decision-making matrix
What do I do if...
- The wellness tracker says my child is safe to go in but I feel they are not well?
- The wellness tracker says to keep my child home but I think my child is fine?
- My child has a fever of 100.4 or higher but I believe it is due to something other than COVID-19
- My child has no symptoms, but a household member with no symptoms has been asked to isolate due to close contact with a COVID patient
- My child has no symptoms but has been informed they were in close contact with a positive case (not due to cohort closure)
- My child has no symptoms, but their cohort has been asked to stay home for 14 days
- My child has no symptoms but a household member is exhibiting symptoms that I suspect are COVID-19
- My child has no symptoms, but another household member has a confirmed diagnosis
- My child is showing COVID symptoms, and an adult at home has a suspected or confirmed diagnosis
- My child has a confirmed diagnosis
- A teacher has a suspected diagnosis
- Teacher has a confirmed case
- Emerging health conditions are such that the campus is not deemed safe for continued operations or our academic goals cannot be met in-person
- State or local government mandates school closure
The wellness tracker says my child is safe to go in but I feel they are not well?
The wellness tracker says to keep my child home but I think my child is fine?
My child has a fever of 100.4 or higher but I believe it is due to something other than COVID-19
My child has no symptoms, but a household member with no symptoms has been asked to isolate due to close contact with a COVID patient
My child has no symptoms but has been informed they were in close contact with a positive case (not due to cohort closure)
My child has no symptoms, but their cohort has been asked to stay home for 14 days
My child has no symptoms but a household member is exhibiting symptoms that I suspect are COVID-19
My child has no symptoms, but another household member has a confirmed diagnosis
My child is showing COVID symptoms, and an adult at home has a suspected or confirmed diagnosis
My child has a confirmed diagnosis
A teacher has a suspected diagnosis
Teacher has a confirmed case
Emerging health conditions are such that the campus is not deemed safe for continued operations or our academic goals cannot be met in-person
State or local government mandates school closure
It is important to note the following:
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While Bernard Zell has done everything possible to eliminate risk, no environment can be totally risk-free. Please click here to read our notice of risk of in-person instruction.
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CDC, Illinois Department of Public Health, and Chicago Department of Public Health update their guidance very frequently. BZ will update its own guidance accordingly and seek to provide clarification when guidance conflicts or is ambiguous.
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A wellness tracker will provide guidance around staying at home, but it does not diagnose COVID-19.
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Cold symptoms and COVID-19 symptoms in children are extremely similar. Because of this, a wellness tracker is as likely to flag a student with multiple cold symptoms and allergies as COVID-19. We ask that parents and faculty exercise an abundance of caution and keep both the student and siblings home, and contact your physician.
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The Chicago Department of Public Health now recommends that all symptomatic students be tested for COVID-19.
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A rapid test is not considered sufficient to return the student to school, and we ask that students wait to return pending a standard molecular PCR test.
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Faculty and parents will be informed if they or their student has had a close contact with someone with a confirmed or suspected diagnosis of COVID-19 -- this is defined as a primary exposure. We do not report to families if your child has had a secondary exposure, i.e., that they have been in contact with someone who has had a primary exposure, but is not a suspected or diagnosed case of COVID-19. We will inform the school broadly when we have a case, but no specific identifying information will be provided.
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Close contact is defined by the CDC as an encounter within 6’ feet for more than 15 minutes cumulatively, starting from 48 hours before symptom onset or specimen collection of a confirmed diagnosis. Direct contact (such as being sneezed on) may also qualify as close contact even if the encounter was less than 15 minutes. Please visit cdc.gov and Illinois State Board of Education for more information on what qualifies as close contact.
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Close contact definitions have been modified for schools where there is consistent masking.
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For students in the indoor classroom setting, contacts who were within 3 to 6 feet of an infected student do not require quarantine as long as both the case and the contact were consistently masked. If they were not consistently masked, then close contacts are classroom students who were within 6 feet of the infected student for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period.
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In general, individuals who are solely exposed to a confirmed case while outdoors should not be considered close contacts.
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It is important to note then that in some divisions, students and faculty in a cohort may not always meet the definition of close contact (primary exposure) if consistent masking and social distancing is maintained. Per ISBE/IDPH guidance, if someone in the cohort tests positive, only students or faculty who were not consistently masked within 3 feet for more than 15 minutes need to isolate.
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Self-isolation for a contact of a contact (e.g., siblings or family members) is not required nor recommended by IDPH, CDPH, or the CDC. We ask that an exposed student isolate within the home; e.g., not share utensils, wear masks even in the home if 6' distancing is not possible, and have a dedicated bathroom and bedroom. We will be asking siblings to stay home if these isolation guidelines cannot be maintained.
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The BZ Nurse can also evaluate close contacts to determine if they are eligible for modified quarantine or test-to-stay options.
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We strongly recommend that anyone who has had a primary exposure be tested 5-9 days after that exposure for COVID-19. Testing before that 5-9 day window may result in a false negative. Testing will not, however, release a student from quarantine.
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Always contact your family physician to let them know if you have sought testing and, if returning after a positive diagnosis, confirm your ability to return to school.
For further guidance, please review IDPH’s guidance on close contact and isolation as well as IDPH/ISBE Exclusion Decision Tree.
Wellness FAQs
- Q: Will there be an online learning option for students required to stay home or whose parents are not yet comfortable sending their children back to school?
- Q: How do I notify the school if my child has been exposed to COVID or if they or a member of our family tests positive? How will I be notified if a member of the school community or my child’s cohort tests positive for COVID?
- Q: Do I have to quarantine for two weeks before the start of school? What if my family has a vacation planned to Wisconsin, Florida, California or any of the other states currently covered under Chicago’s Emergency Travel Order?
- Q: How will students and teachers remain safe in an indoor environment for the full day? What steps have you taken to clean and circulate air throughout the school facility?
- Q: Is it recommended that parents not enroll their children in extracurricular programs, sports leagues or have playdates with individuals outside of their Bernard Zell cohort?
- Q: Do students and faculty need to have a negative COVID-19 test in order to attend school?
- Q: Will children be screened upon arrival to school?
- Q: How will the school handle a student who is coughing, exhibits cold symptoms or has seasonal allergies?
- Q: Will there be a separate area in the nurse's office for routine health concerns, removed from those that might present with symptoms of COVID?
- Q: Is there a policy on mask wearing for students?
- Q: What happens if my student forgets to bring a mask? Will the school provide one?
- Q: Have face shields been deemed safe/protective?
- Q: How many students are allowed to be in a single classroom during instruction?
- Q: How long are young students going to be expected to sit in their assigned seats in their classrooms?
- Q: Will art rooms and music rooms be able to be used for class as normal?
- Q: Will you still be allowing parent volunteers into the school building?