Updated AMA Health and Masking Policy
Masking
All children age 2 and older will be required to wear a mask at all times (indoor and outdoor) at school, except:
● During naptime (students will be spaced 3 ft apart and must stay on their mat)
● When eating or drinking
Close contacts are defined as someone who:
● Was within 6 feet of a confirmed positive case AND
● Unmasked indoors AND
● For a total of 15 minutes over a 24 hour period starting two days prior to the onset of the confirmed
case’s symptoms or, if asymptomatic, 2 days prior to the confirmed case’s test date
Requesting pick-up:
Children will be sent home (with a negative COVID test required to return) if a child is experiencing congestion
and/or runny nose combined with any of the below symptoms:
● Fever or chills
●
Severe or persistent cough
●
Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
●
Fatigue
●
Muscle or body aches
●
Headache
●
New loss of taste or smell
●
Sore throat
●
Nausea or vomiting
●
Diarrhea
Procedures for when a child or staff member tests positive:
● Areas used by the child or staff member will be thoroughly disinfected.
● AMA SL will notify classroom families and staff as soon as possible. The notification will include
information on symptom monitoring, what to do if symptoms develop, COVID-19 prevention strategies,
and information on what the school is doing in response to the positive case.
● The COVID-positive individual should remain in home isolation until the following conditions are met:
○ Persons with COVID-19 who have symptoms:
■ At least 5 days have passed since symptom onset and
■ At least 24 hours have passed since resolution of fever without the use of fever-reducing
medications and
■ Are no longer experiencing symptoms and/or symptoms have improved
■ After 5 days, persons should remain masked both indoors and outdoors for an additional
5 days
○ Persons with COVID-19 who are asymptomatic may discontinue isolation 5 days after the date
of their first positive test and remain masked for an additional 5 days.
Rev 1/2022
Procedures for children or staff who are close contacts to a confirmed COVID-19 case:
● Close contacts (as defined above) to a case of COVID-19 should be quarantined at home for 5 days, as
long as they remain asymptomatic.*
● Siblings, parents/guardians, and other household members of the case who are deemed to be close
contacts should also be quarantined.*
● After completing 5 calendar days in quarantine, asymptomatic contacts may return to school.**
○ *If the close contact develops symptoms, COVID-19 testing is recommended at the onset of
symptoms.
○ **If the close contact remains asymptomatic, COVID-19 testing (RT - PCR, antigen not
accepted) is recommended 5 days after exposure to a positive case. If this test is negative, the
close contact can return to school after 5 days of quarantine.
● If the close contact becomes symptomatic during quarantine, they will be managed as a probable case
(if not tested) or a confirmed case (if they test positive).
○ Probable and confirmed cases should:
■ complete 5 days of isolation from the date of first symptom onset (10 days if they
continue demonstrating symptoms)
■ demonstrate improvement of symptoms and
■ be fever-free for 24 hours without use of fever-reducing medications
before they are allowed to return to school.
Close contacts who have had lab-confirmed COVID-19 in the past 90 days are not required to
quarantine.
Close contacts who are vaccinated and remain asymptomatic are not required to be quarantined.
When to Quarantine
The CDC recommends reducing quarantine from 10 days to 5 days for those who are close contacts to a
COVID-19 case and have no symptoms, but individuals should continue to mask for 5 days after quarantine
ends.
Per updated guidelines, students and staff in the classroom setting do not require quarantine as long as both
the case and the contact were consistently masked and, in general, individuals who are solely exposed to a
confirmed case while outdoors are not considered close contacts.
**Classrooms will not close based on these guidelines.
Individuals who have received two doses of either Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech, or one dose of Johnson &
Johnson, as well as their booster do not need to quarantine after close contact with a case, but should wear a
mask for 10 days after the exposure.
Additionally, individuals who have not yet reached the 6-month mark to receive a booster for Modern or
Pfizer-BioNTech, or two months for Johnson & Johnson, do not need to quarantine after close contact with a
case, but should wear a mask for 10 days after the exposure.
Rev 1/2022
If a student or caregiver in the household tests positive for COVID-19, everyone in the household must isolate
for 5 days from the start of illness; non fully vaccinated household members must quarantine 10 days (from
date of last contact or end of case’s isolation).
Procedures for handwashing:
● Staff and students must wash hands after contact with other staff and / or students, along with regular
invitations to wash hands throughout the day.
● Staff must wash hands immediately upon arrival into school and when emptying the dishwasher - 20
seconds with soap.
● Staff must wash hands and wear gloves before preparing snack and lunch plates for students.
● Students must wash hands immediately upon entering the classroom and before and after snack and
lunch.
Procedures for cleaning and sanitizing:
● Classroom staff disinfect all materials and high touch points with disinfectant and a microfiber towel.
● Wipe desks, chairs, and common area surfaces with disinfectant and a microfiber towel.
● Wipe down all common area touch points throughout the building.
Travel Policy
AMA SL no longer has a school-specific travel policy and are following the City of Chicago guidelines for
travel, which can be found here:
https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/sites/covid-19/home/emergency-travel-order.html
Staff Vaccination Requirements
All staff will be required to be fully vaccinated (two weeks after the full series of injections) by October 15.
Rev 1/2022