BUA COVID Protocols

• Members: Chris Kolovos, head of school; Rosemary White, associate head of school; Derek Dettorre, director of operations and finance; Elisha Meyer, associate director of institutional advancement for marketing and communications; Victoria Perrone, director of student life and chemistry teacher; two BUA faculty members, Olive Brown and Dan Ford.
• Mandate: This group’s mandate is to develop plans and put the resources in place for safe, in-person learning throughout the academic year.

• Members: Dr. Nidhi Lal, Dr. Mark Poznansky, and Dr. John Quackenbush
• Mandate: To work in concert with BU’s Medical Advisory Group, including Dr. Judy Platt and Dr. David Hamer, to share advice and guidance with the BUA COVID Task Force on best practices and protocols to ensure the safety of the entire school community, and to periodically update and answer questions from the community on the evolution of the pandemic in a town hall format. 

• Maintaining the health and safety of our community
• Building connection and community, particularly among new students
• Facilitating engaging and rigorous in-person learning

The COVID Task Force has relied most heavily upon the following resources in developing its plans and protocols:

• The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) ongoing updates
• Boston University’s Back2BU policies and protocols
• CDC Guidance

All members of the Boston University Academy school community have a shared responsibility in maintaining a safe and healthy campus. It is imperative that all students, families, faculty, and staff commit to the school’s health and safety policies and procedures to prevent the spread of illness and to help keep one another safe. This is our collective responsibility for the health of the community.

We expect members of the BUA community to agree to the following norms and expectations:

• Follow federal, state, and local orders related to COVID-19
• Notify the school if your child tests positive for COVID-19 or if they are symptomatic and awaiting test results
• Keep your child home if they have symptoms or have tested positive
• Complete and submit all required student medical forms prior to the first day of school

It should be understood that, based on public health circumstances, that BU and BUA guidance and protocols may change, potentially abruptly. It is expected that all families, faculty, and staff will follow all new guidance and protocols that are put in place.

In advance of the start of the school year, or as soon as practicable thereafter, all families should upload proof of vaccination in two places: (1) the BU Patient Connect portal and (2) SchoolDoc 一 the BUA system where you upload all other vaccination information. In each system, there is an option to indicate a request for a medical or religious exemption.

To upload proof of vaccination to BU Patient Connect, students should:

• Log in to Patient Connect using their BU username and password (same as BU email credentials without the @bu.edu). If they have trouble logging in, please contact BUA’s Director of Operations and Finance, Derek Dettorre.
• Click the Medical Clearances menu option, then click Update in the COVID clearance row
• Click Upload to upload an image of their COVID-19 vaccine documentation, ensuring that the administered dates are clearly visible
• Enter each appointment date, indicate the vaccine manufacturer, and click Done

To file an exemption request for medical or religious reasons through Patient Connect, choose Request for COVID-19 Vaccine Exemption from the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) message options. If you are unable to obtain a vaccine before arriving on campus, choose “I request an extension to be able to receive my COVID vaccine once I arrive in Boston” from the “COVID-19 (Coronavirus)” message options.

To upload proof of vaccination to SchoolDoc, parents/guardians should:

• Log into their SchoolDoc account
• Click on the Enrollment Paperwork section in the middle of the screen, then choose the immunizations section from the list on the right side of the screen
• Scroll to the bottom of the page and select whether the student has received the Covid-19 vaccination or not
• If yes, continue on to upload your student’s vaccination documentation and enter the dates for dose 1, 2, and the booster, then click confirm.
• If no, please confirm that the student has submitted a request for and received a medical or religious exemption from BU through the BU Patient Connect portal (the student must first receive an exemption through BU Patient Connect before completing this step).

For assistance uploading to SchoolDoc, please contact Derek Dettorre.

For proof of booster, we also asked parents/guardians to upload documents into SchoolDocs following the same guidance as above.

When additional boosters become available, you can book a vaccination appointment at a MassVax site, authorized pharmacy, or regional health collaborative.

BUA requires all students ages 12+ to receive a COVID-19 vaccination and single booster prior to the start of the 2022-2023 academic year. Medical and religious exemptions to this policy will be accommodated. Faculty, staff, and visitors are subject to the same requirement. When additional boosters become available for these cohorts, Boston University and BUA may update its guidance accordingly. 

