Questions about COVID-19 and PWS? Email us!
We remain committed to our mission of educating children for the whole of life in a positive social and academic environment that is healthy and safe for our students, faculty and staff. We support keeping our physical and mental bodies resilient and well not only through illness mitigation measures but by maintaining healthy relationships and connections, getting good sleep, eating nutritiously, dressing appropriately for the weather, getting regular exercise and, of course, by playing!
Below you will find information specific to COVID-19 and how PWS implements the guidance from local state and public health officials.
COVID-19 Resources
& Information
Portland Waldorf School is actively monitoring information from local and state public health agencies and officials. This page contains updates about the school related to COVID-19 as they evolve and is subject to change.
The following agencies/protocols guide Portland Waldorf School’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic:
On this page:
PWS COVID Case Dashboard
Managing Illness Together - What to do when you are sick
Isolation vs. Quarantine - Defining terms
Isolation Information - COVID positive individuals
Quarantine Information - EXPOSED individuals
Education Plan During Isolation
On Campus - Health & safety, mitigation strategies, visitors & volunteers
Whole Child Health - Sharing from Pedagogical Director, Uchiyama Sensei
Additional Resources - Health authorities & organizations, operating protocols, family resources, mental health resources
PWS COVID-19 Dashboard
Managing Illness Together
Updated August 10, 2022
As the pandemic evolves, we continue to adapt our policies to help us keep our community healthy. We continue to ask our students and staff to follow our standard PWS illness policies, stay home when ill, maintain good hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette and also to report positive cases of COVID-19 to the office team.
SYMPTOMATIC individuals should remain at home. Individuals that are symptomatic at school will be sent home.
In alignment with the CDC, CCPHD states the following: “People with COVID-19 have had a wide range of symptoms reported – ranging from mild symptoms to severe illness. Symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure to the virus. Anyone can have mild to severe symptoms.”
People with these symptoms may have COVID-19:
Fever or chills
Cough
Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
Fatigue
Muscle or body aches
Headache
New loss of taste or smell
Sore throat
Congestion or runny nose
Nausea or vomiting
Diarrhea
Contact our office team to report positive COVID cases or illness symptoms and to confirm return date guidance for specific symptoms.
Isolation vs. Quarantine
Isolation separates sick people with a contagious disease from people who are not sick.
Quarantine separates and restricts the movement of people who were exposed to a contagious disease to see if they become sick.
COVID-19 Positive Individuals - Isolation
If an individual tests positive for COVID, they must follow local health department guidance.
Updated guidance states that anyone who tests positive for COVID-19, must isolate for a minimum of 5 days.
In alignment with the Center for Disease Control (CDC), Oregon Health Authority (OHA) recommendations and Clackamas County Public Health Division (CCPHD) directives to PWS, individuals who have COVID-19 must isolate at home and away from others for a minimum of 5 full days, with day 0 being the first day of symptoms. For those with no symptoms, day 0 is the day they took the test that came back positive.
If the ill individual continues to have fever or other symptoms have not improved after 5 days of in-home isolation, they should continue to isolate until they have been fever free for 24 hours, without the use of fever-reducing medication, and with all other symptoms having improved significantly. If they have no symptoms, or mild symptoms that have resolved after 5 days, they may return to school and should consistently and diligently wear a well-fitting mask when around others for an additional 5 days.
(PWS consults with CCPHD and utilizes OHA’s Isolation and Exclusion Guidelines for K-12 Settings when responding to case and symptom reports.)
Contact our office team to report COVID test results and confirm isolation guidance and the timeline to return to school. Testing is not required to return to school at the end of the isolation period.
For those who may want additional resources, the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) has a website that includes what to do if you test positive, if you have been exposed, and how to seek resources if you’re isolating at home and need support. More from OHA here.
Close Contact/Exposed Individuals - Quarantine & Testing Guidance
COVID EXPOSURE
Per our local health department (CCPHD), exclusion for quarantine has been paused for the general population, including K-12 and childcare settings. This means that quarantine is no longer recommended within the general population for exposure to someone who has COVID-19, regardless of vaccination status.
PWS will continue to notify whole exposed cohorts of reported on-site COVID cases in that cohort. These notifications will allow individuals and families to take additional precautions according to their individual needs. Weekly case counts will no longer be emailed to the whole community. Instead, a dashboard of on-site cases can be accessed on this page.
At home COVID tests are available by request for students and staff who have been exposed on site (while supplies last). Testing will not be performed on-site.
Education Plan During Isolation
When a student is in isolation, both during the required 5 day isolation period and beyond if the student remains symptomatic, the most important consideration is their physical well-being. The student needs to rest, recover, and gain stamina before they return to school, even if they appear to be non-symptomatic.
For self-determined quarantine or isolation after symptoms are cleared up and the required isolation period is over:
Kindergarten through Grades 8:
Short term distance learning materials may be offered at the teacher’s discretion. Please contact your class teacher.
