FAQs

A: First and foremost, a lack of adherence to the behaviors described in our Community Health Compact and the COVID-19 Addendum to the All-School Handbook and a change in the efficacy of health and safety protocols and broader environmental conditions. In addition: 

• Recommendations and requirements from local, state and federal health agencies
• Feedback from our own experiences on campus, data from other schools that have reopened in North Carolina and beyond, and any new and significant research findings about COVID-19 transmission, protection, risks and treatments
• Community transmission data from Durham and Orange counties and North Carolina, including:
  • the percentage of positive tests
  • daily new cases per 100,000 residents
  • COVID-like illnesses

In response to changing local conditions and all we learn from DA and beyond, we are prepared to move between modes of instruction, and/or to develop additional models when necessary. 

A: If any one of or a combination of public health factors deteriorate significantly, DA may institute an adjusted DA Hybrid model in which students receive academic instruction remotely, but could still come to campus occasionally for athletics practices, small-group meetings, advisory time and extracurriculars. The fully virtual, Durham E-cademy, with all students learning remotely and no on-campus activities, would be prompted by directives from public health officials, high community transmission rates or if the school were forced to close due to a large-scale outbreak. 

• All individuals will wear masks at school — at all times indoors (except when eating or drinking in a socially distanced way), and outdoors in situations where social distancing is not possible.

• Continuous hand hygiene and campus-wide access to hand sanitizer.

• Social distancing among those on campus in indoor and outdoor settings.

• De-densification through the expanded use of facilities and instructional space configurations (grades Pre-k through 4) and rotational attendance in grades 5-12 to achieve 40-50% occupancy and minimize mixing of students. Large group gatherings eliminated.

• Cohorting of students in all divisions to facilitate contact tracing.

• Isolation facilities on each campus for students exhibiting signs of illness.

• Advanced air quality techniques including HVAC and airflow optimization and filtering.

• Additional staff and supplies for enhanced sanitizing and cleaning processes for high-contact surfaces and facilities throughout the day, nightly cleaning and sanitizing of all classrooms and use areas.

• Increased outdoor educational, meeting and recreational spaces with tents of various sizes on each campus. 

• Water bottle filling stations to replace water fountains on all campuses.  

• Protective plexiglass screens in high traffic areas, such as division front office areas, the Preschool/Lower School infirmary and the Upper School bookstore.

A: Durham Academy’s prevention and protection protocols are informed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) guidelines for the reopening of schools, as well as state public health directives, specifically reopening guidance for K-12 schools issued by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS).

With health and safety as our first priority, our ability to offer in-person and/or hybrid educational experiences hinges on the willingness of our campus community to come together in support of our collective health and safety. Each of us has a responsibility to know and act on these standards and policies in a way that maximizes a safe and healthy environment for us to teach, work, learn and live.

Before School

• A mandatory Durham Academy Community Health Compact. By signing it, community members commit to following the health and safety protocols and guidelines developed by DA to limit the spread of COVID-19 and protect the health and wellness of the entire DA community. 

• Before arrival on DA’s campus, families should be alert for any symptoms of COVID-19 and keep students home if they show any signs of illness. 

• Daily health screening assessments of students upon arrival, including questionnaire and temperature checks.

• Employees complete health screening upon arrival.
   

Health Screening Protocols

Before arrival on DA’s campus, families should be alert for any symptoms of COVID-19 and keep students home if they show any signs of illness. 
 

Required exclusionary NCDHHS symptoms include:

• fever of 100.4°F or higher

• cough

• shortness of breath or difficulty breathing

• chills, shivering or sweating

• new loss of taste or smell
   

Confirmation of alternative diagnosis from health care provider explaining the symptoms below must be sent to Division Directors and Nurse Consultant. Additional symptoms that preclude attending school include:

• sore throat
• vomiting/diarrhea
• flushed cheeks
• fatigue
• extreme fussiness
• achiness or muscle pain
• headache 
• not eating or drinking

Before leaving home for campus each day, all families should check their students for symptoms using the COVID-19 screening checklist. 

A: DA will provide masks for those who do not have their own. Cloth face coverings must have at least two layers of material to be effective in reducing emission of particles. Gaiters and masks with valves are not permitted. Cloth masks or face coverings should be washed daily, and the fabric design or pattern should be appropriate for the classroom and the workplace and follow DA’s dress code guidelines. 

