Supporting the Health and Safety of Our Community

Policy Scope:

Full community

Policy Owner:

Scott Erickson, Head of School

Last Updated:

Tuesday, March 9, at 9:00 a.m.

Starting points

As a community, we are all committed to doing all we can to protect each other’s health and safety. To that end, we have established several sets of guidelines for all PBS families and employees who are coming to campus. (Those electing the 100% distance learning program are not subject to these expectations.)

We have articulated some specific guidelines around travel.
We have provided guidance around the creation of “learning pods.”
We have also provided guidance around “social pods,” attending gatherings, and other risky behaviors.

The aim of these policies is not to restrict the freedom of our employees or our families, but instead to ensure that we are taking all the necessary steps to keep each other safe. Each requires a degree of self-assessment of risk. We trust that families and employees will complete that self-assessment with the community’s best interests and the Statement of Responsibility in mind.

Policies for mitigating risk to the community

Revised policy on travel

This policy was most recently published with revisions on January 29, 2021. It is updated from the original version published August 13, 2020, in the Healthy Together FAQ.

We ask the following of our families and employees:

Think carefully about engaging in travel that is not urgent, necessary, or job-required.
There are no limitations on activity not defined as “risky travel,” below.
Self-isolate following any “risky travel” for a minimum of five days. The self-isolation may end after 14 days, or after receiving a negative result on a COVID-19 PCR test taken five or more days following the end of travel.
Self-isolate after a member of your household returns following any “risky travel” by following the same expectations enumerated in (2) above, unless that household member commits to a strict quarantine away from others in the household who will be coming to campus. That strict quarantine may end after 14 days or when the household member receives a negative result on a COVID-19 PCR test taken five or more days following the end of travel.
Self-isolate after coming into “close contact” (see below) with someone who has recently engaged in “risky travel.” This self-isolation may end after 14 days, or after receiving a negative result on a COVID-19 PCR test taken five or more days following the end of travel.

“Risky travel,” for the purposes of this policy, is defined as:

Travel by commercial airline or cruise ship.
Travel by other mass transit options (train, bus) where the duration of the travel is in excess of two hours or where face coverings are not required.
Travel that involves large gatherings of people where face coverings, physical distancing, and regular hand-washing are not being consistently practiced.
Travel that would lead federal, state, or local officials where you reside to require self-quarantine.

“Close contact,” for the purposes of this policy, is defined as:

Being less than 6 feet away from a person while both people are wearing masks for 15 minutes or more in a 24-hour period.
Being less than 6 feet away from a person while either person is not wearing a mask for any amount of time.
Being in an enclosed space with a person at any distance away while either person is not wearing a mask for 15 minutes or more in a 24-hour period.
Making direct physical contact.

There are no specific geographic limitations on travel as a part of this school policy. Federal, state, and local officials may advise or require travel restrictions above and beyond these requirements. In those cases, government recommendations and requirements are paramount and must be followed.

Students: If your child is feeling well enough for learning while they are quarantined after travel, they should join in on distance learning for the duration. If they are not feeling well enough to engage in distance learning, they should not attempt to do so.

Employees: If it is feasible for you to do your job remotely and you are feeling well enough to do so while you are quarantined after travel, your manager may authorize you to work remotely for the duration. If you are not feeling well enough to work or are not able to do so remotely, there are new, COVID-specific leave policies in the Employee Handbook that will take effect. Contact your manager and Raveena Martin for more information on leave policies.

Revised policy on learning pods

This policy was most recently published with revisions on September 28, 2020. It is updated from the original version published August 10, 2020, in the document Explaining the 2020-2021 Schedule. There is only one change from that original version, highlighted for easy reference.

Can my family form a learning pod out of my home during distance learning weeks?

Yes, but please read this full answer for required guidelines.

