FAQS About COVID-19

Q) what is OSEC doing to keep children safe?

OSEC has put Teams in Place to assess how we can maintain the safety and well being of everyone in our school environment throughout the school year and into future school years.

Q) HOW DO I DROP OFF MY CHILD IN THE MORNING?

For the Main Campus, drop-off will take place at the front door of the school in the morning according to each classroom’s scheduled time. Children will undergo a health check before being brought to their classrooms.  For your convenience, parking is available in our parking lot; however, no family members will be permitted to enter through the side entrance by the lot. 

At the Church Campus, drop-off will take place in two separate groups. Each group will line up at the front door of the church, where children will undergo a health check before being brought into the classroom. No family members will be permitted to enter the classroom or church sanctuary.

More information can be found under Drop-Off and Pick-Up. 

Q) HOW DO I PICK UP MY CHILD DURING DISMISSAL?

For both campuses, a staff member will bring your child directly to you outside of the building at your child’s dismissal time. Further information can be found under Drop-Off and Pick-Up.

Q) ARE CHILDREN REQUIRED TO WEAR FACE MASKS?

The NYC DOE is requiring Pre-K children to wear masks while in school, except at lunch and rest time.  Wearing face coverings is one of the most effective ways to prevent transmission of the COVID-19 virus. According to the CDC, the COVID-19 virus is thought to be spread from person to person through the droplets we expel when talking, coughing, or sneezing. These droplets can easily enter someone else’s nose and mouth and make them sick. The virus-laden droplets can also fall onto surfaces such as tables or toys; if someone else touches those surfaces and then touches their face, they may be infected as well. Masks help prevent these droplets from entering the air or falling on surfaces in the first place. As Bill Nye the Science Guy has famously demonstrated on TikTok, even a homemade cloth mask can help keep airborne particles from escaping, and an N-95 mask is even more effective.

Starting the mask habit several weeks before school begins will help your child become used to wearing one. This article offers helpful tips to get children on board with wearing a mask at school.

Children who arrive at school without face masks will be given one to wear.

All staff at OSEC are required to wear face coverings at all times during the school day.

Q) WHERE CAN I GET A FACE MASK?

Face masks are available at many retail stores. There is a short list of reputable sellers here. There are many child-friendly face masks featuring designs and popular cartoon characters that make them fun to wear and to show off to friends. You may want to try several different types of materials to see which is most comfortable for your child to wear. The key is to help make mask-wearing fun for your child. Wearing a face covering should never be used as a punishment. 

Q) MY CHILD HATES WEARING MASKS/HAS A MEDICAL CONDITION. CAN I HAVE AN EXEMPTION?

Let’s face it: Nobody likes wearing masks! However, wearing a surgical mask or cloth face covering is one of the simplest and most effective ways to prevent the spread of COVID-19. For this reason, we do require that all of our students wear face coverings. This is a necessary measure to protect not only your child, but also your family, your child’s classmates, their families, and our staff and their families. We recommend having your child start wearing a mask for short periods at home over the summer, increasing the time little by little every day until it becomes second nature by the time school begins. Your attitude is everything: If you treat mask-wearing as no big deal, your child will, too.

The CDC acknowledges that wearing a mask may not be feasible for certain individuals, such as people who are Deaf or hard of hearing and rely on lip reading to communicate, those who have sensory sensitivities or developmental delays, or people who have severe breathing problems. Even so, medical experts agree that most people - even most of those in the categories above - can tolerate a face covering for short periods. If you feel that your child is medically incapable of wearing a mask even for a few minutes indoors, please contact our director.

We will not recognize a “Face Mask Exemption Card”  (currently being sold online) as an acceptable reason to exempt a child from wearing a face covering for short periods in school. These cards are not issued by any legitimate federal or local government agency, and are considered fraudulent. 

If you strongly believe your child will suffer severe physical harm as a result of wearing a mask at school (even for brief periods), we recommend that you speak to our Office Manager about having your child assigned to our remote-only classroom. Be aware, however, that space is limited in this classroom, and once spaces are filled, students will be assigned to either our blended-learning classrooms or the full-time in-person classroom.

