we care about the safety and well-being of our community

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#LOVEISTHEBRIDGE

We recognize that COVID continues to challenge us to remain vigilant and connected, especially with the Delta variant roaring through communities across Boston, the country, and the globe. Our health and safety guidelines from the United States Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH), and the Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education (DESE) continue to change by the day as scientists, doctors, and researchers learn more about how COVID transmission and transformation.

The good news is, much of the most current guidance has been successfully implemented at Bridge Boston over the past school year:

Weekly deep cleaning and more frequent cleaning of high touch surfaces
Outdoor tents for classroom learning & meals
HVAC system maintenance and updates
HEPA air purifiers in classrooms and office spaces
Hand sanitizer stations outside classrooms and frequent handwashing protocols
BBCS logo face masks
Optional masking indoors & outdoors
Holding large gatherings outdoors when appropriate and possible
COVID Town Halls, Webinars, and Workshops
Building & Classroom signs & markers for safe transitions throughout the building

Last year, we experienced incredibly low transmission rates on campus with in-person learning and will utilize many of the strategies from this past year in our plan. When a student or staff member tests positive for COVID, Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC) completes the contact tracing for the case and provides us with guidance on what we can do on campus to ensure that other students and staff members remain healthy. This year, we are refining our communication efforts to ensure that members of our community are notified in a timely manner.

Close contacts of individuals with COVID-19 are defined as anyone who is within 6 feet for longer than 15 minutes during a 24-hour period while indoors. Unvaccinated close contacts will need to immediately begin a 7-10 day quarantine. Vaccinated close contacts, if asymptomatic, may still attend school each day. Any asymptomatic close contact exposed at school may continue to attend if he/she participates in the “test-and-stay” method of taking a rapid antigen test daily at school.

Our COVID-19 testing program and protocols include routine COVID safety checks (formerly known as pooled testing), as well as rapid-result tests for symptomatic individuals, and tests for asymptomatic close contacts.

Per the order of the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), there will be no Remote Learning Academy (remote model) offered this year. Any student that misses instruction due to family emergencies that require travel or for those that decide to extend a vacation, they will not be able to access the school through remote learning. The only students who will be accessing learning remotely are those who are actively being required to quarantine due to their close contact with another individual infected with COVID-19. Our policy for staff members who are required to quarantine due to COVID is being reviewed and will be provided in future communication.

Student and staff safety & well-being will continue to serve as a top priority as we look ahead. I appreciate everyone’s patience and agility as our BBCS COVID Task Force (which you can join here) reviews the latest guidelines to enhance our COVID protocols and expectations to mirror the best thinking we have in our community.

BBCS COVID SAFETY PLAN