o   Given the requirements to keep group sizes to a minimum, not co-mingle classes and ensure successful physical distancing, we are using four different entrances and exit points to and from the building. Given additional protocols to ensure health and safety for all in our community, arrivals and dismissals take longer than usual.

To date, our slow and steady approach to a physical return to campus has proven effective, and we have been pleased to be able to welcome all students back to the schoolhouse whose families have elected for in-person classes. As has been the case since the COVID pandemic began, we have closely monitored guidance from national and local authorities, including CDC and OSSE, related to in-person gatherings. Additionally, we are mindful of virus spread both within our own community and in the local area. If circumstances internal or external to the school change at any time, our operational status is subject to change as well. For more detailed information on NCRC’s Closure Guidelines, please see here.

o   The Mayor of D.C./D.C. Health stated that residents returning to the District after traveling to any place other than Maryland, Virginia, Vermont or Hawaii must either:

• Limit daily activities, self-monitor and quarantine for 14 days upon their return, prior to returning to regular activities; or
• Limit daily activities/quarantine until they get tested for COVID-19.  DC Health states that any post-travel COVID-19 testing should not take place until 3 - 5 days after returning to DC. While we recognize that other schools are taking different, and sometimes more stringent approaches to testing, given the expert guidance that we have received on testing after potential exposure, NCRC is requiring that you wait the full 5 days after returning from travel to undertake COVID-19 testing. Additionally, based on expert recommendations, NCRC is requiring that the test taken be a PCR Test, rather than an antigen test. A subsequent negative test result must be shared with NCRC if you are looking for your child to return to school prior to completing a 14-day quarantine. A full list of DC testing sites (which all utilize the PCR Test) can be found here. 

o   We have asked all NCRC community members – including faculty, staff and families – to sign our community pledge in recognition of the fact that everyone at NCRC plays an essential role in protecting our community. Our expectation is that all members of the community will be mindful of that pledge and the Mayor’s revised guidance when considering upcoming travel and the potential for entertaining around the holidays.

o   Numerous spaces have been repurposed within the school building to allow for a greater number of classrooms.

• The Library at the very front of the main building is now a Butterfly classroom
• Mr. Carroll's Head of School Office has become a Library
• The Motor Room has been divided into two to make two classrooms
• The Explorer classroom has been divided into two to make two classrooms
• The Butterfly classroom has been divided into two to make two classrooms
• The former Rainbow room has been divided into two to make two classrooms
• The former Treetop room has been divided into two to make two classrooms
• The Admissions Office is now the NCRC Nook, which will be used for isolating any child or adult who may become unwell

o   Once our final enrollment number was confirmed and we received approval from OSSE and DCRA regarding the additional spaces we were able to create within our own building, we determined that we had adequate space. Additionally, maintaining all students, faculty and staff on our own campus has allowed us to more effectively monitor and maintain all health and safety procedures and protocols. That said, we are maintaining contact with individuals at additional locations already identified in the event that added space is determined necessary at any point later in the year.

o   Several factors have been taken into consideration as we’ve weighed how to reincorporate carpool into our drop-off and pick-up procedures.

• NCRC’s student population of 2-5 year-olds requires varying levels of support when entering and exiting their cars. For those students who require assistance getting out of their car seat and out of the car, at this time, we have determined that having teachers enter families’ cars, as has been done in the past, represents too great an exposure risk to our faculty, even if all individuals in the car are wearing masks at the time of drop-off/pick-up.
• Due to our neighborhood agreement, we are also unable to support a carpool line that would require parents to get in and out of their cars at the point of drop-off/pick-up to take the children out of the car seat and out of the car.
• For these two reasons, those children who require support need to be walked up to the schoolhouse at their designated entrance/exit.

o   While our older children may be capable of getting themselves out of their car seats, and then out of the car, they would still need to be met at the curb by a faculty member at drop-off. Given the number of different entrances and exits currently being used to ensure limited commingling, staggered arrival and departure times, and the shift in the number of faculty in each class to enable smaller class sizes, we do not have adequate personnel to man all designated entrances and exits and a carpool lane, while maintaining our ability to execute the daily temperature screening.

o   We will continue to evaluate our drop-off and pick-up procedures to maximize efficiency and continue to discuss best practices with peer schools who serve a similar student population.

