The Heschel School

Revisions to Heschel Covid Protocols – January 12, 2022:

1. Staying Home with Covid-Like Symptoms

Anyone experiencing Covid-like (or cold-like) symptoms – whether vaccinated or unvaccinated – must stay home, get a PCR test, and be in touch with our nurses (nurses@heschel.org).  Faculty and staff should also be in touch immediately with their supervisors.

Anyone who tests positive for Covid must inform our nurses immediately (nurses@heschel.org).

For purposes of all of our protocols, “vaccinated” means that someone is two weeks past the second dose of vaccine.  Anyone not two weeks past the second dose of vaccine is unvaccinated.

2. Isolation When Someone Tests Positive for Covid:

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 strictly masked (as is required of everyone!) and eat lunch in a separate socially distanced location.  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.

3. Quarantine for In-School Contacts or Contacts that are Not Household

Unvaccinated students must quarantine for 7 days with a PCR test on Day Five or thereafter.  Please email results to nurses@heschel.org. 

Fully vaccinated contacts are not required to quarantine or test (unless they develop symptoms in which case they must test).

4. Quarantine for Close Household Contacts:

For unvaccinated students: These contacts will require a 10-day quarantine with a negative PCR test on Day Five or thereafter (as opposed to a 7-day quarantine for non-household contacts).  However, unvaccinated students can return to school after Day Seven if they “test to stay” by submitting a  negative rapid test each morning on Days 8, 9, and 10.  You must submit a photo of the rapid test each morning by 7:30am – labeled with name, date, and time of test – to our “Test to Stay” email: tts@heschel.org.  

For vaccinated members of our community: You can “test-to-stay” in school if a household member is positive for Covid.  If someone in your household tests positive you can come to school every day with a negative rapid test that morning until Day Ten after the family member’s positive test or onset of symptoms.  You must submit a photo of the rapid test each day by 7:30am – labeled with name, date, and time of test – to our “Test to Stay” email: tts@heschel.org.  

If you develop Covid-like (that is, cold-like) symptoms while participating in our “test to stay” program, you must stay home, contact the nurses, and get a PCR Covid test.

If procuring rapid tests poses a financial burden, please contact Alan Schefen.

5. Zoom Policy for the Month of January

Students and teachers may Zoom into school if:

• They have tested positive for Covid and are isolating;

• They are not eligible for vaccination and quarantining;

• They have a household Covid contact (see #3 above) and do not want to return to school using “test to stay;” 

• They have Covid-like symptoms and, as required, have gotten a PCR test and they are home awaiting the test results (note that this is a change for the month of January in light of high Covid numbers and longer testing turn-around times).

6.  Booster requirements: 

Everyone eligible must receive a booster shot  by February 1.