6

II. The Washington Post - How Fauci and 5 Other Health Specialists Deal with COVID-19 Risks In Their Everyday Lives 
 www.washingtonpost.com/health/how-fauci-5-other-health-specialists-deal-with-covid-19-risks-in-their-everyday-   lives/2020/07/02/d4665ed6-b6fb-11ea-a510-55bf26485c93_story.html

III. The New York Times - We Have to Focus on Opening Schools, Not Bars 
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/01/opinion/coronavirus-schools.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage

IV. NPR - What Parents Can Learn From Childcare Centers That Stayed Open During Lockdowns 
https://www.npr.org/2020/06/24/882316641/what-parents-can-learn-from-child-care-centers-that-stayed-open-during-lockdowns

​V. RVIM: The Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment 
https://www.rivm.nl/en/novel-coronavirus-covid-19/children-and-covid-19