o   Our top priority is ensuring the health and safety of all students and their families, as well as staff and faculty. After reviewing all available guidance on health and safety protocols and procedures, NCRC’s Preparedness Task Force, staff and faculty have put in place significant procedures and protocols to ensure the health and safety of the entire community. These include enhanced procedures on numerous fronts:

• Cleaning of all classrooms, with special attention placed on frequently touched surfaces;
• Establishing requirements for temperature taking for students, faculty and staff;
• Ensuring access to classrooms through assigned entrances to lessen hallway traffic;
• Monitoring for respiratory symptoms in students and faculty and staff; and
• Limiting in-classroom presence to only students and their teachers.

Specifically, designated classroom spaces at NCRC, all of which have now been approved by DCRA and OSSE, have a maximum of 8 students and 2 teachers, to allow for physical distancing, easier cleaning and to enable contact tracing. Every classroom is deeply cleaned and sanitized throughout the day and at the end of the day, using approved cleaning equipment and products. All teachers and students wear masks and frequently wash and/or sanitize hands. 

o   We are regularly reviewing updated guidelines and guidance, as well as consulting with schools in our local area regarding lessons learned and best practices to ensure our procedures and protocols are as strong as possible to ensure the health and safety of our entire community. That process will remain in place throughout the year, and whenever necessary, we will update our policies as appropriate.

o   Children wash &/or sanitize their hands at a number of key points throughout the day.

• Upon entering the building (there are hand sanitizing stations outside all entrances in addition to inside building entrances, in the event a student misses the station outside)
• Upon entering their classroom
• Before snack or mealtime
• After snack or mealtime
• After using the bathroom (every bathroom on schoolhouse property is equipped with touchless soap dispensers)

o   Each classroom being used for both an AM and a PM class is being thoroughly cleaned and sanitized during the intentionally extended time between classes. All equipment, resources, toys and books will be switched out between the AM and PM groups. Teachers will change their external clothing and all PPE before transitioning to a PM class.

o   Arrivals and departures in each split classroom are very carefully monitored by faculty to ensure limited comingling and to maintain safe distancing. Similarly, shared bathrooms are used by one class at a time to reduce exposure. Additionally, to enhance the scheduled cleaning and sanitation of bathrooms, all bathrooms at NCRC have been equipped with Trushot (™), a medical grade disinfectant, that is used on all high-touch surfaces to support the health of all cohorts and individuals. This product is designed to sit on surfaces and each bathroom contains a timer that the teacher sets after each use to support the optimal time for when the product is utilized.

NCRC has always prioritized outside play, but particularly at this time, we are very mindful of maximizing time outdoors for all students. Students will often play outside during inclement conditions, like rain and snow, and should therefore come to school dressed appropriately for these conditions. However, students will not play outdoors if the temperature or wind-chill is low, when there is a “Weather Alert” issued regarding strong/gusty winds or during dangerous storms (lightening, hail, winds).

o   Our top priority is ensuring the health and safety of all students and their families, as well as staff and faculty. Any indication of illness in any individual will be treated seriously and will be closely monitored, with individuals immediately being isolated within NCRC as quickly as possible in the newly-established 'Nook' - formerly the Admissions Office, on the 2nd Floor of the schoolhouse. Any adult or child believed to be ill will be sent home as quickly as possible, with lines of communication between the school and the family maintained to ensure effective contact tracing if COVID-19 is confirmed.

o   Our top priority is ensuring the health and safety of all students and their families, as well as staff and faculty. When COVID-19 was first identified as a global pandemic last March, the school began to plan for what would be required for a physical reopening of the schoolhouse. At that time, NCRC operations staff began the process of procuring all of the equipment and materials necessary to ensure a safe and clean environment for all children, faculty and staff. While the CDC is currently recommending that facilities have three months of these supplies on hand at any one time, NCRC has a six month supply of materials including masks, gloves, hand sanitizer and disinfectant, among other things.

o   NCRC’s ventilation system has a MERV-15 rating, consistent with most medical facilities and known to significantly reduce the risk of airborne transmission of any virus.

o   With the exception of rest, snack and lunch, all children are required to wear masks.

