Updated March 25, 2022.

Quick Links

SFS Visitor on Campus Form. Please provide your proof of vaccination prior to your visit on campus if possible. 

Complete Visitor Form

SFS COVID-19 Portal for Uploading COVID-19 Tests Results. To upload your COVID test results, please use the new SFS Portal. Upload to Magnus and emails to the School Nurse are no longer required! 

Upload Test Results

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The San Francisco School prioritizes the health and safety of its students, staff, and families and complies with the mandates and guidelines of the California (CDPH) and San Francisco (SFDPH) Departments of Health, including the SFDPH’s Programs for Children and Youth and Guidance for TK-12 Schools for In-Person, On-Site Instruction for School Year 2021-2022.  

COMMUNITY EXPECTATIONS. Please make decisions not only for the wellbeing of your family but also for our entire school community. 

DAILY HEALTH PROTOCOL. Please keep your child home if they are sick. Keep this list of COVID-19 symptoms handy. If your child is sick or has any of these symptoms contact the School Nurse (nurse@sfschool.org ) and have your child tested for COVID-19. Families are expected to continue to self-screen daily at home for symptoms.

VACCINATIONS. SFS requires all school-based adults to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, with the exception of individuals who obtain a medical or religious exemption. 

We urge all eligible students (ages 5 and older) and all SFS family/household members to get vaccinated and stay up to date with boosters at their earliest opportunity. SFS will continue to assess the possibility of requiring the vaccine for eligible students.  To make an appointment, go to: https://sf.gov/get-vaccinated-against-covid-19.

Please keep your child’s vaccination record up to date in Magnus. After each dose, upload a photo of your child’s vaccination card (or screenshot of the electronic record, available here) to the immunization form section in your child’s Magnus account (Student Health Tracker → Immunization Form → Add Files).

RETURN-FROM-BREAK TESTING. All staff and students, regardless of vaccination status, must test twice after breaks of a week or longer: once on the day before returning to classes and again on the third day back at school (e.g., Sunday and Wednesday). Spring Break Tests will be performed on Sunday, April 24, and Wednesday, April 27. Upload results to the SFS Test Portal (link above).

• If you have a POSITIVE or INCONCLUSIVE result, please submit the result and in addition, email your division head and nurse@sfschool.org immediately and do not come to school.

TRAVEL GUIDANCE. If families are traveling at other times during the school year, unvaccinated students/staff must follow the return-from-break testing protocol after any trip involving mass transit. 

COVID TESTING. For all required testing, SFS accepts results from FDA-approved at-home tests. All test results should be uploaded to the SFS COVID Test Portal and require approval prior to returning to school. Whenever possible, the school will perform immediate testing of any symptomatic staff or students on campus with a rapid antigen test and subsequent PCR testing if needed. 

MASKS

SFDPH recommends  that individuals wear well-fitted masks indoors based on three factors: 

• their own risk tolerance 
• the overall level of community transmission (e.g., future variants)
• whether the individual or someone they live or work with is at risk of severe disease

Grades K-8: Indoor and outdoor masking is optional. There will be special masking protocols for students prior to overnight trips. Those who are exposed to COVID will be asked to mask indoors at school for 5 days. All children should bring a mask to school in case the need arises to wear one.

Preschool: Indoor masking still required. Optional outdoor masking begins Monday, March 28.

Visitors: Outdoor masking optional. Indoor masking required unless

• In a meeting with other adults AND no students are present.
• Presenting and able to physically distance from students (e.g., in the Community Center).

Mask Recommendations. For those masking, we recommend a well-fitting, high-quality mask (e.g., KN95 or KF94), rather than only a cloth mask. See Masking Tips for Children. If a high quality mask is not tolerated by the student, cloth masks are still acceptable at each family’s discretion. 

Please send your child to school with at least one back-up (even in grades with optional masking), and remind your child to wear the mask over both nose and mouth.  

CAMPUS VISITORS. Visitors who are up-to-date on their vaccinations are permitted by invitation, and proof of vaccination is required. Visitors are permitted outdoors and in classrooms where all students are eligible to be vaccinated (K-8 classrooms).

• Visitors must provide proof of vaccination by completing the SFS Campus Visit form (form only needs to be completed one time).
• Visitors are asked to wear a KN95 or other high-quality mask.
• Visitors must remain masked indoors unless
  • In a meeting with other adults AND no students are present.
  • Presenting and able to physically distance from students (e.g., in the Community Center).

ADDITIONAL MITIGATION MEASURES

Lunch and recess – Eating will take place outdoors when possible. Students eating indoors will maintain as much space as possible.  

Ventilation – The ventilation was upgraded last summer and all classrooms have MERV-13 or MERV-18 filtration systems as well as portable HEPA air filters which will be kept on while indoors. During wildfire season, carbon filters will be used to decrease volatile organic substances. We will keep windows and/or doors open whenever feasible and comfortable to maximize natural ventilation. The use of outdoor space will be maximized whenever possible.

Safe transportation practices –When taking public transit, CDPH requires everyone to wear face masks, including those who are fully vaccinated.

COVID EXPOSURE ON CAMPUS. In the event of a COVID case at school, SFS will follow the SFDPH’s guidance for schools. In most cases, we will follow the Group Tracing Approach, which will allow us to provide safe in-person instruction without undertaking intense (and often protracted) contact tracing processes to identify individual students within a specified radius of someone infected. When following group tracing:

• We will notify everyone who spent 15+ minutes in a shared indoor space with someone with COVID-19. 
• Everyone exposed, regardless of vaccination status, will be expected to test on Day 5 after the exposure (individuals who have had confirmed COVID-19 in the last 90 days are exempted from testing requirement). 
• Exposed students may continue to take part in all aspects of school and extracurricular activities unless they develop symptoms or test positive for COVID-19.

Students and staff who test positive for COVID-19 must immediately inform the school (nurse@sfschool.org) and isolate for at least 5 days. They may return after 5 days if they have: a negative test collected on or after day 5, no fever for 24 hours (without medication), and other symptoms are improving. The nurse will provide detailed instructions for isolation and return to school.

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AIR QUALITY POLICY. Our school nurse monitors the Air Quality Index (AQI) throughout the day and works in conjunction with school administration to ensure a safe environment for staff and students. 

• When AQI exceeds 100 (orange, unhealthy for sensitive groups), preschool/kindergarten students will be brought indoors. 
• When AQI exceeds 150 (red, unhealthy) all students will be brought indoors, and if necessary, we may consider school closure. 
• When AQI exceeds 200  (purple, very unhealthy) school will close.

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THE COVID TASK FORCE

James Harding - Music Teacher and Faculty Trustee
Tiffany Fong - Athletic Director, Health and Wellness Teacher, and parent to George (K)
Kim (Burke) Fabiani - Kindergarten Co-Head Teacher
Laura McGourty - Upper School Counselor, SEL Coordinator, and parent to Raeya (K)

Neeta Takhar - Family Association Past Chair, and parent to Rohan (5th)
Darpun Sachdev, MD - SFDPH Clinical Prevention Specialist, and parent to Celina (1st) and Aristu (6th)
Prassana Jagannathan, MD/PhD - Infectious Disease Specialist, Stanford Medical School, and parent to Mika (7th)

Kate McElvaney - Head of Lower School
Laura Post - Strategic Initiatives Manager, and parent to Lila (8th) and William (’17)
Carly Reiter - Director of Design, Engineering, and Technology
Steve Morris- Head of School, and parent to Harper (4th), Mason (’21), and Rowan (’19)