List of 57 frequently asked questions.

• Accommodations

  Accommodations for students and employees who cannot return physically to campus for medical reasons will be considered on a case-by-case basis. If an accommodation is granted, a plan will need to be structured with FASPS. Accommodations will not be made for reasons of personal convenience.

   

  Parents are urged to schedule medical and dental appointments outside of school hours, and not to schedule vacation trips when school is in session.

   

  (Last Updated: August 9, 2021)

• Athletics Program

  FASPS will not be ready to resume our Athletics program in the fall of 2021 (i.e., no soccer and no cross country), but we will revisit this decision as the school year progresses.

   

  (Last Updated: August 9, 2021)

• Before Leaving Home to Come to Campus

  All employees, parents, and students are required to check their temperatures at home before coming to campus. If an individual has a fever of 100°F / 38°C or higher, that person must not come to campus. Everyone’s temperature will be checked again either before entering the school building or, for students, in the classrooms. Parents must ensure they do not send children to school if the children have covid symptoms or are lab-confirmed with covid, or have been in close contact with someone who is lab-confirmed covid positive. Anyone in a household who has been notified by the Department of Health that they were in contact with an individual infected with covid must notify FASPS as soon as possible for further instruction.

   

  (Last Updated: February 14, 2022)

• Birthdays

  During the covid pandemic, refreshments and treats will be allowed at school as long as all health and safety measures are respected (e.g., covid physical distancing, peanut policy, etc.).

   

  (Last Updated October 7, 2021)

• Bus Service

  We will have bus service to Seattle and to the Eastside, following school physical distancing and class mixing protocols. Students who ride the bus will have their temperatures taken before boarding the bus and again when they enter their classrooms. If you have any questions, please email FASPSBus@FASPS.org.

   

  (Last Updated: October 21, 2021)

• Campus Closures

  FASPS will abide by all government school closure mandates. FASPS may need to close its campus or parts of its campus should we have confirmed cases of covid or should we have a shortage of faculty and staff due to covid or other illness. There may be scenarios where, though we are not mandated to close, we may choose to close based on internal and/or external health indicators.

   

  (Last Updated: August 9, 2021)

• Campus Visitors

  Nonessential visitors will not be allowed on campus until further notice. All essential visitors will need to be fully vaccinated (or be able to provide a medical or religious exemption) and will need to arrange all approved visits with administrative staff responsible for campus safety or their designee. If permission is granted, visitors must follow all health screening and safety requirements and be accompanied by a staff member for the duration of their time on campus. All visitors who are allowed on campus will be screened to determine if they have covid symptoms, are lab-confirmed with covid, or have had close contact with an individual who is lab-confirmed with covid.

   

  (Last Updated: October 7, 2021)

• Carpooling

  If students from different classes / households carpool, we ask that they follow the same health and safety guidelines that we use for our bus service (windows open for ventilation and face coverings worn at all times).

   

  (Last Updated: August 9, 2021)

• Classrooms

  FASPS will follow, at a minimum, DCYF, OSPI, and CDC guidance with respect to physical distancing within classrooms, i.e., setting up each classroom with desks and workstations three feet apart whenever possible.

   

  (Last Updated: August 9, 2021)

• Class Sizes (i.e., Students per Classroom)

  Class sizes will return to pre-pandemic levels in 2021–2022, i.e., up to 14 students in Tiny YPK, up to 20 students in YPK – Grade 2, and up to 23 students in Grade 3 and above.

   

  (Last Updated: August 9, 2021)

• Cleaning for Health

  According to the Washington State Department of Health, “cleaning” removes dirt and most germs (“In the classroom, cleaning is the focus”), “sanitizing” reduces germs to safe levels, and “disinfecting” kills most germs, depending on the type of chemical, and only when used as directed on the label. FASPS’s cleaning protocols are followed by our faculty and staff, by our nightly cleaning crew, and by our daily porter cleaning crew.

   

  (Last Updated: August 9, 2021)

• Close Contact

  According to the CDC, a close contact is “someone who was within six feet of an infected person (laboratory-confirmed or a clinically compatible illness) for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period. An infected person can spread SARS-CoV-2 starting from two days before they have any symptoms (or, for asymptomatic patients, two days before the positive specimen collection date), until they meet criteria for discontinuing home isolation.