o   For the time being, all snacks and/or lunch are brought in from home each day.

o   NCRC is asking that families refrain from sending their student to school with metal water bottles, snack, or lunch containers based on studies that have determined this surface can hold, sustain, and allow for transfer of the virus for up to 14 days.

o   Our top priority is ensuring the health and safety of all students and their families, as well as staff and faculty. For that reason, we are not allowing parents, caregivers or siblings on campus at this time.

o   Our top priority is ensuring the health and safety of all students and their families, as well as staff and faculty. For that reason, all community-wide events are virtual for the time being. We are exploring opportunities for very small groups to meet outdoors and will be regularly assessing the physical status of community-wide gatherings as the year progresses.

o   The Preparedness Task Force and select faculty worked with the NCRC teaching staff to enhance distance learning curriculum for all classes, taking into consideration every possible need that an inclusive school with a diverse community may have. They’ve been mindful of unique parent needs, student needs and caregiver needs and will continue to find the best ways to bring NCRC into your homes, both through synchronous learning and asynchronous content development.

As one might imagine, there is limited research available on distance learning for preschool-aged children. This group spent the summer months reviewing closely all that has worked to date for every age range within the school and has evolved our offering to ensure the most engaging and enjoyable experience possible for all students and their families through NCRC@Home.

Each child has been assigned to an actual 'classroom', whether they have elected to receive instruction in-person or virtually for the start of school. Every student has been designated a group of up to 7 classmates (some of whom may be receiving instruction in-person and some who may be virtual).  Distance Learners will receive instruction streamed from their physical classrooms, as well as additional 1:1 and/or small group sessions with teachers. All specials (for ALL students) will be delivered virtually (Music, Motor, Library, Spanish).

o   While we would like to be able to welcome our students back in-person for a fifth day every week, these Fridays have allowed for a number of very important things.

• A weekly, day-long deep clean of the entire building
• Weekly meetings amongst faculty to plan curriculum
• Time for teachers to meet with school leadership and the Child Development Team to discuss unique needs as they arise
• Weekly review of protocols and procedures in order to refine and tweak as necessary, as well as plan for potential additions to program going forward
• Time for teachers and staff to participate in professional development opportunities
• Regularly scheduled time for teaching teams to meet with NCRC’s Pedagogista, Lisa Agogliati
• Opportunity for multiple cohort classrooms to come together for Fun Friday gatherings
• Time for students to access both the Levine Music and Motor classes, which cannot take place in-person this year
• Opportunity for all students to interact with all of their classmates and teachers without wearing masks
• Time for all the long-term Distance Learners to be with their entire cohort online together

o   We recognize the stress and anxiety that parents are under as a result of this ongoing pandemic. Whether juggling working from home with your children’s needs, navigating different distance learning schedules for multiple children or just feeling the weight of the uncertainty brought on by this unprecedented public health crisis, we want to be a support to our parents in any way possible.

In addition to the content developed by our teacher teams for asynchronous learning opportunities at home, we have made virtual learning platforms including Seesaw and Epic available to all families at no cost. We are also here to provide any parent who needs it with support securing the technology necessary to access both our synchronous and asynchronous distance learning content.

At your child’s in-person meet and greet at the beginning of the year, they should have received a set of physical resources that will be used throughout Distance Learning programming. Additionally, parents and caregivers receive weekly class plans in advance and should have opportunities to check in with teachers regarding their child’s in-person or Distance Learning.

Finally, NCRC’s Director of Counseling and Family Support, Judith Wides, a member of the Childhood Development Team, is available to all parents for any needs they may have, whether related to their child’s learning experience, a loss they may have suffered, increased anxiety or simply someone to talk to.

o   Our top priority is ensuring the health and safety of all students and their families, as well as staff and faculty. At this time, we are avoiding co-mingling of students from different classes. Therefore, these programs are currently not available.

o   NCRC’s Early Beginnings and Play Pals programs have been the foundation of NCRC’s commitment to inclusion for generations. Our talented and dedicated Child Development Team will continue to offer frequent, robust programming to both children and their parents virtually.

o   NCRC is committed to ensuring that all of our students, staff and faculty are protected and provided for in this uncertain environment. Any immunocompromised community member is able to participate in our Distance Learning program for as long as they choose.