Following recent CDC recommendations, we have updated our policies as follows:
We ask that participants self-screen and follow the following guidelines: (“You” below refers to any person who would be on campus.)
- If you have had a fever within 24 hours, or have taken fever-reducing medication to prevent/relieve a fever in the last 24 hours, please stay home.
- If you are currently experiencing any symptoms of any illness (COVID or otherwise), please stay home until all symptoms are resolved.
- If you have tested positive for COVID or have recently been in close contact with someone who has COVID, please isolate/quarantine for at least the first 5 days after initial COVID infection/exposure.
- If you or a member of your household tests positive for COVID during the school term, please also notify BHSC staff by emailing our main contact account.
- If someone in your family has become or becomes sick within 5 days of class/campus activity, please keep everyone in the family home. If you or someone in your household has symptoms but hasn’t been tested, please assume it could be COVID unless a test shows otherwise.
- If you have tested positive for COVID 6 to 10 days ago but are now feeling better—or if you have been in close contact with someone who has had COVID 6 to 10 days ago—please wear a mask when indoors after isolating/quarantining until 10 days have passed since initial infection/exposure. When outdoors, either mask wearing or social/physical distancing is requested for individuals who have had or been exposed to COVID in the last 10 days.
Updated 8/3/22
To protect the health and safety of BHSC families, the BHSC staff team has adopted an innovative plan that allows us to maintain the quality of student learning as long as the coronavirus remains a public concern.
Instruction On Campus
In the absence of a stay-at-home order, we will meet in person as much as possible and, in consideration of CDC and Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) recommendations, take appropriate precautions.
Charlotte Mason’s recommendation to spend as much time as possible outdoors corresponds well with with the latest findings that outdoor settings are the safest place for social interaction given the current pandemic.
Therefore, in harmony with our education approach, BHSC has adopted the following policies and procedures for protecting students, families, and staff during in-person interactions:
1. Outdoor Learning
BHSC assembly, lunch, and a few classes and other activities will be held outside whenever possible, especially for younger students in classes such as Kaleidoscope and Forest School. We are thankful for the large, multi-acre church campus that will allow us to spread out and enjoy grassy areas and trees while studying.
2. Indoor Learning
For most classes, and for all classes when the weather warrants, we will hold class sessions indoors. On stormy days, dangerously cold days (wind chill at 30 degrees or below), and dangerously hot days (heat index at 100 degrees or above), we will move all classes indoors. On days with a heat index between 90 and 100 degrees, we will exercise caution and play it by ear regarding staying outdoors or going inside.
3. Small Class Groups & Physical Distancing
For 2023-24, BHSC class enrollment is capped at 10 to 15 students for most classes, depending on age level, number of teachers/aids, and space in the classroom. When possible, we will encourage students to spread out and maintain three feet of physical distancing between themselves and others who are not in their household.
4. Masks
When community transmission levels are high, masks are recommended but not required. For the 6 to 10 days after contracting COVID, or the 6 to 10 days after being in close contact with someone who has COVID, mask are required when indoors. Otherwise masks are optional and at parent discretion.
5. Hygiene Habits & Disinfecting
BHSC staff will facilitate frequent and effective hand-washing both for themselves and for BHSC students, and staff will also implement and maintain routines for cleaning and disinfecting shared classroom/learning objects.
6. Health Self-Screenings
Any students, parents, or staff who are ill or experiencing symptoms of illness, or who have been in recent close contact with a person who is sick, will not be allowed on campus. We ask families to conduct a self-screening questionnaire before bringing family members to campus. (See top of page.)
7. Air Purification
BHSC has acquired HEPA air purifiers and fans to assist with ventilation and air quality as an additional safeguard for indoor classroom learning.
Instruction During Any Stay-at-Home Orders
In the unlikely event that new waves of infection call for temporary stay-at-home orders during the academic year, we plan to offer live web-conferencing instruction and/or specially-produced pre-recorded video lessons. All online classes will include some regular live interaction and will be specially prepared by BHSC instructors for their students.
BHSC instructors plan to continue delivering 2023-24 class content at a high level of instruction with or without any stay-at-home orders so that you, as parents, can remain confident that your students are being well-served whether meeting in person or online.
We recognize that not all classes work well with remote instruction. So, in the event of a stay-at-home order, most but not all BHSC classes will be offered online. Classes such as the following hands-on classes will be canceled with the potential for one or more make-up days: Kaleidoscope (Form I), Handicrafts (Forms II through IV), and Art Explorations (Form II). If stay-at-home time lasts longer than four weeks, and we are unable to offer make-ups, families enrolled in such hands-on classes will not be billed tuition for those classes during months in which those classes are cancelled without corresponding make-ups.
Updated 14 June 2023