   

  FASPS will consider all members of a classroom (as well as bus and after-school programming) as close contacts.

   

  (Last Updated: August 9, 2021)

• Common Areas

  Common areas are any spaces used by more than one group of students or more than three employees at any time (hallways, restrooms, shared rooms that are not your assigned classroom, kitchens, etc.). Common areas will be limited with respect to use to the maximum extent possible.

   

  (Last Updated: August 9, 2021)

• Community Events

  Though we will endeavor to resume parent meetings, socials, etc., on campus in 2021–2022, we will give priority to student needs. If parents are able to meet in person, we will ask that parents not mix with students.

   

  (Last Updated: August 9, 2021)

• Covid Case on Campus

  If a student shows any symptoms of covid while on campus, classroom faculty or staff will contact health staff, who will come to the classroom and take the student to the health room. Health staff will contact the student’s parents and ask them to come pick up their child. Parents of the student will be informed of what they need to do, and parents of the student’s class will be informed by email and phone / text of any action they need to take. FASPS’s covid site coordinator will initiate the appropriate contact tracing procedures.

   

  (Last Updated: August 9, 2021)

• Covid Site Coordinator

  If a student or a member of your household tests positive for covid, a parent or guardian must notify FASPS as soon as possible by contacting Victoria Paolacci-Mellor, FASPS’s covid site coordinator, at VictoriaP@FASPS.org. This information will remain confidential and will allow FASPS to engage in effective contact tracing procedures to limit possible infection of others.

   

  (Last Updated: August 9, 2021)

• Covid Symptoms

  Please click here to visit the CDC’s “Symptoms of COVID-19” webpage.

   

  (Last Updated: April 4, 2022)

• Covid Testing

  FASPS participates in the Washington State Department of Health’s “Learn to Return” (weekly testing) and “Test to Stay” (close contact testing for individuals in modified quarantine) programs. FASPS covid testing is mandatory for all on-campus students and employees. Any individuals unable or unwilling to participate in FASPS’s covid testing will need to show proof of negative test results per FASPS requirements.

   

  (Last Updated: April 4, 2022)

• Daily Health Checks

  • FASPS will check all employees’ temperatures upon arrival, except on weekends.
  • K–8 parents will not be allowed inside the school building at drop-off or pick-up unless the visit is pre-approved.
  • Students who ride the bus will have their temperatures taken before boarding the bus and again when they enter their classrooms.
  • Faculty will check K–8 students’ temperatures in the classrooms at the beginning of the school day.
  • Students who are late will have their temperatures checked at the front door (not in the classrooms).
  • A FASPS employee will check preschool parents’ and students’ temperatures before they enter the building.
  • FASPS will continue to monitor students, faculty, staff, and visitors for symptoms of covid and will follow the DOH’s protocols for responding to someone who shows symptoms of covid.

  (Last Updated: August 9, 2021)

• Distance-learning Option (DLO)

  Our 2021–2022 distance-learning option (DLO) was designed for students in Grades 1–8 who could not physically be on campus through December 17, 2021, primarily for medical reasons.

   

  (Last Updated: February 14, 2022)

• Drop-off & Pick-up

  Parents should only be on campus to drop off and pick up their student(s) and may not deviate from the designated path while on campus. Parents must limit the time spent on campus when picking up and dropping off students. Parents should limit the number of people dropping off and picking up students; we recommend the same person drop off and pick up as much as possible. Drop-off and pick-up times will be staggered to avoid large groups arriving at the same time (see below). Preschool parents will continue to escort their children to their classrooms (per DCYF) while adhering to our health screening protocols. Specific drop-off and pick-up protocols will be communicated before the start of school.

   

  Parents are asked not to plan any after-school activities that begin before the end of the school day.

