COVID-19 Information

List of 8 items.

• COVID-19 Communication Plan

  (updated March 14, 2022)

   

  The following is the school’s updated COVID-19 communication plan: 

  • Close Contact and Positive Case COVID-19: While the Washington Department of Health does not advise notifying immunocompetent close contacts, the school, for now, will communicate directly with  individuals who have a positive case of COVID-19 and/or are in close contact with a positive case of COVID-19.
    
    
  • COVID-19 Dashboard: The school will update the COVID-19 dashboard weekly with active and total cases. Active student cases will be listed by grade level. The dashboard is posted on the school’s COVID-19 resource webpage.
    
    
  • Weekly Update: The school will continue to update the COVID-19 dashboard each Friday. The school will no longer send the Friday weekly email reminders which were implemented to keep families informed of increased case counts during the peak of Omicron. Families can still access this data and information weekly here.
    
    
  • A Community Connected Newsletter: The school will send out important updates and information from Head of School Percy L. Abram about the school’s health and safety protocols. 
    
    
  • Pool Testing: In the instance that there is a positive pool test, the individuals who tested in the pool test will be notified by the school, and asked to come in to complete an individual rapid and PCR test. If a positive case(s) is identified, the affected student(s) will isolate and quarantine as outlined in our quarantine policy.
    
    

• COVID-19 Screening Chart

  (updated April 18, 2022)
  
  Click here for the updated 2022 Screening Chart 

• Mask Policy

  (updated March 14, 2022)

   

  Listed below are the dates for our transition to a mask optional campus:

   

  Saturday, March 12

  Events in the Mag Gym (Upper School Spring Fling and Celebrate Bush) are mask-optional if the doors adjacent to the turf field are open.

   

  Monday, March 14

  Outdoor masking will be optional for Upper School. Indoor masking will still be required until Monday, March 21. 

   

  Monday, March 21

  • The campus-wide (indoor and outdoor) mask optional policy will go into effect. 
  • Masks will continue to be required for gatherings over 150 in indoor locations that do not allow for outdoor air circulation (e.g. the Community Room and Schuchart Gym). The exception is the Mag Gym. 
    
    
  • Unvaccinated visitors not affiliated with the school will still need to wear masks indoors. 
    
    
  • All students and employees must continue to bring medical, KN95, or N95 masks to school daily in case we gather in a group larger than 150 indoors.
    
    

• Quarantine Policy

  (Updated April 18, 2022)

   

  On March 10, 2022, the Washington Department of Health published a revision to the Requirements and Guidance to Mitigate COVID-19 Transmission in K-12 Schools, Child Care, Early Learning, Youth Development, and Day Camp Programs.  With this recent revision, The Bush School is now in a position to update our quarantining guidelines for students, faculty, and staff.  The new policy will take effect this week, starting Monday, March 14.

  
  

  A student, staff or faculty who tests positive for COVID-19 is required to isolate at home, regardless of vaccination status. See Calculating Your Isolation Period for additional information. 

  
  

  The individual may return to school/care after 5 full days of isolation if:  

  •  Their symptoms have improved or they are asymptomatic, AND
  • They are without a fever for the past 24 hours without use of fever-reducing medications. 

  AND IF returning to school on days 6-10, the individual is required to:

  • Wear a well-fitted mask during days six-to-ten of their isolation period, consistent with CDC guidance, AND  
  • Test negative with an antigen or at-home test any day after day five before returning. Testing beyond day ten is not necessary. 

  If the individual is not able to wear a well-fitted mask, AND does not test negative, they are required to continue isolating at home through the end of their isolation period (10 days after the day they tested positive OR the first day of symptoms, whichever was first). See also the 2022 Screening Chart as a reference.  

  
  

  CLOSE CONTACT WITH SOMEONE WITH COVID-19

  
  

  Regardless of vaccination status, students, children, and staff who were potentially exposed to COVID-19 should be encouraged to: 

  • Monitor for symptoms, AND
  • Consider wearing a well-fitted mask (if age appropriate) for 10 days after the last date of exposure, especially during activities like high-risk indoor sports, performing arts, etc., AND 
  • Get tested three-to-five days after their last exposure. Molecular (PCR/NAAT), antigen, and at home tests are acceptable. If they test positive, they must isolate as described above.  
    • For individuals who have been recently infected (within the past 90 days), antigen testing should be performed as PCR results may remain persistently positive and not be indicative of a new, active infection. 

• Testing Protocols

  (updated March 21, 2022)

  
  

  The Bush School has ended the  scheduled school-wide surveillance testing, however reserves the right to reimplement surveillance testing during known peak infection times (i.e. for two weeks after any school breaks) or any outbreaks or evidence of increasing cases in the community.  We are planning on conducting surveillance testing during the following dates:

  • The week of March 21 and March 28, 2022
  • The weeks of April 18 and April 25, 2022

  
  

  Rapid antigen and individual PCR testing will still be done on any symptomatic student and will be made available to anyone in the community who requests it. Please contact Happy Salinas-Santos to arrange for testing if needed.

• Travel and Gathering Policies

  (updated March 14, 2022)

   

  Given the lowered incidence of SARS-CoV2 in King County, we have decided to remove any travel or gathering policies.  Regardless of vaccination status, students, children, and staff will not have to quarantine or test after travel or gathering unless they exhibit symptoms.

• Vaccination Policy

  (updated March 14, 2022)

   

  In keeping with our current policy regarding COVID-19 (as well as measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccinations), and in consultation with The Bush School’s Health Panel, we have decided to require the COVID-19 vaccine and booster (if eligible) for all enrolled students at The Bush School. 

  
  

  All employees were required to be vaccinated as of September 1, 2021 and receive the COVID-19 booster by Monday, January 10, 2022.  Students aged twelve and older were required to have their primary series by September 1, 2021 and boosters, if eligible, by February 28, 2022.  Students aged 5-11 were required to have their primary series by February 28, 2022.  

  
  

  COVID-19 vaccination cards should be uploaded by you into your individual student and employee Magnus accounts after obtaining a booster.  If you have questions about possible religious or medical exemptions please contact School Wellness Coordinator Happy Salinas-Santos.

  
  

• Visitors and Volunteer Policy

  (updated March 14, 2022)

  
  

  Parents/guardians who come onto campus to volunteer or to visit are required to adhere to the mask policy as outlined above.  

  
  

  Unvaccinated visitors (vendors, speakers, contractors, etc.) that are not members of the school community will still need to wear masks indoors.