• Masks will be optional for all students, faculty, and staff in all BUA spaces – including classrooms, common areas, school meetings, indoor athletics, and rehearsals – and in most BU spaces. We will continue to foster an environment where students and adults feel comfortable wearing masks if they choose to. We ask all students to bring masks with them each day for the time being, whether they wear them or not; there may be a teacher who requests that students wear masks in certain circumstances.
• An exception to the mask-optional policy is for individuals who test positive for COVID; per CDC guidance, following a mandatory 5-day isolation period, individuals may return to BUA but must wear a face covering on days 6-10 following their positive test.
• Close contacts will be asked to wear a face covering indoors for 10 days following exposure.
• BU has revised its masking policy such that face coverings are optional in all University spaces, including classrooms, libraries, laboratories, and common spaces; face coverings are still required in healthcare settings and on the BU shuttle.
• If they choose to wear one, students, employees, and visitors are expected to provide their own face covering.
  The term face covering can include any face covering that meets the following criteria: fits snugly but comfortably against the sides of the face and covers the nose, mouth, and chin; fastens securely with ties or ear loops; includes multiple layers of fabric; allows for breathing without restriction.
• BUA will maintain a supply of extra masks should they be needed.
• For those unsure about mask usage, here’s a useful video from BU on the best face coverings to choose how to wear a face mask properly.
• Additional information is available here.

• Sanitization stations are available at all entrances, in each classroom, and throughout the BUA building. Hand washing stations are available on each floor of the BUA building.
• All individuals are encouraged to wash their hands frequently, or to use alcohol-based (at least 60% alcohol) hand sanitizer when soap and water are not available.

• Per CDC guidance, if an individual tests positive for COVID, they must stay home and isolate for a minimum of 5 days from the onset of symptoms OR from the date of their positive test.
• Individuals may return to campus on or after Day 6 if they are symptom-free or symptoms are resolving; they must wear a well-fitting mask through day 10 following a positive COVID test.
• Individuals who test positive for COVID do not need a negative rapid antigen test in order to return to campus.
• Close contacts are not required to quarantine.
• Individuals exposed to COVID should take a PCR COVID test at BU as soon as they learn they are a close contact, regardless of whether they are experiencing symptoms.
• Close contacts should mask indoors for 10 days following exposure and test again on day 6 after exposure.
• BU and BUA will not be conducting contact tracing.
• Spaces within the BUA building will be designated as medical waiting rooms to allow for separation of students who are symptomatic, receive a positive test result, or who are self-administering a rapid COVID test while on campus.
• As a reminder, the term quarantine is used for individuals who may have been exposed to the virus. It means keeping them physically apart from others in case they are infected. The term isolation is used for individuals who have the virus. It means keeping them separated from people who are not known to have been infected.

Families play a vital role in maintaining safety on campus. The number one safety measure is to keep a child home if they meet any of the below criteria. BUA students, faculty, and staff should not come to campus if they:

• are experiencing any of the following new symptoms of COVID-19 that have arisen in the past 14 days (see list of symptoms below)
• are symptomatic and been tested for COVID-19 at an off-campus testing location and are awaiting results or have been told the test was positive

COVID-19 symptoms include: fever of 100° F, or feeling unusually hot (if no thermometer available) accompanied by shivering/chills; sore throat; new cough not related to chronic condition; difficulty breathing, shortness of breath; vomiting; severe fatigue; severe muscle aches; new loss of of taste or smell. This list will be updated periodically.

Parents/guardians should immediately contact their child’s pediatrician if they are symptomatic or receive a positive test result.

The most important protective measure for our community is staying home when symptomatic. If a student is experiencing symptoms when away from school, we ask that the student stay home and that the family contact the front desk to report the absence by 8:00 a.m. by calling 617-353-9000 or emailing academy@bu.edu. If the student feels well enough to come to school, the student must take an antigen test at home and only return to school after receiving a negative test result. They should also schedule a COVID test at the BU symptomatic testing center first thing when they arrive back to campus and wear a mask while symptomatic.

Students experiencing symptoms at school should check in with the front desk staff, who will arrange for a conversation with a nurse from BU Student Health Services. The nurse may recommend that the student take a COVID test at BU’s testing center and go home, pending the result of that test.

COVID-19 PCR testing is available for individuals who are experiencing symptoms or who have had a close contact exposure. Beginning August 15, 2022, all PCR testing for students and employees will be located at the Health Services Annex, located in the rear of Agganis Arena at 925 Commonwealth Avenue.

