COVID-19 Plans & Protocols

Because widespread vaccination within a community is the single best way to keep people safe and students on campus, we will require all eligible employees and students (ages 12+) to be fully vaccinated by September 30. Currently, 100% of faculty and more than 99% of full-time employees are fully vaccinated and, based on information collected to date, approximately 80% of age-eligible students are fully vaccinated. If you have outstanding questions about the vaccines, please visit the LA County Department of Public Health webpage or contact your physician.

Proof of Vaccination

Please upload a photo of each student’s vaccination card to their Magnus Health account (under the "Immunization" section) at your earliest convenience. (Even if you previously noted vaccination status in your child’s account, we will need to have a photo of the vaccination card.)

Students who turn 12 this school year

Families will be required to provide proof of full vaccination within 6 weeks of a student turning 12 years old. Please note that if a vaccine for younger students is approved this school year, the vaccine mandate will apply to all students (timing will be determined based on vaccine availability).

Vaccine Clinics

The upcoming vaccine clinics for students 12+ have been cancelled due to low registration. We believe this is because a vast majority of our eligible students are already vaccinated and because vaccines are now widely available, including at all major pharmacies. If you need help locating a vaccine clinic, please contact the health office at hwoffice@westridge.org. We do wish to host a clinic for our younger students once vaccines are approved for children younger than 12 and will do so if it is possible to coordinate with an outside provider at that time.

Exemption

Families may request a medical or religious exemption from the vaccine requirement.

• Please email notification of your request to COVIDexemptions@westridge.org by August 27. You will be provided a form to complete and return with required documentation to the school for review and decision.
• Students who receive exemptions will be required to isolate at home if they are a close contact of a person with a diagnosed case of COVID-19 or in the case of a COVID-19 outbreak on campus.

All people on campus must wear a mask both indoors and outdoors. Exceptions to this policy are when actively eating or drinking (must be distanced from others), or when carrying out activities that preclude the use of a mask such as actively eating or drinking, showering, swimming, or playing an instrument or singing when in a room alone with the door closed. Students must always wear a mask when riding on a school bus, van, or other school transports.

Students who present appropriate documentation demonstrating a disability or condition that does not allow them to safely wear a mask should wear a face shield with drape at the bottom if their condition allows it. Any student who is exempt from wearing a mask indoors must be tested for COVID-19 at least twice a week unless they provide proof of full COVID-19 vaccination.

Westridge will supply each student with a mask and all masks worn should be multi-layered with tightly woven fabric and a snug fit around the mouth and nose (see CDC Mask Guidance).

A daily morning symptom screening must be submitted for each student 30 minutes prior to their campus arrival and a push notification will be sent each morning reminding families to complete the symptom survey. This year we have moved to the Magnus Mobile app (titled "Magnus Mobile (v2)" in the Apple App Store and "Magnus Health" in Google Play) for daily screenings. This app integrates with the Magnus Health information system which we adopted this summer for the collection of all student health information. Families will use the same login credentials supplied for submitting student health forms. If you have not already downloaded free Magnus Mobile app, it can be found in the major app store platforms.

Employees and visitors to campus will also be asked the same series of screening questions. Students and visitors who are not feeling well or who receive the "stop" signal in the Magnus Mobile app while completing their screening should not come to campus.

Magnus in Apple App Store      Magnus in Google Play store

If you cannot download/use the app, you may download the PDF of the screening questions below and send it completed with your student to school to be turned in at drop-off.

Symptom Screening Questions

Additional Info on Symptom Screening:

As per our broader, non-COVID-related sick policy, if students are ill they should stay home to recover and to help keep others healthy. This is very important to remember as we enter cold and flu season.

Regarding potential symptoms, if any of the identified symptoms are a result of allergies or another non-contagious illness, then the student may come to school. If the identified symptoms are UNEXPLAINED, the student should stay at home. Magnus is asking parents about UNEXPLAINED symptoms. Unfortunately, any one of the listed symptoms can be the start of COVID-19 illness and should be treated with reasonable concern.

Given the current setting of high transmission of the COVID-19 Delta variant, the school will require weekly testing for all (vaccinated or unvaccinated) asymptomatic individuals (employees and students) with no known exposure as recommended in the California Department of Public Health K-12 Testing Strategies Considerations. The frequency of testing may change throughout the school year based on transmission rates in the southern California area. 

On-Campus Testing & Registration

All students, including those who have been vaccinated, are required to be tested weekly. On-campus testing is available at no charge to families and will be facilitated by Omni Pathology on Tuesdays (starting September 14) between 11 am-4 pm. Specific appointment times are not needed as students may drop in for their tests when it works in their schedule. Testing will take place inside campus gates; the drive through option has been discontinued.

