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Parents » COVID-19 Information

COVID-19 Information

Our top priority is the health and well-being of our students and employees.  We continue to monitor the health directives and protocols related to COVID-19, and that guidance will inform our operating procedures.  As new guidelines are published, we will update our plan outlined below to best serve the needs of our St. James community. 
 
Ensuring the safety of your child, your family, and our staff requires an ongoing partnership with you and your family.  The success of our plan in keeping St. James healthy and safe requires a strong commitment of cooperation between the school and your family.  As always, your child’s health and safety is our top priority. 

Classroom Protocol

St. James is a mask optional environment. Teachers and staff will fully support any family that would like their student to wear a mask.  However, if your student tests positive for COVID or has been in close contact with a person who has tested positive for COVID, we will request that your child wear a mask for the appropriate time frame as outlined by the CDC.

Student and Staff Health

If your student is ill and cannot attend school, please contact the school office the first day of the absence.  If a student becomes ill during the day, they will be removed from the classroom.  The parents will be contacted, and we request that the student be picked up within 30 minutes.  The other students in the classroom will be transferred to another location (e.g. Parish Hall, etc.) and the room will immediately be sanitized. 
 
Ill students can return to the classroom when one of these conditions are met:
  • The student is symptom free for 24hours without the aid of medication, or
In the event COVID-19 is confirmed in a student or staff member, St. James will perform the following:
 
  • Contact the Dallas County Health Department and Texas Health and Human Services to report the presence of COVID-19 and follow any procedures or closures as mandated by the authorities
  • Notify all St. James families of the positive confirmation and provide any information necessary
 
Any student, teacher, or staff who have tested positive for COVID-19must stay home through the infection period and cannot return to St. James until the below conditions for re-entry have been met:
  • 5 days since symptoms first appeared or positive viral test and
  • 24 hours with no fever without the use of fever-reducing medications and
  • Other symptoms of COVID-19 are improving
Students and staff will not be required to quarantine after close contact with an individual that has tested positive for COVID. However, we will always communicate to the families in a classroom if there has been a positive case reported in your classroom.  With this information, you as a parent can make the decision if you are comfortable having your child attend.  We do recommend that the student/staff exposed wear a mask indoors for 10 days after exposure.  We also ask that student/staff test on day 6 after exposure and provide a picture of the negative test result to the school.  If your child does start exhibiting any COVID symptoms within ten days of the positive notification, we will require a negative test or alternative doctor's diagnosis for your child to return. We accept the results of FDA approved take home tests.
 
See CDC for recommendations on precautionary steps to take if exposed to COVID. 
 
We do ask that you continue to let us know if your child has had exposure outside of St. James so that we can communicate openly with the families in your classroom.