Health & Safety
Inclement Weather
In case of snow, please tune into WSMV Channel 4. We will notify you of weather-related closures and any unexpected closures by sending out a school-wide email. If we must close early, please be prepared to pick up your children within the hour. Our teachers also need to get home safely to their families. We thank you in advance for your cooperation.
During tornado warnings, El Jardin de Los Niños/The Children’s Garden staff and students take shelter in the safest location in our building – the basement hallway. Until the emergency has passed and Metro tornado sirens have been turned off, no one is allowed to return to the classrooms or be released to parents.
Due to DHS schedule-related restrictions, we cannot offer make-up days for inclement weather.
Illnesses and Communicable Diseases
Please be considerate of other El Jardin de Los Niños/The Children’s Garden students and staff members by keeping your sick child or children at home. We ask that you notify the school when your child is absent due to illness, especially if they have contracted an infectious or communicable disease.
Due to DHS schedule-related restrictions, we cannot offer make-up days for illness.
The director and site supervisor have the right to send any illness-exhibiting children home.
All positive cases of COVID-19, flu, RSV, HFM (hand, foot, and mouth), or any other infectious diseases will result in a “Health Alert” being sent to families of children in the affected class. Class closures or class-wide quarantines will not occur unless multiple cases are reported.
No child may come to school within 48 hours of experiencing vomiting, diarrhea, or fever. We have updated our previous 24-hour policy, finding that 24 hours is not enough time to prevent the spread of illness.
Any positive test or diagnosis for COVID-19, flu, RSV, and HFM (hand, foot, and mouth) must be reported to our administrative team immediately. After we are notified, we require a 7-day quarantine for all households that test positive for any one of these 4 infectious diseases. Your child will require a doctor’s note to be able to return to school.
Children that miss 2+ days of school due to illness, or 3+ days if attending both schools, must also have a doctor’s note clearing their return to school. It must state that the child does not have COVID-19, flu, RSV, or HFM.
Unless you provide a doctor’s note stating these symptoms are due to allergies or a previous illness that they no longer carry, no children may come to school with a persistent cough, runny nose, or sneezing.
Please Be Aware
Families that receive “Health Alerts” or have children exhibiting the following should see their pediatrician -
- Untreated Infectious Skin Patches or Painful Diaper Rash
- Sore Throat or Difficulty Swallowing
- Evidence of Lice, Scabies, or Other Parasitic Infection
- Communicable or Contagious Diseases
- Temperature Above 100.1 Degrees
- Pain in Ears
When a Child Becomes Sick at School
Ill children may not participate in school activities. Parents will be immediately notified to pick up their child within an hour. Children must be symptom free for at least 48 hours before returning to school.
Upon notification of a communicable disease, El Jardin de Los Niños/The Children’s Garden will inform families and provide a disease fact sheet when available.