Registration is no longer required for testing *if you have already uploaded your insurance information on the Omni website. If you submitted paperwork to Dr. Lisa Carruthers for your child to test, you will still need to register your insurance information on the Omni website by clicking here. Once your information is uploaded, your student may attend the on-campus testing.

Off-campus testing

If families wish to test outside of Westridge (PCR only), they may do so and forward their results to covidtesting@westridge.org by end of day Friday.

Per state-issued guidance, distancing is not required in classrooms this year, which allows all students to be on campus fulltime. We will implement classroom distancing measures to the degree possible allowing for our academic program and increased distance will be maintained as much as possible during times when students or employees are not masked (e.g., due to eating or drinking). Physical education class will be held outdoors as much as possible, and activities will be selected that allow for physical distancing.

At the start of school and until further notice, visitors to campus, including parents, will be limited and must be approved by division/department staff beforehand. No drop-in visitors will be allowed on campus. Student meetings and activities will be capped at grade-level (e.g., no in-person division or all school meetings) and parent meetings will be held virtually when possible.

Westridge follows the Pasadena Department of Public Health (PDPH) Exposure Management Plan, and we have trained health professionals and contact tracers on campus every day. Students, employees, and visitors who have had close contact* with an individual who has screened positive for symptoms consistent with COVID-19 will be notified of the potential exposure by the school. These individuals are not required to quarantine unless the exposure has been confirmed through a positive COVID-19 diagnostic viral (PCR) test, a clinical diagnosis from a medical provider, or the individual with symptoms has an epidemiologic link to someone with confirmed COVID-19. Click here to view the PDPH Symptom & Exposure Screening Pathways for TK-12 Schools document.

*A close contact of an infected person is a person who was within 6 feet for a cumulative ≥ 15 minutes over a 24-hour period with the infected person (regardless of whether either person was wearing a mask) OR had direct contact with bodily fluids/secretions from a potentially infected person.

Unvaccinated and/or symptomatic individuals who have a confirmed exposure will be accompanied to the preselected quarantine space until they can return home and self-quarantine as required by Health Officer Order for Case Isolation. Fully vaccinated, asymptomatic individuals who have a confirmed exposure are not required to quarantine but must monitor for symptoms for 14 days (and report symptoms to the school) and should be tested for COVID-19 three to five days after exposure.

Support for Quarantined Students

For students who must quarantine, our plan is to provide individualized plans and support.

• Asymptomatic students who are out of school for 1-9 days due to a positive COVID-19 diagnosis or exposure to someone who has a confirmed case should email their teachers to coordinate assignments. Advisors are available to assist students with organizing their workload if they need support.
• Asymptomatic students who are out of school for ten days or longer due to a positive COVID-19 diagnosis will be contacted by their advisor to coordinate their workload, which may include a combination of synchronous and asynchronous activities.

If you have been recently traveling domestically or internationally, you are required to adhere to the CDC travel guidelines below, which states that quarantine is not required for fully vaccinated people who travel within the U.S.

• Fully vaccinated individuals should wear a mask and self-monitor for symptoms. It is not necessary to self-quarantine or be tested for COVID-19 unless you are experiencing symptoms.
• Unvaccinated individuals should get tested 1-3 days before travel, get tested 3-5 days after travel, and self-quarantine for 7 days, self-monitor for symptoms, and wear a mask.
• All international travelers are required to have negative COVID-19 test result no more than 3 days before travel or documentation of recovery from COVID-19 in the past 3 months before they board a flight to the United States. You are required to get tested 3-5 days after travel, self-monitor for COVID-19 symptoms; isolate and get tested if you develop symptoms and follow all state and local requirements.

Handwashing stations, established last year, remain throughout campus and each classroom is equipped with hand sanitizer. In addition, expanded cleaning and disinfecting procedures remain in place with high-touch surfaces and restrooms cleaned multiple times throughout the day and all campus rooms cleaned nightly.

ventilation & Air Filtration

All campus HVAC air filters are compliant with EPA COVID-19 recommendations and last year, a purification air-scrubber system was installed in all buildings (classrooms and all indoor areas such as offices and restrooms). Air scrubbers remove 99% of air pollution and airborne microorganisms, Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) surface contaminants, pet dander, odors, and dust. The devices usually do 4-6 air exchanges per hour for effective cleaning of our airspace. The air-scrubber system is more effective than room air purifiers, which are designed to clean only airborne particles while the air scrubbers remove particles from the air and surrounding surfaces.

Additionally, classroom doors and windows will be open when practical, and many academic and non-academic activities will be moved outdoors.