There are also risks associated when a member of a family has COVID-19 symptoms or has been exposed, but before a formal diagnosis has been made. If any family member living in the same household exhibits any of the main COVID-19 symptoms (fever, chills, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, new loss of taste or smell) and is awaiting test results, then the entire family should quarantine, even if they are asymptomatic, because there is a high enough risk of exposure. If a positive COVID-19 test or diagnosis is confirmed, then those family members would follow the “exposed” protocols and stay home for 14 days.

A: From the CDC: 

Universal testing refers to testing all students and staff in school settings for SARS-CoV-2, regardless of whether they are showing symptoms or have a known exposure to someone with COVID-19.

CDC does not recommend universal testing of all students and staff for several reasons:

• Viral testing only provides COVID-19 status for individuals at the time of testing.

• One-time or universal entry testing could miss COVID-19 cases in the early stages of infection, and it could miss exposures that happen after testing.

• Implementing a universal approach to testing in schools may pose challenges, such as the lack of infrastructure to support routine testing and follow up in the school setting; unknown acceptability of this testing approach among students, parents, and staff; lack of dedicated resources; practical considerations related to testing minors; and potential disruption in the educational environment.

• 30,000 masks.

• 10,500 gloves of various sizes.

• 75 non-contact thermometers.

• 780 bottles of hand sanitizer in 8- and 12-oz. size bottles. Another 1,000 bottles ordered.  An additional 150 gallons of hand sanitizer (100 one-gallon containers and 100 half-gallon containers). An additional 20 hand sanitizing stations installed  at various locations.

• 132,200 sanitizing wipes in various sized canisters and packs.

• 408 cans of disinfectant spray.

• One hand sprayer in stock and several more ordered to sanitize buses, playground equipment.

 

A: DA’s housekeeping staff will continue their normal cleaning after hours, which will include wiping down high-touch hard surfaces — light switches, bathroom fixtures, door knobs, etc. 

DA has added a day porter at the Middle/Upper Schools. This person is responsible for wiping down all hard surfaces, light switches, bathroom fixtures, etc. during daytime hours.   

The Preschool/Lower School already had a day porter who is now also responsible for sanitizing the above areas as well as the playground equipment between uses.

Two additional housekeeping employees will start working at 3 p.m. on the Lower and Middle School campuses to help sanitize areas and equipment for Extended Day. 

A: All HVAC units in buildings older than 10 years have been recommissioned.* HVACs in newer buildings are not being recommissioned because they were recommissioned and verified to be working at maximum capacity at the time of construction.  

*Recommissioning involves a professional licensed company that tests and balances each HVAC unit to verify that it is operating at an optimum level, providing proportional amounts of air in each of the rooms along with the correct amount of fresh outside air. 

HVAC technicians have changed out all HVAC filters to a MERV 13 filter. This filter is recommended by the CDC and ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers) to filter particles through DA’s HVAC system. A new HVAC controls system has been installed at the Lower School to more accurately keep temperatures at a comfortable level and ensure constant air flow throughout the building.

• Campus access is restricted to essential personnel. Parents and visitors are not permitted in buildings.

• Conservative responses and management for suspected, presumed and confirmed COVID-19 cases.

• Testing and contact tracing when needed/recommended in collaboration with health department officials and health care providers.

• Essential service repair persons must follow the protocols described above (temperature check, symptom questionnaire, commitment to honor the workplace guidelines) when they arrive for scheduled visits to campus and check in at the security offices.

• We will not be allowing parents and visitors in buildings this year. This is a necessary precaution to reduce the number of contacts and the potential for transmission.

A: The ability to participate in on-campus instruction is a privilege. It has taken an incredible amount of energy, effort and dedication from our faculty and staff as well as significant investment by the school to make DA Hybrid possible. If families or students cannot commit to upholding the health and safety protocols in the DA Community Health Compact and the COVID-19 Addendum to the All-School Handbook, both at school and at home, it jeopardizes the safety of the entire DA community. 

Families or students who repeatedly fail to adhere to DA’s protocols and guidelines will first be gently reminded of their collective responsibility to protect our community. If the behavior does not improve, the respective division director will have a follow-up conversation with the family. If it continues after that conversation, the student will be transitioned to a stay-at-home, remote learning option.

