Pandemic Response

• Effective Jan 3, regardless of vaccination status, we will return to mandatory masking indoors and outdoors when an appropriate distance cannot be kept from others. Individuals who are in a room by themselves with the door closed may remove their mask. 

At this time, we do not plan to mandate vaccination for students. We will offer the full, core Awty experience for all students regardless of vaccination status. We do encourage families to confer with their healthcare providers and choose to vaccinate students if it is consistent with the provider's advice. 

We have not mandated the vaccine at this time.  However, current OSHA regulations require our employees to report their vaccination status and, if vaccinated, provide proof of vaccination. Unvaccinated employees or those who choose not to disclose vaccination status are required by OSHA to undergo regular COVID testing and wear a face covering in the workplace. These federal requirements must be fully implemented by Jan. 4. 

As of November 2021, about 95% of our employees have reported that they are are fully vaccinated. 

Daily wellness screening via SchoolPass is no longer required. Effective Nov. 16, we ask that you use the app only to notify Awty clinic staff of an illness. 

We will  continue to employ a layered prevention approach as recommended by the CDC, which includes:

• Physical distancing of at least three feet
• Handwashing and respiratory etiquette
• Cleaning and maintaining healthy facilities
• Continued air filtration and air handling
• Contact tracing in combination with isolation and quarantine

To upload your child's COVID-19 vaccine card in Magnus Health, click here and follow the step-by-step directions.

To upload your child's COVID-19 test results in Magnus Health, click here and follow the step-by-step directions.

Unvaccinated individuals who travel internationally are required to quarantine for seven days with a negative COVID test or ten days without. We will follow CDC guidance and changes related to international travel as outlined here. Please take this into account when planning international travel, as remote learning will not be available in this circumstance.

Report all positive COVID cases and exposures to the nursing staff using this link. The COVID team will advise on protocols and necessary precautions in consultation with the Houston Health Department. You can reach them in the Clinic or at COVID@awty.org.

Any student exhibiting any symptoms of COVID-19 should stay home and will be cleared to return pending a negative COVID test and a note from their healthcare provider or clearance from a school nurse depending on the situation. Students who come to school exhibiting symptoms will be held in quarantine in the clinic until a caregiver can pick them up. These symptoms include:

• Fever or chills
• Cough
• Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
• Fatigue
• Muscle or body aches
• Headache
• New loss of taste or smell
• Sore throat
• Congestion or runny nose
• Nausea or vomiting
• Diarrhea

Any individual, regardless of vaccination status, who lives in the same household as a COVID-positive individual must stay home until they receive clearance from the campus nurses. This policy is in response to the high number of breakthrough infections we have seen in our community where there is a positive case in the household. If someone in your home has tested positive, please email COVID@awty.org for further instruction.

Any individual who tests positive: we will required a at least a five day isolation from the date of the positive test. Please note the day an individual tests is considered day 0, day 1 of isolation is the first full day after testing. Individuals will be required to continue masking while around others on campus for the following five days. Individuals experiencing symptoms after the five day isolation period will be assessed by their healthcare provider or the nursing team for clearance to return to school. 

Any asymptomatic individual who has been in close contact with a COVID positive case will not be required to quarantine only if they have been boosted, completed the primary Pfizer or Moderna vaccine series in the six months prior, or received the single dose J&J vaccine in the two months prior, however they will be required to wear a mask for the next 10 days and get tested on day 5, if possible. If a vaccinated individual develops symptoms, they should isolate immediately and get tested.

Any individual who has been in close contact with a COVID positive case who is unvaccinated, received the primary Pfizer or Moderna vaccine series more than six months ago, or received the single dose J&J vaccine more than two months ago, will be required to quarantine for five days, get tested on day five if possible, and wear a mask for the next five days. 

Per CDC guidelines, a close contact is defined as someone who was less than 6 feet away from an infected person for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period. The exception to this guideline is a K-12 student who was between 3 to 6 feet of an infected student, if both students correctly and consistently wore well-fitting masks the entire time.

 Individuals who travel internationally and are not fully vaccinated are required to quarantine for 7 days with a negative COVID test or 10 days without. We will follow CDC guidance and changes related to international travel as outlined here. Please take this into account when planning international travel, as remote learning will not be available in this circumstance.