High School:
Distance learning may also be approved for reasons that are not COVID-related, but typically must be related to physical or mental health.
● To request distance learning for your student contact the high school office with the reason for the request.
● Office staff will notify the student’s advisor, or you may copy the advisor on the initial request.
● The advisor is responsible for approving the request, and will respond within 24 hours.
● If the request is approved, the student must write to their teachers for instructions for the day. Distance learning will normally begin on the day following the initial request.
On Campus
Mitigation Strategies:
Face Coverings
Face coverings are optional indoors and outdoors including during extended day care, athletics, performances and events.
While Clackamas County is in the CDC medium or high risk category, face coverings will be required while carpooling for drivers and passengers. Leaving windows open is also highly recommended.
If an individual returns to school during days 6-10 following an isolation period, face coverings are highly recommended at all times (indoors and out).
Carpool drivers may require face coverings at the individual driver’s discretion.
Many students and staff may choose to continue to wear face coverings at school. Every individual has the right to make that decision and PWS will support the continued use of face coverings by individuals and create an environment where individual decisions to wear a face covering are honored.
Face coverings are available at school for students, staff and visitors.
If worn, face coverings should be handled correctly and consistently and be made of appropriate materials. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has updated its masking guidance to stress the effectiveness of N95 and KN95 masks in slowing the spread of COVID-19. Oregon.gov has information here for tips on how to properly wear and store masks, guidance for children and the best alternatives to N95 or KN95 masks.
Handwashing
Students and faculty follow a regular schedule of hand washing including upon arrival, before meals, after recess, after restroom use and after coughing, sneezing or touching the face. In addition to sinks in classrooms, hallways and restrooms, hand sanitizer is available in indoor and outdoor areas throughout the campus to ensure easy access.
Drinking Water
Contactless water fountains and manual faucets are available. Students should bring labeled water bottles to school each day. Personal labeled cups may also be kept in classrooms.
Ventilation
PWS is relying on optimal air circulation to help combat COVID-19. Our windows and exterior high school doors are open and we are running HEPA air filters in main lesson classrooms, following the advice of public health officials. We do not have a central HVAC system. On extremely cold or wet blustery days, when the radiant heaters are running, we might prop the windows and exterior high school doors instead of leaving them wide open. Students and employees are advised to dress for the weather even for classes scheduled indoors.
Visitors & Volunteers
Visitors to the campus or individual classrooms should check-in at the Main Office or High School Office.
Per the Oregon educator vaccine requirement OAR 333-019-1030, PWS requires visitors, volunteers or anyone interacting with students (including chaperones and drivers) to provide COVID vaccination information or provide approved/accepted documentation of a medical or religious exception. Please contact Dionne to submit vaccination information.
Whole Child Health
As Waldorf education is designed for educating the whole child, the social and emotional health of our students are integral parts of this education.
Through this lens, we can readily acknowledge how the two years of social isolation brought about by the world-pandemic has affected everyone including our students. Some have developed extreme sensitivity to being around other people, showing impatience, intolerance, or lack of compassion for each other, as well as becoming oblivious to the impact of their own words and actions. Each becomes a victim of the other. These phenomena have resulted in people in a chronic state of “fight or flight,” a state in which any discomfort can cause emotional dysregulation or volatile relationships. It is important to acknowledge that we are, by degree, in a phase of recovery from these world-wide conditions.
Our multidisciplinary, art-based, and experiential curriculum supports and nurtures students’ social and emotional development, which gives them confidence and tools to think critically, creatively, and imaginatively. Through this approach our students will learn how to take ownership in navigating their way in this unknown and challenging world.
Furthermore, we value our community working together to support our students. Understanding each other’s suffering, and consciously generating and maintaining warm relationships are keys to success in this endeavor. If soul warmth is preserved amongst adults, the environment will be filled with authentic connections. Consequently our children will feel safe and will learn and develop optimally. Our teachers and staff are here to support this mutual creation. It is our strong hope that our students will carry their memory of this crisis with strength, confidence, and a sense of belonging. Thank you for being a part of this intentional community.
Additional Resources
PWS Family Resources
Local Mental Health Resources
Even if you are struggling just a little bit, Clackamas Safe+Strong can help. Email safestrong@clackamas.us or call 503-655-8585. You can schedule free, confidential services at 503-722-6200 from Monday to Friday, 9am to 7pm.
Reach Out Oregon offers many different ways (phone, text, a discussion forum, online Zoom discussion groups) to connect with a community of parents with lived experience of raising children with behavioral, emotional or mental health challenges.
Oregon Family Support Network has family support specialists who can work with you and support you from a position of lived experience raising children with behavioral, emotional or mental health challenges.
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org. The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is available 24/7 for people experiencing a behavioral health crisis to cal. Calls may be responded to in English or Spanish. Text and online chat are currently only available in English. People can also dial 988 if they are worried about a loved one who may need crisis support.