About 11% of DA students were fully remote at the start of the 2020-2021 school year. That option is available to any family at any point during the year.

A: DA recognizes that there may be students and families who may choose to or need to access remote instruction for a portion of or for the entire academic year. While we do know that many students will be learning at home (some for longer periods by the choice of their families, some for shorter periods due to precautious quarantining, and everyone if we move to fully-virtual Durham E-cademy mode), DA cannot promise a matching experience for at-home learners when we are on campus. DA faculty learned a great deal about online instruction in spring 2020. Every teacher has attended workshops this summer to hone their abilities to teach remotely and to keep at-home learners connected and moving forward. 

Preschool 

Grade-level teachers will plan core lessons (literacy, math, social studies) and post them online for students who are working from home. Each Preschool student will have a school-issued iPad to use. If students are learning remotely, most work will be asynchronous with the exception of daily Morning Meetings. All at-home learners will be invited to join Preschool Morning Meetings via Microsoft Teams. In the Preschool hybrid model, teachers/assistants will check in with remote learners weekly and offer support and feedback related to the posted lessons.  

Enrichment classes (art, music, science, P.E., Spanish, cooking) and assemblies will be offered virtually via pre-recorded videos. These videos will be available to at-home learners using Seesaw. 

The Preschool hybrid model calls for all teachers to be present on campus. However, depending on the number of families who do not participate in on-campus instruction, the Preschool hybrid model could change to include one teacher assigned to at-home learners. If there are opportunities for students at home to connect remotely for some synchronous lessons with their class, we may explore ways to make that possible. It will depend on the number of children and the ease of participation. DA’s Office of Information Technology is working on audio access so that students at home can hear and understand a teacher at school who is talking through a mask.

Lower School

Grade level teachers will plan core lessons (literacy, math, social studies) the week before for the week ahead. Teachers will post this work online on Microsoft OneNote for parents to access for their children who are working from home. Children will have a school-issued iPad to complete their work. Most of this core academic work will be asynchronous on Seesaw and will include books to read, videos to watch and activities/lessons to complete. Students at home will be invited to join their class online at 8:30 a.m. every morning for their class’ Morning Meeting. 

For cohorting reasons, all Lower School enrichment classes (art, drama, music, science, Spanish, and TED) and any all-school events like assemblies will be offered virtually. Students at school will view these lessons or events together at school, and students at home will be able to access these easily on Seesaw. 

Keeping up with school work and showing academic growth will be manageable and engaging. The more challenging goal will be to keep our children who are at home as connected as possible to their peers at school. Children at home will need substantial emotional and social support from their teachers and classmates. Lower School Counselor Martha Baker will be available, and teachers will find opportunities for children at home to connect to classmates during lunch or other class meetings.

Depending on how many students are learning remotely, the Lower School will pair those students with a teacher (an assistant, lead or enrichment teacher) to check in with the students each day to answer questions and to monitor progress. The student’s lead teacher will check on student progress each week and make suggestions for growth and improvement. If there is a sizable number of students who choose to or who cannot participate in on-campus instruction, that will free up a lead teacher to schedule more check-ins and synchronous opportunities for instruction.

We will evaluate this model as we go. If there are opportunities for students at home to connect remotely for some synchronous lessons with their class, we will do that. It will depend on the number of children and the ease of participation. DA’s Office of Information Technology is working on audio access so that students at home can hear and understand a teacher at school who is talking through a mask. 

Middle School

The Middle School program is designed to be accessible to students whether they are in-person or remote. Daily and weekly schedules are designed to be predictable and consistent so that students know when classes are happening regardless of whether the student is on campus or learning remotely. 

During the start-of-year orientation, students and teachers will learn the specific ways we will use online platforms to facilitate learning. Through those platforms (mostly Google Classroom), teachers will design lessons that will deliver content virtually. The exchange of materials (student submission, delivery of feedback) will be facilitated online. Students participating in on-campus instruction will experience the in-person exchange that has always been at the heart of sound instruction. Students who are learning remotely will still participate in that exchange, facilitated by Microsoft Teams and other technology platforms. While it is not possible for that digital exchange to be equivalent to the relationships that will develop if in-person, we will provide a robust learning experience.

Because both our schedule and academic program are designed this way, students who are remote will be able to complete academic tasks, participate in group work, converse with teachers and peers regarding feedback and remain on the same learning schedule as students who are able to be present on campus.