All faculty, staff, and students who need testing due to symptoms or due to being exposed to someone with COVID-19 (close contact exposure) may pick up COVID-19 self-test kits, register their test kit through their respective portals, complete the test, and drop off their specimens at the Health Services Annex from Monday through Friday 9AM-5PM. A short video demonstrating the process is available here.

Test results will be released to the portals by the end of the following business day. If you have questions about test results, symptoms or care, please contact Student Health Services (students) or the Occupational Health Center (employees). Although remote learning is no longer an option for symptomatic or COVID-positive students, teachers will be flexible with students who miss classes and will make time to work with those students outside of class.

For more protocols for individuals who test positive, see below.

Per CDC guidance, the recommended isolation period for those who test positive is a minimum of five days, regardless of whether an individual is experiencing symptoms. BUA will adhere to the five-day isolation period, along with the University and in line with guidance from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Community members who test positive may return to campus following 5 days of isolation if they are symptom-free or their symptoms are resolving and they feel well enough to return to school. Individuals must wear a well-fitting mask on Days 6-10 following a positive test.

As always, students who test positive – at home or at BU – should stay home.

Students who test positive through on-campus test collection will be notified of their result by email and through the patient connect portal. A designated school official will also be notified if the student is in class, and the student will be placed in a medical waiting room until they can be picked up by a parent/guardian or approved emergency contact. Employees will be contacted by the Occupational Health Center and sent home immediately. In each case, the individual should notify their primary care physician and begin to notify possible close contacts as well as on-campus spaces that they recently inhabited.

Students, faculty, or staff who test positive through off-campus test collection should contact their primary care physician and remain at home (except to get medical care). It is also expected that they notify the school of the positive test result (either by calling the front desk at 617-353-9000 or by email academy@bu.edu). 

During the isolation period, infected individuals are expected to remain at home (except to get medical care), monitor their symptoms, and notify personal close contacts.

The CDC defines a close contact as someone who was within 6 feet of an infected person for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period (e.g., three 5-minute exposures for a total of 15 minutes) 

Close contacts are not required to quarantine. Individuals exposed to COVID should take a PCR COVID test at BU as soon as they learn they are a close contact, regardless of whether they are experiencing symptoms. Close contacts should mask indoors for 10 days following exposure and test again on day 6 after exposure. BU and BUA will not be conducting contact tracing.

Students, faculty, and staff do not need to notify BUA if they have been identified as a close contact of an individual who has tested positive. 

In the case of a positive test result, follow all steps under the “Student, Faculty, or Staff Tests Positive for COVID-19.”

In instances of multiple cases of confirmed COVID-19 in the school at one time, or if there are a series of single cases in a short time span, school leaders will work with Boston University health officials and the Boston Public Health Commission to assist in the determination of whether it is likely that there is transmission happening at the school and plan appropriate steps.

Steps may include closing part or all of the school for a short time for an extensive cleaning or other facility mitigation, or closing the school partially or fully for a longer duration.

In the case of a significant outbreak at BU or the area, school leaders will work with Boston University health officials and the Boston Public Health Commission to assist in the determination of whether it is appropriate to close the school for a period of time.

Based on CDC and ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers) guidance, Boston University Facilities Management and Operations (FMO) has implemented enhanced maintenance protocols for mechanical and plumbing systems in campus buildings, including BUA. For more information, please visit these FAQs.

BUA has upgraded air recirculation system filters to a minimum MERV 13. The combination of additional filtration and increased outdoor air ventilation is intended to mitigate the risk of airborne transmission of COVID-19 virus in buildings with mechanical ventilation systems.

Airborne transmission risk in naturally ventilated buildings can be mitigated by increasing fresh air from open windows.

All classrooms are equipped with touchless hand sanitizer dispensers and disinfecting wipe kiosks. 

BUA has also installed three handwashing sinks and additional touchless hand sanitizer dispensers in common spaces throughout the building.

The main BUA building will be open from 7:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Monday-Friday.

Sargent Gym/BUA annex will be open from 8:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. Monday-Friday.

Masks are optional for visitors. All indoor visitors who will be coming into contact with students will be required to complete a health attestation form, which will ask the visitor to attest that they are symptom-free and have received a vaccination.

BUA will return to hosting indoor and outdoor events on campus, which will include visitors. Unless otherwise noted, masks will be optional at all large, in-person community gatherings. 

Back-to-School Night will be held virtually on the evening of Sunday, September 18, 2022.