   

  Drop-off & Pick-up Schedules

   

  Tiny YPK – PK Students:

  • Paid Garderie: 7:45–8:15am
  • Morning Drop-off: 8:15–8:45am
  • School Day Starts: 8:45am
  • School Day Ends: 3:00pm
  • Afternoon Pick-up: 3:00–3:30pm
  • Paid Garderie: 3:30–5:00pm

  Kindergarten – Grade 5 Students:

  • Morning Drop-off: 8:00–8:30am
  • School Day Starts: 8:30am
  • School Day Ends: 3:15pm
  • Afternoon Pick-up: 3:15–3:45pm
  • Paid Extended Day: 3:30–5:00pm

  Grade 6–8 Students:

  • Morning Drop-off: 7:45–8:10am
  • First Class Starts: 8:15am
  • Last Class Ends: 3:45pm
  • Afternoon Pick-up: 3:45–4:00pm
  • Paid After-school Programming: 4:00–5:15pm

  (Last Updated: August 9, 2021)

• Educational Trips

  FASPS plans to resume its overnight educational trips for some students in a limited capacity in the spring of 2022.

   

  (Last Updated: February 14, 2022)

• Enrichment Classes

  We will welcome some of our Enrichment class vendors back onto campus in 2021–2022. That said, our Enrichment program will look very different from how it looked before the pandemic. We will do what we can to minimize students from different classes crossing. Additionally, we may need to reduce Enrichment class sizes.

   

  (Last Updated: August 9, 2021)

• Face Coverings

  FASPS leaves the choice of whether or not to wear a mask while on campus (both indoors and outdoors) to its employees, its students, and its families.

   

  Students and Employees in Modified Quarantine: Individuals in modified quarantine will be required to wear either a KN95 mask or a mask with two or more layers of washable, breathable fabric, or a cloth mask on top of a surgical mask. Masks should completely cover the nose and mouth, should fit snugly against the sides of the face, should not have gaps, and should have a nose wire to prevent air from leaking out of the top of the mask. Cloth face coverings must be laundered daily. Students should bring two face coverings each day and have them labeled with their name. If a student loses, damages, or soils his or her face coverings, we will replace them with a disposable mask provided by FASPS. Individuals are allowed to remove their face coverings during mealtimes, or in an office or a classroom alone with the door closed. Face coverings are required while engaged in recess and outdoor activities unless the individual is taking a designated “mask break” and at least six feet from any other individual. Follow the proper steps to put on and remove your face covering. Employees must wash their hands before handling their or a student’s face covering.

   

  (Last Updated: April 4, 2022)

• Face Shields

  According to the CDC, “It is not known if face shields provide any benefit as source control to protect others from the spray of respiratory particles. CDC does not recommend use of face shields for normal everyday activities or as a substitute for cloth face coverings.” Face shield might be used as an alternative:

   

  • For those with a disability that prevents them from comfortably wearing or removing a face covering.
  • For those with certain respiratory conditions or trouble breathing.
  • For those who are deaf or hard of hearing and use facial and mouth movements as part of communication.
  • For those advised by a medical, legal, or behavioral health professional that wearing a face covering may pose a risk to that person.

  Individuals are welcome and encouraged to wear face shields in addition to their face coverings.

   

  (Last Updated: August 9, 2021)

• Garderie (Before- and After-school Care)

  We will offer paid morning and afternoon Garderie for Tiny YPK – PK students in 2021–2022, and paid afternoon Garderie for students in K–Grade 5.

   

  (Last Updated: August 9, 2021)

• Handwashing

  Everyone must practice good hand hygiene, washing hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds — especially after being in a public place, or after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing. Hand sanitizer containing at least 60% alcohol is available at each entrance and is required for everyone wishing to enter any FASPS building. In addition, hand sanitizer is available in every classroom, and students and teachers will be encouraged to use it frequently (cover all surfaces of your hands and rub them together until they feel dry). Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands. Students, faculty, and staff should also wash hands or use hand sanitizer after they have touched something another person recently touched, before and after eating, and before and after using the restroom. Young students will be instructed in good handwashing techniques, and all students will be given frequent opportunities to wash their hands during the day.

   

  (Last Updated: August 9, 2021)

• Health and Safety Measures

  The following mandatory measures will still be in place in the 2021–2022 school year: face coverings for all students, staff, and campus visitors; good ventilation and indoor air quality; regular cleaning and disinfecting; reinforced proper handwashing and respiratory etiquette, and processes for responding to and reporting cases of covid. Physical distancing is still recommended by DOH at this time.