Upper School

All of the Upper School’s academic programming is designed to be accessible from home. Integration will be key in DA’s hybrid model. All Upper School instruction will be founded upon a base of  remote learning, so that teaching will take place throughout the week in both synchronous and asynchronous formats. Teachers’ class designs integrate students who are working at school with students working from home. Group conversations might take a fishbowl format where the virtual half of the class observes the in-person discussion and poses questions in a Microsoft Teams chat. Paired work (problem sets, essay workshops) will bring together one remote and one on-campus student to work together. The Upper School’s hybrid mode is designed to bring together the full class no matter the students’ locations. 

A typical 85-minute class might involve 50 minutes of synchronous work that integrates remote and on-campus students. Class would then move to some asynchronous work for remote learners while the on-campus students relocate to an outdoor setting to continue working directly with the instructor. Homework (40-60 minutes) would be assigned for both cohorts so that when the class meets again, the student roles flip, but the class model remains the same. This keeps learning moving throughout the week with both cohorts progressing at the same pace while receiving some in-person attention from the teacher once a week. This model also allows a seamless transition to fully remote learning without resetting the syllabus.  

A: Families in the Preschool and Lower School can choose a remote learning option on a biweekly basis. Parents will have the option to transition to remote learning on the first and third weeks of the month, and should provide two weeks’ advance notice to the division director, administrative assistant and classroom teacher. 

Middle and Upper School families have the option of choosing a remote learning option on a day-to-day basis — they should notify the division director, administrative assistant and advisor at least 24 hours in advance of any change.

A: DA Athletics will welcome all students into its fall teams and will not cut any student-athletes this fall. The “no-cut” policy will be evaluated on a season-by-season basis moving forward.  

Student-athletes are expected to attend all team events and prioritize their team over other non-scholastic activities. All fall teams will continue to practice with athletes at least 6 feet apart at all times and wearing masks unless engaged in physical activity. DA is currently in discussions with local peer schools to create a competition plan for both low- and moderate-risk sports. The goal is to have competition in a safe manner for all of sports, but a date has not been set to begin competitions.

Athletics staff and coaches are creating an equipment and locker room plan that continues to follow DA’s protocol of de-densifying students and social distancing. Athletics will be experimenting with a supervised after-school study hall for student-athletes who cannot be picked up or drive home on days when classes end at 1:45 p.m. 

At-home learners will need to find transportation to school for practice. Because Upper School practices will include athletes from both on-campus and at-home cohorts, DA athletic training staff will rescreen and temperature check ALL student-athletes prior to the start of practice.  

More information about the plan for fall can be found here.

A: The first priority will be to isolate the student. A DA faculty/staff member or coach will accompany the student outside, and notify the division director, administrative assistant or athletic trainer. They will accompany the student to the designated waiting room (an on-campus isolation area). DA’s nurse consultant will be notified and parents will be notified as quickly as possible to come pick the student up.

Close contact is defined as closer than six feet for 15 minutes or more with an individual that has tested positive for COVID-19. Students who have had close contact with a person who has tested positive will be required to quarantine for 14 days while monitoring for symptoms. Families should contact their healthcare provider for guidance, notify the appropriate division director and teacher/advisor to begin a remote learning plan, and notify DA's nurse consultant.

New grid

A: DA’s division directors, athletic director and nurse consultant plan to notify:

• Faculty/staff or families of students who have been in close contact with an adult or student with a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis or test. “Close contact” is defined as being within 6 feet for at least 15 minutes within 48 hours of symptom onset.*

• Faculty/staff or families of students who are Tier 2 contacts — they had contact with a person who had close contact with someone with a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis or test.

• The entire DA community when there is a confirmed diagnosis or test.**

DA’s notification plan — significantly more inclusive than CDC/NCDHHS guidelines — is designed to minimize the chance that an individual case becomes a cluster or outbreak and to help families understand the urgency of following health and safety protocols. We aim to notify affected groups as quickly as possible for any confirmed positive case. 

The school is required by state law to share individual contact information for suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19 as well as close contact information with the local public health department.

*DA will work with public health officials to initiate contact tracing to determine the level of quarantine required by CDC and Durham County Department of Health. 

**Because of privacy laws and HIPAA regulations, DA will identify the division only. The identity of the individual will not be revealed, alluded to, or confirmed.