Illness Toolkit

Vaccination
Getting the COVID-19 vaccine and booster when eligible is our best defense against serious complications from COVID infection. St. Anne's-Belfield is a highly vaccinated community among students age 5+ and employees, and encourages everyone get vaccinated when eligible.

Staying Home When Sick
We ask that every morning, parents check their student for symptoms of cold, flu, or COVID-19. Symptomatic students and employees should not come to school, and if they do, they will be sent home. Symptoms include:

Runny nose
Cough
Fever
Vomiting
Diarrhea
Sore throat

Face Coverings

Students, faculty, and staff may also choose whether or not to wear a mask at school indoors, outdoors, or on school transportation. There are important caveats:

In classes that have a teacher or a classmate with a documented medical condition that puts them at higher risk for serious illness from COVID-19, all students and teachers will be required to continue masking. Families will receive a communication from the divisional office in these circumstances.
Guests and visitors should consider their personal situation regarding masking, and please wear a mask when distance can not be maintained between households.
Students meeting 1:1 or in small groups with teachers should remain masked when physical distance can not be sustained.
Individuals who have been in close contact or recently positive with COVID should wear a mask for a period of days post-exposure/positivity, per the Virginia Department of Health.
If we have a significant increase in positive cases within a division, campus, or the Charlottesville/Albemarle community, it is likely we will return to required masking for a period of days.

With the above in mind, all students should carry two masks in their backpacks at school each day.

Physical Distancing
Three feet of distance between students remains the standard inside classrooms. When eating indoors, students will remain at least six feet apart.

Cleaning and Disinfection
A few years ago, the school upgraded its cleaning services by contracting with The Budd Group, a leading facility service company in the country with over 5,000 employees serving many independent schools across the southeast. In 2021-22, The Budd Group will again deploy two additional disinfectant technicians to assist the School with cleaning and disinfection protocols that are safe, environmentally-friendly, and in accordance with CDC recommendations.

Air Quality
In 2021-22, we worked closely with Southland Energy and Envise to create new protocols to ensure improved air quality and flow in our HVAC systems. These efforts focus on maximizing outside air supply and distribution, increasing particulate filtration, UV light disinfection, and alternative filter technologies where needed.

Handwashing and Hand Sanitizing
Students will continue to wash hands and use hand sanitizer frequently while on campus. Many spaces are equipped with hand sanitizer, and teachers are provided hand sanitizer for use within the classroom and before/after meal times.

What should I do if my child was in close contact with a COVID-positive person?

What to do for close contact

Day 0 – 4: Students should wear a well-fitting mask at school. Watch for fever of 100.4°F or greater, cough, shortness of breath, or other COVID-19 symptoms. If your child develops symptoms, stay home from school and get tested as quickly as possible.

Day 5 – 10: Students should wear a well-fitting mask at school. If symptoms develop, stay home from school and get tested as quickly as possible. If your child still does not have symptoms, get tested if possible. If test is positive, stay home from school and call the COVID hotline.

What defines close contact?

From the Virginia Department of Health website (information retrieved 2/22/22), close contact means:

Being within 6 feet of a person who has COVID-19 for a total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period, or
Having direct exposure to respiratory secretions (e.g., being coughed or sneezed on, sharing a drinking glass or utensils, kissing), or
Caring for a person who has COVID-19, or
Living with a person who has COVID-19.

K-12 exception for close contact

Exception: In indoor and outdoor K-12 settings, a student who was within 3 to 6 feet of an infected student is not considered a close contact, as long as both students wore well-fitting masks [Español] the entire time.

This exception may also be applied to school buses when the following criteria are met: documented seating charts and assurance that masks are worn and students remain in assigned seats, either via video monitoring if available, or attestation from the bus driver or monitor.

The K-12 exception does not apply to teachers, staff, or other adults. This means that the standard close contact definition is applied when assessing exposure in a K-12 setting that involves a student with an infected adult or an exposed adult. VDH will continue to monitor the science regarding the effectiveness of this close contact definition and the associated K-12 exception, and will update guidance as necessary.

What should I do if my child has symptoms or tests positive for COVID-19?

For positive COVID cases, families should contact their student's divisional office (see contact info above). Employees should contact their supervisor.

Change effective March 28, 2022: Students, faculty, and staff who are COVID positive may come back on day 6 IF they are fever-free without the aid of medication and their symptoms are resolving, and they wear a face covering for days 6 – 10 (per CDC policy). The School will provide the return to school date, and adequate distancing during lunch and snack times.

Students and employees who are experiencing symptoms of any kind should stay home.

They may return to school after providing a negative PCR test or a doctor's note. A negative at-home test will also be accepted after 3+ days have elapsed, the student has been fever-free for 24 hours, and symptoms are resolving. The School must provide permission prior to returning to school.

Pathways Back to School Chart

The below chart outlines the pathways back to school after experiencing symptoms or testing positive for COVID.

Is online learning available for extended illness/quarantine?

With permission from the division head, remote learning may be made available for illnesses or COVID-related quarantines that are expected to extend for more than two days of school. Remote learning is not offered for family vacations or times when children miss school due to brief illness.

With permission of the Upper School division head, remote learning will also be available for residence life students who are unable to return to campus due to travel restrictions.

To transition to remote learning, a student’s family must submit documentation from a medical provider to the division head specifying the need for an extended absence and its anticipated duration. Once the School approves the transition to remote learning, a student can expect programming, including course materials and links to synchronous class meetings, to be available between 24 - 48 hours following approval.

Online Learning Info

How will I be notified if there's a positive COVID-19 case at School?

How will the School decide when return to a mask mandate, or move to remote learning?

We are tracking absenteeism, cases of coronavirus testing, and test results closely to inform our decision to return to required masking for a few days, or in extreme cases, to pivot a class, grade, or division to remote learning. If this decision is made, we will message the contacts we have on record for you. Please ensure your information is up-to-date in Veracross.

How do I upload my child's COVID vaccination records to Magnus Health?

Where can I find testing?

BRHD testing sites
UVA Riverside (2335 Seminole Ln Suite 200, Charlottesville, Va.): (434) 975-7700
Virginia Department of Health’s statewide testing site locator.
TestHere site in Charlottesville
Central Virginia Health Services (2 locations in Albemarle County):
- Charlottesville (Neighborhood Family Health Centers): 434-227-5624 (offering antibody testing)
- Southern Albemarle: 434-286-3602 (offering antibody testing)
Med Express on 29 North (1149 Seminole Train, Charlottesville, Va.): 434-978-3998
Pediatric Testing Resources:
- Pediatric Associates: 434-296-9161
- Piedmont Pediatrics: 434-975-7777
- UVA Pediatrics: 434-982-3816
Four free antigen (at-home) tests per household are available from the US Government. Your insurance will also pay you back for 8 at-⁠home tests each month for each person on your plan.

Illness Toolkit

Please stay home when sick!

Pre-School and Lower School

Middle School

Upper School