Covid Mitigation Plan for the 2021-22 School Year

Mill Valley School District’s COVID Mitigation Plan focuses on the health and safety of all staff and students. Our strategies were developed in partnership with School Guidelines: Public Health Guided Site-Based Classroom Instruction to support a full return to in-person instruction for all students.

The information on this page will remain fluid and responsive to new information from local, regional, state, and federal agencies. This information is intended to offer each community member a central location to access information during this continually evolving experience. As new decisions are made and as content is developed, it will be added to this page.

As a community, we need to focus on three main mitigation strategies recommended by Marin County Public Health: Good Hand Hygiene, Getting Vaccinated and Staying Home when sick. The mitigation strategies we follow at school will depend upon where we are on the Marin County Schools Mitigation Strategies Continuum.

Vaccinations

Marin County Public Health requires that vaccination percentages of each educational center must be posted on center websites no later than October 1st, 2021 and must be updated at least once a month. Unvaccinated staff are required to be tested weekly. The status of individual staff and students will not be published.

vaccination reporting table

Covid Testing

We are registered with and certified by the California Department of Public Health to provide onsite, rapid antigen testing for exposure-response testing for staff and students who are on modified quarantine and weekly testing of unvaccinated staff members. We have also received a limited number of at-home rapid antigen tests from the Marin County Office of Education that will be available to be sent home with symptomatic students who are sent home ill starting the week of 10/4/21. There is currently a nationwide shortage of home antigen test kits so these will be available while the supplies we received from MCOE last.

Up-to-Date Guidelines

Marin County Schools 32-Point Plan (10-11-2021)

Marin County Schools Mitigation Strategies Continuum 2021-22 School Year

The ABCs of Mitigation Strategies: *Good Hand Hygiene *Get Vaccinated *Stay Home When Sick

A = No Mitigation Strategies required

B = Universal Masking Indoors

C = Universal masking Indoors and Outdoors

D = Universal Masking Indoors and outdoors and Stable Grouping

Site Specific Safety Plans (SSSPP)

Each school will continue to operate under Mill Valley School District’s Site Specific Protection Plans (SSSPP). Specific information regarding your child’s school campus can be found in these documents which were originally developed by the SSSPP Task Forces (teachers, administrators, parents, staff) at each school and have been approved by the Marin County Office of Education. These have been updated to meet new guidelines for the 2021 - 2022 school year.

We will continue to follow guidance from our public health partners to ensure that our schools are safe for our students and staff. Frequent hand hygiene is one of the most important preventative practices to help slow the spread of COVID-19 and will be encouraged at school. Time for hand hygiene is scheduled throughout the day including before eating and before returning to the classrooms after out of class activities.

COVID Dashboard

School Site	Edna	MVMS	Old Mill	Park	Strawberry Point	Tam Valley
Positive Cases On Site To Date	3	7	3	2	3	5
Confirmed School Based Transmission	0	0	0	0	1	0
Date of Last Positive Case	11/3/21	12/3/21	11/16/21	11/5/21	9/17/21	11/12/21

Our dashboard is updated upon notification of a positive case.

Marin County Public Health COVID Dashboard

Illness and Quarantine - Decision Trees

Students and staff who are ill are expected to stay home. Students who exhibit any symptoms of illness will need to be picked up from school.

We use the Marin County COVID-19 Decision Tree to determine when quarantine is required and when to return to school after quarantine. Families may refer to these for guidance regarding how long to stay home from school when ill, and what to do if a household member is exposed to someone with, or contracts, COVID-19. This year if families are asked to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test to return to school the test may be either a PCR molecular test or a rapid antigen test such as the Binax test.

The Marin Department of Public Health has issued updated Decision Trees to help everyone navigate how to respond to COVID symptoms or contact with those with COVID:

Travel Guidelines

Current travel guidance from the CDC can be found here.

Gathering Reminders: As the holidays approach, county health strongly encourages everyone to wear masks indoors at private gatherings where vaccination status cannot be confirmed. Tips for Celebrating Safely.
Holiday Travel: Tips for traveling safely over the holidays.

Guidelines Following Travel Out-of-State

Partially or unvaccinated students may return to school under Modified Quarantine, and should test on Day 5 after returning home. Modified Quarantine ends on Day 8 with a negative test if not symptomatic.
Modified Quarantine: students may attend school and before and after-care programs in-person if asymptomatic, provided students wear masks and monitor for symptoms for 14 days. If symptoms develop, students should immediately self-isolate and get tested for COVID-19, or be evaluated by a healthcare provider. During Modified Quarantine students should refrain from socializing outside of school and going out in public.

Fully vaccinated students who do not have symptoms: may return to school, monitor symptoms, and test on Day 5 after returning home.

Face Coverings - Indoor Face Covering Update

Marin County issued updated indoor face covering guidance on 11/1/2021. Starting 11/8/2021, fully vaccinated school staff may remove their face coverings indoors when no students are present. This includes during the day, during prep time, and if no students are present in the room. Face coverings continue to be required indoors at all times when students are present and are required at all times for unvaccinated adults.

Staff, students, and any school visitors will adhere to the appropriate guidelines.

When masks are required, disposable masks are available for students if needed.
Face coverings are not required for students or staff if there is a medical or behavioral reason for not wearing a face covering. This should be verified in writing from a medical professional, member of the school IEP team, or the school counselor.

Safety Protocols

We continue to implement our Safety Protocols that were in place during the 2020-2021 school year, including cleaning and disinfecting practices. Staff will continue to have access to cleaning supplies and essential protective equipment.

Shared Materials and Student Interaction

Student’s will return to school this year with the ability to share classroom materials, supplies and playground equipment. While in positions A, B and C on the continuum, students may play together on the playground and interact with students from other classrooms freely at recess. If we are in position D we would need to return to keeping our students in stable groups.

Social Distancing

There is no longer a specific distancing requirement for students in classroom settings, however, we are required to keep accurate seating charts and attendance records for students when they are inside of our classrooms. These records will allow us to work with our public health partners for contact tracing if there is a person who tests positive for COVID-19 at school.

Resource Documents:

Covid Mitigation Plan for 2021-22

Covid Mitigation Plan for the 2021-22 School Year