The Heschel School

Heschel Covid Protocols, Post-Pesach:

Staying Home with Symptoms: 

Anyone with cold- or flu- like symptoms must stay home and get a negative PCR test before returning to school.  As always, please be in touch with our nurses (nurses@heschel.org) if you develop any symptoms. 

Isolation and Quarantine:

Anyone who tests positive for Covid must inform our nurses and isolate:

• Anyone (vaccinated or unvaccinated) who tests positive for Covid must isolate until Day Five. Day Zero is the day you test positive or first day of symptoms. If you have no symptoms, you can return to school with a negative rapid test starting on Day Six.  

• To return to school with a negative rapid test, you must submit a photo of that test – labeled with name, date, and time of test – to our “Test Back In” email: tbi@heschel.org.   

• You must stay home until you have a negative rapid test after Day Five.  It could be you return to school on Day Six or it could be it takes more days until you test negative on a rapid test.  Likewise, if you still have Covid symptoms on Day Six, you must wait until those symptoms end and then have a negative rapid test to return. 

• Anyone who comes back before Day Eleven (that is, you have no symptoms and a negative rapid test), will need to be masked at school.  On Day Eleven, everything goes back to normal. 

• Anyone who isolates for 10 days may return to school on Day Eleven.  No negative test is required.

Students ineligible for vaccination with an at-home Covid contact: 

• Must quarantine for five days and may return to school after a negative PCR test taken on Day Six.  These students must test-to-stay through Day Ten (see Test-to-Stay instructions below). 

Masking: 

Masking is optional in our classrooms from Kindergarten through High School.  Per NYC mandates, masking is still required in our Nursery and Pre-K classrooms.  

As was the case before Pesach, if someone (student or teacher) tests positive for Covid in a Kindergarten or Lower School classroom, the following protocols apply:

•  that class’s students and teachers will be notified and required to wear a mask in school for five days.  Note that this only applies to a student’s primary classroom (not to any pull-out groups, after-school activities, buses, etc.) and that students may be asked to re-mask during the day at school if someone in their classroom tests positive mid-day.

• On Day Six after exposure, these classroom contacts must take a rapid Covid test (we have many available at school if you need one!).  These rapid test results should be emailed to tts@heschel.org..  

• Following a negative rapid test on Day Six, these close contacts can once again choose to unmask at school.

• Anyone who has tested positive for Covid within the last 90 days does not need to mask or test as a result of classroom contact.

Masking is also required:

• For anyone who has tested positive for Covid-19 and, after isolating and submitting a negative rapid test, returns to school after Day Five but before Day Eleven.  Anyone in this circumstance must mask until Day Eleven.

• For visitors (including Heschel parents) coming  into our buildings during school hours and at large gatherings.  Maintaining our current protocols, all visitors are required to show proof of vaccination to enter Heschel. 

Please remember that the decision whether or not to wear a mask at school is a personal one.  Masking – especially with a KN94 or KN95 mask – will continue to provide additional personal protection against Covid-19 to the wearer.  We have masks available for anyone who wants them and we encourage those with concerns about contracting Covid to consider masking at school.

Test-to-Stay

Vaccinated students, faculty, and staff with in-home Covid contacts (or other close non-school contacts)  may come to school using our test-to-stay program (that is, by submitting a negative Covid test daily to tts@heschel.org).  You must be in touch with our nurses if someone in your household tests positive for Covid and they will send you all of the details.

Students ineligible for vaccination may come to school using our test-to-stay program for in-school close contacts.  For at-home close contacts for students ineligible for vaccination, please see above (Isolation and Quarantine).