Covid FAQ

PPCA Family,

What an interesting and challenging school year this has been!

Thank you all for your support and prayers as PPCA’s faculty, staff, and students came together amid COVID-19 sickness, quarantine, and recovery.

The school family has endured loss and sorrow as family members, friends, and others have lost their lives, but we rejoice to have Hope in The Lord Jesus Christ.

PPCA has a detailed plan created by the School Board and Administration as an addendum to the Student Handbook but listed below there are some answers to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) that you may have about PPCA’s response to and plan for school life during this season.

Even with a detailed plan in place, response to the virus can cause PPCA’s protocol to change, but it will always be done with your family’s well-being and safety in mind.

As always, no matter the lengths to which PPCA can go to prevent the spread of COVID-19, there are no guarantees.

Rest assured that your administration, teachers, and staff are doing what can be done to check for and prevent illness via temperature checks, hand-washing, and sanitizing PPCA classrooms and public areas.

Each family’s vigilance is vitally important to the safe, well-being of everyone who steps on the PPCA campus.

Q. Can we opt out of on-campus attendance if we are not comfortable sending our child to school due to conditions related to Covid-19?

A. Yes.  We will accommodate you if you are not ready to return to campus.  Contact your child’s building principal to let them know that you prefer distance learning during this time.  You can return to school when you are ready.  

Q. Are masks required?

A.  Masks are allowed and can be worn at any time during the school day for any student  K3-12.  Masks will be required in situations when social distancing is not possible.  Masks must be solid in color with no designs or words.

Q. What preventive measures are in place?

A.  We want the school day to seem as normal as possible for students and staff, but understand that there have been changes to help minimize the risk of contamination.  We have implemented the following:

  • Purchase of 4 fogging surface sanitizer/mister machines that are made by GENESIS.  Buildings will be sprayed every day before the start of school.
  • Hand sanitizing stations to be placed in the hallways, doorways, and near restrooms.
  • Sneeze Guards for the secretary desks.
  • Dividers for student desks and tables.
  • Lockers have been removed from the secondary school in order to create more space in the hallway for proper distancing.
  • Student textbooks will be kept in the classroom during the pandemic.  Each student will have his/her individual textbook.  There will be no sharing of textbooks.  A plan for ordering licenses for electronic books in certain subjects is being discussed.
  • Visitors will be limited.  Anyone who enters the school will be screened before interacting with other students and staff.  There will be no lunch visitors during the pandemic.
  • Signage at all entries, exits, and in the hallway- these signs will give instruction and remind students to practice proper distancing and proper sanitation habits.
  • Reduction in numbers and proper spacing in the cafeteria.
  • Flexible absentee policy that is not punitive for staff and students who are absent due to Covid-19 conditions.0
  • Screening for staff and students.  Staff, students, and elementary families need to answer NO to the following questions in order to participate in on-campus learning:
    • Have you been in close personal contact with a confirmed case of Covid-19 in the past 14 days?
    • Have you had fever, new or worsening cough, or shortness of breath in the past 24 hours?
    • Have you had a new loss of taste or smell?
  • Daily temperature checks.  Every teacher will have a touch-less thermometer in their classroom. Temperatures will be checked at the beginning of every school day and again at the mid-point of the school day.  Can someone take temperature before the student enters the building?
  • Chapel will be conducted in each classroom instead of the sanctuary.
  • Desks will be arranged to help avoid transmission of the virus.

Q. What is the protocol for a symptomatic student or staff member?

A.  If a student or staff member answers YES to any of the 3 screening questions listed above, they will be isolated in a designated location, checked out of school, and must adhere to the following guidelines:

  • Be fever free (without medication) for 72 hours, and
  • Produce a negative Covid-19 test result or a note from a doctor that allows the student/staff member to return to school.

Q. What if a student/staff member tests positive for Covid-19?

A.  They will be required to be in quarantine for 14 days from the onset of symptoms. Any family member (parent, sibling, spouse, other household contacts) will also be required to quarantine.  

For more information, please read through the COVID-19 Protocol addendum in the Student Handbook.

Should you have other questions, please contact your school’s principal or me and stay alert to changes or directions given through ParentWeb or other forms of communication.

I continue to pray for the families of our students, faculty, and staff, and that PPCA will have another successful year.

I ask for your continued prayer support and patience.

ALL IN,

Jason Cook, PPCA Head of School