   

  (Last Updated: August 9, 2021)

• Health Room

  FASPS has converted the faculty and staff lunchroom at the Mercer Island campus into the health room. Access to the health room will depend on the situation and will be decided by health and safety staff with the assistance of the administration. When a student has regular symptoms of illness or injury, classroom faculty will contact the health staff who will come to the classroom to assess the student and check his/her temperature. Any further treatment may be done in the classroom. If any student has a fever > 100°F / 38°C or needs to go home for any other health reason, he or she will be taken to the health room, and his or her parents will be contacted.

   

  (Last Updated: August 9, 2021)

• Isolation vs. Quarantine

  “Isolation” is the separation of a sick individual with a contagious disease from people who are not sick. “Quarantine” is the separation and restriction of the movement of an individual who was exposed to a contagious disease to see if he or she becomes sick. This individual may have been exposed to a disease and not know it, or he or she may have the disease and not show symptoms.

   

  (Last Updated: August 9, 2021)

• JCC Facilities (Stroum Jewish Community Center)

  We have resumed PE classes and other student activities at the JCC.

   

  (Last Updated: April 4, 2022)

• Learn to Return Program

  We will continue with weekly testing of all on-campus students and employees.

   

  • For Tiny YPK — PK students receive their Mirimus covid testing kits on Wednesdays, and they need to return their saliva samples on Thursday mornings before 10:00am.
  • On Wednesdays, shallow nasal swab specimens are collected from all employees and all students in Kindergarten – Grade 8 for Atlas Genomics PCR testing.

  (Last Updated: April 4, 2022)

• Library

  Students will be able to check books out from the library in 2021–2022, and we will resume library activities while ensuring groups of students cross as little as possible. Other options may be made available for checking books out as well.

   

  (Last Updated: August 9, 2021)

• Lunch

  We are evaluating bringing back catered hot lunch for the 2022–2023 school year.

   

  (Last Updated: April 4, 2022)

• Meetings

  We will resume some in-person meetings for employees.

   

  (Last Updated: August 9, 2021)

• Multi-purpose Room (MPR)

  FASPS’s Multi-purpose Room (MPR) will not be used for meetings during school hours; instead, meetings will be held virtually. The MPR will be used by preschoolers to practice their gross motor skills, with the appropriate cleaning and ventilation between usage.

   

  (Last Updated: August 9, 2021)

• On-campus / In-person Learning

  FASPS expects that all students will have the opportunity to attend school in-person and full-time in the 2021–2022 school year. Schools are fundamental to child and adolescent development and wellbeing. Most students are more successful in a comprehensive, in-person learning environment surrounded by their peers and caring adults. In March of 2021, Governor Inslee issued an emergency order to support the mental and behavioral health of young people in Washington after seeing data showing that Washington’s young people were calling crisis hotlines and receiving urgent mental healthcare in hospitals at rates much higher than usual. Extended time in remote learning has had academic impacts on students as well. In the 2020–2021 school year, the percentage of students disengaging from school has increased significantly. We know most students learn and perform their best when they are in the classroom with their educators and peers.

   

  (Last Updated: August 9, 2021)

• Parking

  Parking on the school parking lot will be made available to our preschool families only.

   

  (Last Updated: August 9, 2021)

• Personal Belongings

  Students will be able to share materials in their classrooms, with handwashing after use, and Middle School students will be able to use lockers.

   

  Personal belongings should be kept to the bare minimum necessary. Families are encouraged to use small backpacks to limit space issues.

   

  (Last Updated: August 9, 2021)

• Physical Distancing (“Social Distancing”)

  Based on guidance from OSPI, DOH, and the CDC, we will switch from six feet to three feet of physical distancing in the fall. Space constraints with respect to physical distancing will not prevent us from welcoming students back to campus in the fall. DOH recommends three feet of physical distancing in classrooms and six feet elsewhere to the greatest extent possible. If FASPS needs to distance at less than six feet in common areas and at less than three feet in classrooms to accommodate all students and staff (allowable within DOH guidance), we will do so.

