COVID-19 (2021-22)

Policies & Guidelines

Ensuring the health and safety of our students and staff is always our top priority. While we cannot predict the impact of new COVID-19 variants or the rate of community spread that may occur, we continue to consult with Atrium Health regularly, monitor CDC guidelines and data from the NC Health Department, and inform our community if we need to adjust our plans due to the fluid nature of this pandemic and to minimize risk.

The following measures apply to all our students, faculty/staff, and community members.

Vaccines

We strongly encourage vaccinations for all students, faculty, and staff who are eligible. Employees who are not vaccinated are required to be tested weekly for COVID-19.
Per Atrium Health and the CDC, the vaccine helps to prevent community spread and widespread absences and minimizes risk for vulnerable community members.
If your child has been vaccinated, please update this information in Magnus as soon as possible after vaccination. Understanding the percentage of our population that is vaccinated allows us to make appropriate decisions.

Masks

Masks are optional for students, employees, and visitors, including while riding the bus. Please feel free to continue to mask if desired.
We will continue to monitor our policy against our vaccination data, as well as data on community transmission, and adjust our protocols if necessary.

Physical Distancing

While maximizing distance and striving for 3 feet physical distance where possible is to be maintained, students in school gatherings do not need to maintain 3 feet distance when the school and community spread levels are low.
Overnight trips or events where three feet distancing cannot be maintained will require vaccination or negative PCR test for participation.

Screenings and Contact Tracing

The Magnus App and daily temperature checks are not required; however, we will continue to rely on the full cooperation of parents to immediately report positives to our nurses and keep children home if they exhibit any signs of COVID-19 or other illness.
Your pledge to keep our community safe also helps our nurses to continue the effective contact tracing protocols we instituted last year.

Visitors

Visitors and volunteers (including non-Country Day students) allowed on campus and in-class following school protocols.

Please see below for more details.

COVID-19 Vaccine

We strongly encourage vaccinations for all students, faculty, and staff who are eligible. Per Atrium Health and the CDC, the vaccine helps to prevent community spread and widespread absences and minimizes risk for vulnerable community members.
Currently, the COVID-19 vaccine is not required of students, however, it will continue to be strongly encouraged.
If and when your child gets vaccinated, please update the information in Magnus as soon as possible after vaccination. Understanding the percentage of our population that is vaccinated allows us to make appropriate decisions.
Overnight trips or events where three feet cannot be maintained will require vaccination for participation (or a negative COVID-19 test).

Screening | Contact Tracing | When to Stay Home

As stated by the latest information in the Tool Kit, the impact of individual contact tracing on transmission during this stage of the pandemic may be limited in school settings. The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services has made changes to its COVID-19 guidelines in schools stating individual contact tracing and exclusion from school of asymptomatic people after an identified exposure (regardless of location of exposure) is no longer recommended, effective February 21, 2022. Below is an outline of updates in our policies based on this new information. As always, please reach out to us anytime with questions.

What does this mean?

All close contacts will still be notified by the Nurses, and the COVID-19 Dashboard will continue to be updated regularly.
BUT students or employees do not have to stay home after an exposure.
After an exposure, mask-wearing for 10 days is recommended.
Students, employees, and visitors should NOT come to campus if you have tested positive for COVID-19 or have symptoms.
You only have to communicate to the school if you become symptomatic or test positive (nurses@charlottecountryday.org).

Our best risk-mitigation tool is staying home with symptoms. While exposure management precautions such as masking and quarantine requirements are being scaled back based on the guidance of the health department, we want to emphasize that it is more important than ever to stay home and call your doctor at the onset of any new symptoms.

Gatherings and Events

Field Trips

Day field trips within Charlotte or close surrounding areas are allowed in cohorts. If physical distancing cannot be maintained, vaccinations/negative COVID-19 test if eligible is required.
Vaccines or a negative PCR Covid test are required for overnight trips where three feet of distancing cannot be maintained, including athletics.
Field trips must maintain cohorts and ensure places visited follow similar COVID-19 precautions as the school.

Events and Gatherings

Indoor and outdoor events are allowed at this time with no restrictions based on the low community spread level.
All events must be approved by the Interim Head of School.
We continue to assess and develop policies related to events with parents and guests.

COVID-19 Dashboard

Log into the Parent or Employee Portal to see the COVID-19 Dashboard.

Contact Our Nurses

Feel free to reach out to our nurses with questions or concerns:

Cannon Campus

Gwen Nix | E-mail | 704-943-4568

Bissell Campus

Wendy Barber | E-mail | 704-943-4830

After School Hours

E-mail: nurses@charlottecountryday.org

Useful Resources

Where to Get Your COVID-19 Vaccination
Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC)
NC Department Health & Human Services (NC DHHS)
Glossary of COVID-19 Terms

Guiding Principle

Our mission, values, and affirmation of community guide us while we work to mitigate risk to our community given the current global pandemic. We are committed to upholding Country Day’s excellence across all of our plans and prepared to transition through them when and if the situation necessitates.

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