Many families have asked if the school is supportive of creating so-called learning pods at home, so that small groups of students can learn together and interact in physical proximity. This idea is a creative solution to a challenging situation, particularly the need to accommodate child care needs, and we are generally supportive of this approach. At the same time, it raises some issues of inclusivity and equity that we are sensitive to and want to address. There are also impacts on classroom management and educational delivery that our faculty would benefit from managing at the outset of the year. We also need to be certain that members of the community are doing their utmost to align with PBS’s strategic principle to establish a baseline for health and safety.

Given all of that, families may organize learning pods based out of their homes, as long as these pods strictly adhere to the following principles and guidelines:

Creating welcoming, inclusive classrooms is a priority at PBS, and we hope that this pedagogical principle will be kept top of mind if and when families develop pods. Please be mindful that other families may not have the resources, comfort level, or invitation to participate in a pod, which could cause feelings of exclusion.
What is good for students, is good for teachers, is good for families when it comes to the rules of the road for health and safety. And ongoing research has made it clear that, as a public health principle, low community prevalence of COVID-19 will directly impact how quickly we are able to safely return to campus in the K–5 program, so taking precautions is vital. Pods must observe the layers of safeguards that have been clearly outlined by the school, including physical distancing, use of face coverings, frequent hand-washing, and more.
- The following webinar from UCSF highlights the importance of following strong preventative health measures to prevent household transmission, in addition to bolstering overall community health by following state requirements: What We Know About Children and COVID-19 Transmission.
Managing a virtual classroom can be challenging, and managing in-person distractions and conflict from afar is an even greater challenge. To prevent pods from creating an in-class distraction, each student should work independently during synchronous learning. For example, if students in the same pod are logging into a Zoom class meeting, the expectation is that they will log in from separate devices, with separate headphones and microphones, ideally from different rooms.
[Revised September 28] The transition to blended learning will be complete on October 26. At that time, any at-home learning pods (preschool through 5th grade) must consist of students in the same cohort. The physical division of cohorts is important to campus safety once we begin blended learning.
Management of students in family-built learning pods is the responsibility of those families. Teachers will, as always, manage the students in their classrooms, but we cannot expect them to be responsible for any in-person social conflict that arises from learning pods.

The school will not make adjustments to assigned cohorts to accommodate home learning pods. It has been an extensive faculty-led process to design cohorts this summer, just as it is in the summer that precedes every academic year. We have been clear that cohorts take into account intricate factors – balancing academic needs, creating inclusive classrooms, and considering student work habits and social-emotional dynamics. In addition, this year the cohorts also incorporate those who have elected 100% distance learning, as well as sibling-related requests. The cohorts are settled in order to allow our faculty adequate prep time to deliver the best learning program possible. The cohorts have been intentionally designed to achieve successful learning outcomes.

Revised guidance on social pods

This policy was most recently published with revisions on September 28, 2020. It is updated from the original version published August 13, 2020, in the Healthy Together FAQ.

Understandably, parents are seeking safe social interaction for their children. Safety protocols for pods could stem from very similar guidelines to those that have already been issued by the San Mateo County, the California Department of Public Health, and the CDC – and as set forth in the Parent Manual. These are the layering of face coverings, physical distancing, handwashing, and more – which, when used in conjunction, create a baseline protocol for health and safety.

We need to stick together as a community in these goals for safety, and can continue to establish these protocols as a community – in whatever setting we are in, be it on-campus or off-campus.

The following text and graphic are pulled from the San Mateo County reopening website:

Interactions within Social Bubbles: You may interact with other individuals outside of your household in a “Social Bubble” which is defined as a group of twelve or fewer people from different households or living units who have agreed amongst themselves to only socialize with members of their group. A Social Bubble must be maintained for a minimum of three weeks. You can only be a member of one Social Bubble at a time. While face coverings and social distancing are always recommended, members of a Social Bubble are relieved of these requirements when with members of their Social Bubble in outdoor settings in the same manner as if they belonged to a single household or living unit.