   

  (Last Updated: August 9, 2021)

• Physical Education (PE)

  We have resumed PE classes at the JCC.

   

  (Last Updated: April 4, 2022)

• Public Health Resources & Guidance

  FASPS follows guidelines and recommendations from the following agencies (among others): Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS); Northwest Association of Independent Schools (NWAIS); Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA); Public Health — Seattle & King County; Washington Federation of Independent Schools (WFIS); Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI); Washington State Department of Children, Youth & Families (DCYF); Washington State Department of Health (DOH).

   

  (Last Updated: August 9, 2021)

• Recess

  Recess will be structured to encourage physical distancing and to limit groups of students from mixing as much as possible. Students will be reminded of the need to abide by physical distancing guidelines during recess. Hand hygiene stations stocked with either soap, water, and paper towels (or alcohol-based hand sanitizer with a concentration of at least 60% alcohol) are installed outside. Students will be able to use recess play structures and equipment, with handwashing after use.

   

  (Last Updated: August 9, 2021)

• Remote Learning

  FASPS may temporarily reinitiate a remote-learning option only if a student needs to self-quarantine due to covid-like symptoms. Every remote-learning request must be evaluated by the student’s division head in order to establish a plan at least two working days beforehand. Teachers cannot approve remote-learning requests.

   

  (Last Updated: August 9, 2021)

• Rest Days

  Our 2021–2022 school year calendar (click here for a PDF) has been finalized and includes regularly schedule rest days for students and employees.

   

  (Last Updated: August 9, 2021)

• Restrooms

  Restroom signs will be installed at the entrance to limit the number of students in the restroom at any one time, depending on the size of the restroom. In the communal preschool restrooms, certain toilets will be out of service to limit seating next to others. Preschool students will be encouraged to use in-classroom toilets.

   

  (Last Updated: August 9, 2021)

• School-supplied Technology Devices

  We have learned a great deal about how to take advantage of technology in the classrooms for all grades in 2020–2021, and, moving forward, as the situation evolves, teachers will continue to find the right balance in the use of technology in the classroom.

   

  (Last Updated: August 9, 2021)

• Social Responsibility and Community Expectations

  As a member of the French American School of Puget Sound (FASPS) community, it is our individual responsibility to adhere to the guidelines and recommendations set forth by the CDC in order to reduce the spread of the covid virus within our school community. We can each reduce virus transmission by:

   

  • staying home when sick
  • wearing face coverings whether vaccinated or not
  • maintaining physical distancing whenever possible
  • washing our hands often
  • cleaning and sanitizing surfaces regularly
  • not touching our eyes, nose, or mouths with unwashed hands
  • covering our coughs and sneezes with disposable tissues that we immediately throw away
  • not congregating in large groups
  • limiting mixing with people outside our households
  • limiting nonessential travel and following CDC guidelines related to travel

   

  We know that the spread of covid in our state would be significantly less if some social behavior decisions were carried out differently. As a school community, we expect everyone to do their part in adhering to these guidelines. Your decisions and comportment related to reducing the spread of the virus not only impacts you and your family, but our entire school community and beyond.

   

  Thank you for doing your part to help keep our community safe and healthy so that all children will be able to go back safely to their school campuses and receive the education they deserve.

• Student Cohorts

  FASPS will no longer separate students into cohorts in either the Lower School or Middle School in 2021–2022, since we will switch from six feet of physical distancing in classrooms to three feet.

   

  Lower School Only: We will try to place students, as best as possible, into classes based on their need for after-school care (Garderie) to reduce students from different classes mixing.

   

  (Last Updated: August 9, 2021)

• Students of Essential Workers

  In case we need to close our campus, we will offer on-campus supervision of the children of essential workers while they participate in our Distance-learning Option, understanding that we may need to limit the number of students we are able to welcome onto campus depending on space and staffing limitations.

   

  (Last Updated: August 9, 2021)

• Students With Special Needs

  In case we need to close our campus, we will offer on-campus supervision of students with special needs while they participate in our Distance-learning Option, understanding that we may need to limit the number of students we are able to welcome onto campus depending on space and staffing limitations.