Q) MAY I ENTER THE BUILDING WITH MY CHILD?

To reduce the odds of infecting the school or individual classrooms, we are allowing only students and staff to enter the building at any time. This is in compliance with the current CDC health recommendations for preschools and daycares.

With this in mind, have some conversations with your child about the drop-off routine. You could say something like, “You and I will go to the front door of the school. You’ll get your temperature taken, and then you’ll go to your classroom with your teacher. Then I’ll be right here to pick you up when school is over.” 

Q) CAN I ARRANGE TO PICK UP MY CHILD BEFORE THE SCHEDULED DISMISSAL TIME EVERY DAY?

While we understand that children occasionally need to leave school early for doctor’s appointments and other events, we cannot allow a student to do this on a daily basis. This disrupts the classroom routine and causes the child to miss the learning that goes on at the end of the day. Because our new health protocols include not mixing classroom groups, our dismissal times are staggered. Having a child from one class leave early every day may interfere with the dismissal times of the other classrooms. 

Q) WHAT HAPPENS IF I’M LATE TO MY CHILD’S DISMISSAL TIME?

Each classroom’s dismissal time will last 10 minutes. At the end of each dismissal, any children remaining will be brought back to their classrooms. Children from one class will not be allowed to stay outside while another class is dismissing. If you arrive late, please come to the front door and ring the bell. Someone will alert your child’s teacher, and your child will be brought to you.

Please arrive on time for dismissal so that our staff can clean and disinfect the classrooms promptly. If you are running late, please call our office and let us know. Parents who chronically arrive late may be called to meet with our administrative staff to discuss the issue. 

Q) HOW CAN I PREPARE MY CHILD FOR PRESCHOOL?

We highly recommend that you start preparing your child now for the new school routine. Here are some tips:

  • Watch our introductory videos on Facebook! This is where you and your child will get to know all of our teachers. You’ll also get a look at the inside of our classrooms. Being familiar with our staff and environment will make your child more comfortable about coming to school.

  • A few weeks before school begins, set a regular bedtime and wake-up routine. This will make it easier for your child to adapt to the school schedule.

  • We encourage independence in pre-K, and this is especially important now, since teachers will be having limited physical contact with students. Practice the self-help skills your child will need for pre-K: dressing and undressing themselves, zipping up a coat, hanging up a coat or hoodie on a hook, feeding themselves, cleaning up toys, throwing out their own tissues and food waste. If your child is not yet toilet trained, please work on this as well. 

  • Give your child responsibilities around the house. A 3- or 4-year-old can clear their own dishes, water plants, feed pets, and help with small chores.

  • If your child will be attending school remotely either full- or part-time, create a daily schedule chart showing each activity in order (Get Dressed, Breakfast, Morning Meeting, Center Activities, Outdoor Time, etc.). Have your child use a magnet or clothespin to follow each activity as it takes place. If your child is in a blended-learning class, you can also create a calendar with “home” and “school” days in different colors. 

  • Read, read, read! Reading to your child every day in your home language helps build the vocabulary and literacy skills they need for kindergarten and beyond. As this graphic shows, reading for just 15 minutes a day can make a world of difference.

  • Be positive! Emphasize how much fun your child will have and all the friends they’ll make. Saying, “I’m going to miss you” or “Don’t be nervous” will only make your child anxious.   

These articles offer more tips on preparing for pre-K:

How to Prepare Your Child for Preschool

9 Things A Preschool Teacher Wants Parents to Know About the First Day of School

Is Your Child Ready for Preschool?

Q) WHAT SUPPLIES SHOULD MY CHILD BRING TO SCHOOL?

To avoid bringing contaminated items to school or back home, we will be supplying each of our students with a clear labeled backpack that will be kept on the back of their chair, along with individual supplies of crayons, pencils, play dough and other frequently used materials. In the event of an emergency school closing, students will be sent home with these backpacks. 