Our nursing staff is here to help and is available with a rotational call schedule. Please address your questions to COVID@awty.org for the nurse on call.

Any individual, regardless of vaccination status, who lives in the same household as a COVID-positive individual must stay home until they receive clearance from the campus nurses. This policy is in response to the high number of breakthrough infections we have seen in our community where there is a positive case in the household. If someone in your home has tested positive, please email COVID@awty.org for further instruction.

New guidance prioritizes a return to in-person learning and some changes to protocols that will allow us to continue to operate on campus safely and return to as many of our valued program offerings as possible, in a way that is safe for students. We believe we can provide the best quality of education for our students through in-person instruction. Please contact your child's Division Office for more information regarding current at-home learning options. 

Health and safety are still paramount, and we have learned that contact tracing is key to understanding impacts in the event of a positive case. We will emphasize seating charts, distancing, and attendance, as well as an added shared accountability charge for Secondary students. These measures will help us effectively contact trace.

Early Learning Campus will continue with class cohorts but will return to normal levels of in-person instruction. We will also resume music and art instruction in cohorts. In some cases in CP/1st grade, students may mix across homeroom cohorts for L2, art and PE classes. CP/1st grade students will also receive specials classes (Art and PE) in their respective L2 languages.

Lower School will return to a traditional homeroom model for 2nd-4th grades. Fifth graders will incorporate some mixing, to prepare them for the Middle School model. In some cases, students will mix across homeroom cohorts for L2 classes and will also receive specials classes (Art and PE) in their respective L2 languages.

Secondary School will allow more mixing of students within each grade level. L2 and L3 cohorts may mix across grade levels. They will continue to use seating charts and attendance for contact tracing purposes.

Generally, masks will be optional outdoors, regardless of vaccination status (per CDC guidelines). 

Early Learning Campus will maintain a smaller cohorted recess model, as this model has proven more developmentally beneficial to the preschool students. CP/1st grade students will have recess by grade level.

Lower School will have recess by grade level.

Secondary School will have division-specific break times. Students will participate in a shared accountability framework, which will allow them to better understand and take ownership of their contact tracing.

We will continue to hold as many outdoor events as possible. We will share updates as available.

Secondary school clubs, athletics, and music programs will return with an emphasis on attendance and shared accountability. In the area of co-curricular activities, please be aware that this is the starting point. Should health conditions deteriorate, we may need to restrict potentially high-risk activities to those students who are vaccinated. As in other areas of this guidance, vaccination creates the most possibility for Awty students.

Awty Plus and other ancillary activities (tennis lessons, soccer academy) will resume with the observation of the same health and safety protocols practiced throughout the regular school day. Students will mix according to their Awty Plus activities and will not remain in their classroom groups.

We look forward to welcoming parents back to campus for select scheduled school events. Parents will be informed and invited to these events with guidance for health and safety protocols.

All visitors to campus outside of these events will require approval from school officials. All campus visitors will need to complete a health screening and follow safety protocols.

We will continue to offer Parent Coffee programs and parent conferences remotely, as surveys have indicated parents prefer the ease of access and convenience of this delivery method. 

We anticipate our menu offerings will return to normal. New CDC guidance suggests that there is a very low risk of COVID transmission from surfaces and shared objects. As such, we will no longer limit food service to single-use items and prepackaged meals. Students will eat in their classrooms or when possible utilizing outdoor space as much as possible.

At this time, Student Bistro remains closed due to construction constraints. Students should bring their own snacks for consumption.

We will continue to offer busing. Please see the busing information here. Masks are still required on buses, in accordance with the CDC’s order that applies to buses operated by public and private school systems.

Currently, student drop-off and pick-up are only available using one of the carpool lanes, or on the main campus, via the pedestrian access at the East Gate for those walking to school. Students in 6éme/6th grade and above may enter and exit unaccompanied. Students in Lower School must be dropped off and picked up at the gate either by an adult parent/guardian or by a secondary student sibling). Parent/guardian authorization is required for student pedestrian access to campus.

For the time being, "walk-in" (parking on campus and walking a student to or from classes) is not permitted on either campus.

Complete arrival, dismissal, and transportation procedures and operation times will be communicated by the division offices before the start of classes.

We expect to open the School Store with visitor limitations. The School Store will continue to offer email ordering.