   

  FASPS defines students as having special needs if they have a 504 plan or an Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) (click here). Students with special needs will be supervised as they follow our Distance-learning Option.

   

  (Last Updated: August 9, 2021)

• Student Wellbeing

  We are all, every one of us, 100% implicated in keeping our students’ wellbeing at the forefront of everything we do at FASPS at any time. Our Student Success Team (led by Cécile Chapel, our dean of students) and faculty monitor students’ wellbeing and propose strategies to support our students (and our faculty). Additionally, we use Student Success Plans (SSPs), our school counselor delivers SEL lessons to Lower School students and conducts wellbeing sessions with Middle School students, and our faculty will continue to use online engagement activities and tools when deemed necessary.

   

  (Last Updated: August 9, 2021)

• Test to Stay Program

  The purpose of Test to Stay is to keep students learning on campus as much as possible while providing as healthy and safe an environment as possible.

   

  How the Program Works: All students (TYPK – Grade 8) (regardless of vaccination status) who are identified as close contacts of an individual on or off campus who has tested positive for covid will be allowed to attend classes on campus in a “modified, 10-day quarantine status” after exposure if and only if the following protocols are respected:

   

  1. The student must be and remain asymptomatic during their modified quarantine.
  2. The student must wear a mask while on campus, both indoors and outdoors.
  3. The student must be tested at least twice while they on campus during their modified quarantine.
  4. The student must maintain physical distancing as much as possible.
  5. The student may ride the bus, attend afternoon Garderie and Enrichment classes, attend afternoon 4x4, Clubs, and participate in FASPS Athletics during their modified quarantine.

   

  PLEASE NOTE: Students who opt out of testing are not eligible to participate in FASPS’s modified quarantine and must follow the standard quarantine protocol for close contacts.

   

  (Last Updated: April 4, 2022)

• Travel

  Please refer to the CDC’s travel guidelines.

   

  (Last Updated: March 17, 2022)

• Vaccinations

  FASPS encourages all eligible individuals to get vaccinated against covid.

   

  Per Gov. Inslee’s August 18, 2021, directive requiring all public and private K–12 school employees be vaccinated against covid (or obtain a religious or medical exemption) by October 18, FASPS will require that all of its employees and campus visitors be vaccinated against covid (or obtain a religious or medical exemption) by October 18, 2021.

   

  FASPS will not require that students be vaccinated against covid until a vaccine is fully approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, is recommended by the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, and is required by the Washington State Board of Health. The Washington State Board of Health has the sole authority to set immunization requirements for students and has not discussed requiring the covid vaccine for children in school settings; however, we encourage everyone who is eligible and able to be vaccinated be vaccinated.

   

  Taking effect immediately, FASPS will require all employees and vendors to inform us whether or not they are fully vaccinated against covid (this information will remain private and confidential). Additionally, FASPS encourages families to inform us as soon as their students are fully vaccinated (when they are eligible).

   

  FASPS currently requires that students and employees be vaccinated against chickenpox, polio, hepatitis B, Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis), and MMR (measles, mumps, rubella). MMR exemptions are allowed for medical or religious reasons.

   

  (Last Updated: October 7, 2021)

• Ventilation and Outdoor Learning

  FASPS has air purifiers in every room used by students. All air filters are selected, cleaned, and changed following CDC guidelines. Outdoor spaces will be utilized for learning as often as possible. When feasible and appropriate, FASPS will allow students to gather outside rather than inside due to the likely reduced risk of viral spread outdoors. Windows will be kept open as much as possible.

   

  (Last Updated: August 9, 2021)

• Weekly Covid Student & Employee Testing Schedule

  • Mondays: No weekly testing.
  • Tuesdays: No weekly testing.
  • Wednesdays: All employees and all Grade K–8 students are tested with Atlas Genomics PCR tests. TYPK–PK students bring home with them their Mirimus testing kits.
  • Thursdays: TYPK–PK students will bring to campus their Mirimus saliva samples before 10:00am.
  • Fridays: No weekly testing.

  (Last Updated: April 4, 2022)