The following should not be brought to school:

  • Personal backpacks or folders

  • Stuffed animals or other toys

  • Pillows

  • Oversized blankets or throws

  • Jewelry

  • Personal books

  • Prescription or over-the-counter medicine. The exception is Epi-Pens for severe allergic reactions, which should be put in a labeled plastic bag and given to the school office.  All our staff are certified in Epi-Pen use.

Q) MY CHILD ISN’T TOILET-TRAINED YET. CAN I SEND THEM TO SCHOOL IN PULL-UPS?

For privacy and health reasons, we are a “no-touch” school with regard to changing diapers and pull-ups on children over age 3. We cannot wipe children or put diapers on them, although we may be able to assist if a child needs help pulling on a pull-up. We strongly urge you to help your child become potty trained before the beginning of school. 

We ask all families to send in a complete change of clothes for their child (including underwear and socks) in a labeled Ziploc bag. In case of spills or toilet accidents, a teacher will assist the child in changing their clothes. Soiled clothes will be put into a plastic bag and sent home for laundering. 

Q) WHAT IS YOUR SICK CHILD POLICY?

Now, more than ever, we must take every precaution to ensure that our students and staff stay safe and healthy. With that in mind, during our morning health screenings, children who are found to be running a fever of 100.0 or higher will not be permitted to enter the building. If a child develops a fever of 100.0 or higher during the school day, they will immediately be taken into our designated “isolation area,” and their parent/guardian will be asked to pick them up. Children with fevers will not be permitted back in school until they have been fever-free without the help of medicine for a full 48 hours.

We also reserve the right to refuse entry to children who display other potential signs of COVID-19 infection, such as extreme fatigue, body aches, shortness of breath, sore throat or persistent cough. Children who live in a home with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 will be asked to stay home for 14 days.

Children will also be sent home if they display the following symptoms while attending school:

  • Diarrhea

  • Vomiting

  • Sore throat

  • Skin rash

  • Pinkeye

  • Lice (visible live adult bugs or nits). A child may return to school 24 hours after receiving home treatment for lice - meaning that if they are sent home for lice on Monday and treated that same day, they may return to school on Wednesday. We will examine the child for any remaining signs of live lice at that time. See here and here for information on lice and their treatment.

Children staying home to recover from illness are expected to participate in their classroom’s remote learning activities to the best of their ability.

Q) WHAT IS YOUR COVID-19 EMERGENCY POLICY?

We will be following the CDC guidelines for schools dealing with a suspected or confirmed case of COVID-19.

  • In the event a student develops symptoms of COVID-19 (fever, cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, body aches, loss of taste and smell) while at school, they will immediately be taken to our isolation room by their classroom teacher or assistant teacher. Their parent or guardian will be called and told to pick up their child. The child’s family will be asked to care for their child at home or to seek medical help, depending on the severity of their illness. The child will not be permitted back in school until 10 days after the appearance of symptoms and until they have been fever-free without medicine for at least 24 hours.

  • In the event a staff member develops symptoms of COVID-19, they will inform either one of the Education Directors or the School Director immediately. They will then either self-care at home or seek medical attention. The staff member will not be permitted back in school until 10 days after the appearance of symptoms and until they have been fever-free without medicine for at least 24 hours.

  • If a case of COVID-19 is either suspected or confirmed in our school, all families will be immediately notified via our emergency text system and through a group email. Families will be advised to pick up their children as soon as possible that day.

  • The affected campus (either Main or Church) will be closed for at least a full 48 hours. No one will be allowed to enter the building during the first 24 hours; this allows the virus to dissipate from frequently touched surfaces. After that, the entire campus will undergo a thorough cleaning and disinfecting.  

  • If you, your child, or anyone living in your household tests positive for the COVID-19 virus at any time during the school year, you are expected to inform our School Director or one of our Educational Directors immediately so that we can take appropriate precautions. Your child may return to school 10 days after the appearance of their symptoms or those of the family member.

  • Families who knowingly disregard the above rule by sending a child to school prior to 10 days after a positive COVID-19 diagnosis may be permanently dismissed from our school.

If you work outside the home, please make sure you have an emergency plan in place that will allow you to pick up your child promptly in the event of a school closing, and to arrange child care for as long as is necessary before school reopens.