COVID - St. Martin's Episcopal Preschool

COVID-19 School Policies

3 John 1:2
Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul.

2022-2023 Covid Policy:

At SMEP, we stay on top of the most current CDC guidance, and we work closely with the Harris County Health Department, other area schools, and local pediatricians to determine protocols that best serve our immediate community. Two and a half years into the Covid-19 pandemic, we are thankful to be loosening our campus restrictions, but we reserve the right to make changes to our Covid-19 policies and procedures throughout the school year to serve the best interest of our children and teachers.

Classroom Exposure:

If your child tests positive for Covid-19, please notify your teachers. They must remain home for 10 days and be free of any symptoms of illness for 24 hours without medication before returning to school. SMEP does not require a negative test for return to class, but please let your child’s teachers know when symptoms began and when the positive test result was received.

If a child tests positive for Covid-19 (who has been on campus within 48 hours of either the onset of their first symptom or their positive test), parents with children in that classroom will be notified of the exposure. We will not close classrooms due to exposures on campus, but teachers will vigilantly monitor children for symptoms of illness and send children home who are symptomatic. If your child begins to exhibit symptoms, it is suggested that you test them 5 days after their exposure.

Symptoms of Illness Include, But Are Not Limited to:

Congestion/runny nose, sore throat, cough, headache, fever/chills, vomiting/diarrhea, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle/body aches,loss of taste or smell.

Teachers will continue to emphasize and oversee frequent hand washing in the classroom.

All classrooms will continue to be thoroughly cleaned and sanitized by our housekeeping crew at the end of each school day.

Household Exposure:

If anyone in your household tests positive for Covid-19, your child must stay home for 5 days, test on day 5, and may return to school if that test is negative.

If anyone in your household has a pending Covid-19 test, please do not send your child to school until you have received a negative result.

Our number one goal this year is to keep our school open and our children safe, healthy, and engaged. Since proper social distancing is not possible in an early childhood setting, doing this will require all of us to examine the choices we are making in our personal lives to increase our safety and eliminate chances for exposure.

Every choice that we make at SMEP is for the safety and best interest of your children and our staff. We need your support and partnership this year more than ever before.

Please contact any of us if you have any questions or concerns. We need your support and partnership this year more than ever before.

Please contact any of us if you have any questions or concerns:

Kellen Gray, Head of School: kgray@smepreschool.org
Sharon Ladd, Director of Operations: sladd@smepreschool.org
Jennifer Jaeger, Librarian and Technology: jjaeger@smepreschool.org
Delicia Parker, Administrative Assistant: dparker@smepreschool.org
Jan Herbin, Payne Building Reception: smepdesk@smepreschool.org
Marsha Greenwood, Founders’ Hall Reception: smepfounders@smepreschool.org