Hello Vanguard Families,

We are all preparing for the long winter break and already thinking about our return on January 3, 2022. We are not wishing the days away too quickly, we just want to be as prepared as possible for everyone’s return in early January.

To help us all prepare, we have itemized the vital Covid-19 Protocols all students will be expected to adhere to. We have sent similar protocols to our entire workforce that are equally designed to enhance the safety and health of everyone on the VFES Campus and within the hallways of The Vanguard School’s many buildings. Please read the following protocols carefully. Print it, if you are able to, and hang it on your refrigerator. 

1. General Statement:    We will be asking parents to submit proof of vaccination for their student(s). The proof can be a copy of the student’s Vaccination card or some other document, such as immunization records, that clearly indicate the student is fully vaccinated per CDC regulations. We will protect the confidentiality of these documents and limit the number of people who will have access to this list. We have decided to keep a record on file in an effort to streamline the many steps our Covid Case Managers must take to safely assess every Covid case that is brought to their attention. It is a significant piece of the puzzle to know whether a student is fully vaccinated or not if they are identified as a close contact. If your student is not vaccinated, we also ask you to send an email with the simple statement: “(Name of student) is not vaccinated”. Please submit proof of vaccination and/or send an email if unvaccinated to vacproof@vfes.net. 

2. Masks:

a. All students must wear masks indoors at all times, regardless of vaccination status.

i. Exceptions to this requirement must be discussed with your student’s school counselor.

b. All unvaccinated students must wear a mask outdoors if in a large crowd and social distancing is not possible.

i. Staff will assist students when outdoors to identify proper social distancing.

c. Please Note Parents: All visitors must wear masks indoors.

3. Room Capacity:

a. Vanguard School classrooms and other related educational/clinical activities will attempt to maintain social distancing of 3 – 6 feet whenever possible.

4. Potential Closings:

a. As has been the case twice so far during the 2021-2022 school year, we have closed certain classrooms or programs within Vanguard School to limit the spread of this virus based on PDE guidelines. Please note we will continue to follow this guideline from January – June 2022.

b. We will do our best to communicate this decision quickly and efficiently, but sometimes, we have no forewarning and we have found ourselves identifying 3 or more cases within a hallway or core group all in the same day. This type of scenario will lead to quick decisions. While this is not our preference and realize this is highly inconvenient for many of you, we will continue to follow that method in the new year.

5. Covid Case Managers (CCMs):

a. Currently, there are four CCMs; Kelley Rowan, Paige Tursi, Robin Leichner and Julie Rohner (recently joined the team).

b. We have identified weekend hours (which have been posted on the website for a while) as well as holiday hours for our CCM Team (see below) moving forward. 

i. Since your student will be off campus for 11 days, the identification of a positive test result at the very beginning of the break (12/23, 12/24) must be communicated to our CCM Team ASAP. CCMs will need to conduct contact tracing in order to identify possible close contacts. CCMs will need your assistance in developing this list based on what you are able to learn from your student.

ii. You can reach the CCMs at casemanagers@vfes.net and by calling 610-291-9000.

1. Leave a message with the name of the student and the caller, contact information and date of the positive test.

c. CCMs will only respond to positive cases during the holidays, however, you are welcome to still email them and inform them of any potential symptom onset, etc. They will not return calls/emails/texts if communicating only symptoms during the following holiday time frames:

i. December 24 – 26

ii. December 31 – January 1

d. CCMs will follow up on communications between December 27 – December 30 and again starting on January 2.

e. If you are unsure of what to do, please refer to the Student/Family Decision Tree by clicking this link. Follow the steps outlined based on whether your student is vaccinated or unvaccinated, symptomatic or asymptomatic.

Thank you for all you are doing to help us keep our students and staff safe during this time. We also appreciate your support and understanding when we find ourselves managing a mild outbreak and disrupting everyone’s schedules. Like all of you, we anxiously await the day this is behind us and emails such as this one are unnecessary.

Please direct questions to your program supervisors. We will work with you as best as possible to keep your student safe and healthy.

Best,

Grace A. Fornicola, PhD

Executive Director