We have contracted a leading cleaning consulting firm to audit our cleaning practices and recommend the optimal infection prevention and control program. This includes which procedures and processes to follow and appropriate cleaning products and sanitization misters to purchase. They will also conduct cleaning and sanitizing education and training with our Facilities Team. High touch surfaces will be cleaned at minimum twice daily. We will undertake continuous monitoring of external guidelines to ensure we are current with best practices.

Extensive signage will be installed to direct student traffic and minimize congestion in hallways and stairwells.

We are modifying door configurations to minimize high-touch areas. We have also improved air circulation and are in the process of completing air purification so as to reduce particulate matter, bacteria, and viruses.

Classrooms have been de-cluttered and “soft” furniture placed temporarily in storage to minimize surface contamination. Hand sanitizer stations are liberally positioned by every classroom door and throughout the hallways.

Changes are ongoing this summer in response to Baltimore City Public School’s Safe School Reopening Guidelines.

The best way to prevent infection is to avoid being exposed. This is facilitated through physical distancing, wearing a mask when physical distancing is difficult to maintain, washing hands often, and staying home when ill.



The following guidelines and protocols may change as directed by health and governing authorities. All details should be forthcoming by mid to late-August. Please ensure that you and your son are aware of the protocols outlined below.

Transportation To and From School Recommendations regarding health and safety best practices relating to transportation to/from school will be forthcoming.

Health Screening All students, staff, and visitors must complete a self-assessment before arriving on campus. Students learning on campus, and on-campus staff, must be prepared to complete an assessment every day prior to arriving on campus, even if the student/staff does not plan to be on campus on a given day, as well as receiving a temperature check prior to building entry. This will assist in screening and monitoring illness prevalence in our school. Students/staff exhibiting any COVID-19 symptoms will be required to stay home. More details will be provided in Back-to-School communications sent to parents before any on-site school reopening.

Face Masks Staff and students are required to wear masks at all times when in the school, including in the classroom. Masks should be washed each day.



School staff who are in close, regular contact with students must wear medical-grade face masks. This includes teaching faculty, support personnel, and facilities crew.

Hand Hygiene Hand hygiene, which refers to hand-washing or hand-sanitizing, is one of the most effective ways to reduce virus transmission.

Students will be encouraged to wash their hands regularly with soap and water and/or hand sanitizer. We have increased the number of hand sanitizing stations to make this option available in every classroom and throughout the hallways. Posters demonstrating proper hand washing techniques are posted in all bathrooms. Many people do not know how to wash their hands effectively. These videos show how to practice washing your hands. Handwashing with soap & water

Handwashing with sanitizer

Physical Distancing Students will be encouraged to maintain physical distancing at all times. Students will enter the school through a designated entry way and wait in a designated gathering spot by grade level. When possible, students should arrive at school immediately prior to the morning bell to avoid congregating in common spaces. Student arrival and entry flow details will be explained more fully in the weeks leading up to our first day in the building. Directional signage will be used in hallways and stairwells to maintain a steady flow of traffic and minimize congestion. Signs enforcing physical distancing will be posted throughout the school. Bathrooms will be limited to two students at a time. Classrooms have been reconfigured to support the physical distancing of students and teachers.

Cohorting “Cohorting” refers to minimizing the number of students and teachers any individual comes in contact with, and maintaining consistency within those contacts as much as possible. This is done to limit the potential spread of infection should an individual contract the virus that causes COVID-19.

BCSB will maintain an average cohort of 15 students in a classroom and adopt timetabling that, to the greatest extent possible, limits the number of individuals that a student or teacher engages with during their time at school.

Staff & Faculty Preparedness Health and safety training on new policies and procedures for staff will take place before the start of school, once city, state, and health authorities have provided guidance and BCSB plans for reopening are finalized. Students will receive health and safety training upon their return to school.

Visitors in the School To reduce the potential of virus spread in the school, there will be no visitors allowed in the school. This includes parents, alumni, new family prospects, etc.

Quarantine & Isolation Protocols Students and staff who are not well must not come to school. For the full list of symptoms of suspected COVID-19 please see the State of Maryland website. Any student/staff who has been out of the country must quarantine at home for 14 days and is not permitted in the school. Read about the Maryland Out of State Travel Advisory, here. Overview of when a staff/student can return to school: It is recommended by Maryland Department of Health (MDH) that school staff and students with symptoms of COVID-19 go to an approved site for testing as soon as possible, and to self-isolate at home until their result is available.

If a student/staff has symptoms, when can they return to school/work? Students/staff who are COVID positive cannot return to school until they are cleared by public health (typically 14 days after symptoms started).

Students/staff who test negative can return to school as long as their symptoms are resolved, and once they are symptom-free for 24 hours, unless they were a confirmed close contact, had recent international travel or are currently being managed by MDH.

Maryland Department of Health will be providing guidance for students/staff who have symptoms but do not get tested.

If a student/staff is advised by public health that they have been exposed to a confirmed case (i.e. they are a close contact), when can they return to school/work? School staff and students exposed to a confirmed case of COVID-19 will be advised by public health. Public health will complete a risk assessment and determine who had high-risk exposure.

They will be excluded from the school setting for 14 days from the day of last exposure to the person who had COVID-19, if they had close contact: These individuals must self-isolate at home and monitor for symptoms for the next 14 days. Individuals who have been exposed to a confirmed case of COVID-19 should get tested as soon as any symptoms develop. If asymptomatic, individuals who have been exposed are also encouraged to get tested any time within 14 days of the potential exposure. They will need to continue to self-isolate for 14 days even if the test is negative. Contacts of a contact (e.g. household member of a student who was exposed at school) do not need to be excluded.



Students/Staff who are being managed by MDH (i.e. confirmed or probable cases of COVID-19, close contacts of cases) must follow MDH instructions to determine when to return to the school: School staff must also report to the Principal prior to return to work when applicable.

Clearance tests are not required for staff or students to return to the school.

More guidance from Baltimore City Schools and the State Dept. of Education will be coming for schools on how to manage ill students, staff, and their households.