As the new school year kicks into gear, the Mercer Island School District (MISD) is anticipating creating safe and healthy spaces for its students and staff members.

Superintendent Fred Rundle and the district’s lead COVID-19 nurse Karla Rimmer supplied a rundown on the MISD COVID-19 health and safety guidance for its schools during the upcoming 2022-23 session in an online letter dispatched to parents and families on Aug. 26.

School bells will ring and students will begin cracking open their books on Aug. 31 in the grades 1-12 realm and kindergartners will first enter their buildings on Sept. 6.

The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) unveiled the updates on its COVID-19 school and child care guidance on Aug. 5 and state law requires schools to follow the guidelines, Rundle and Rimmer explained.

“Following these safety measures reduces the spread of COVID-19 and achieves our ultimate goal of keeping students and staff in school throughout the year,” they said.

According to the DOH website, all employees, volunteers and indoor contractors are required to be fully vaccinated or have a medical or religious exemption.

The district’s letter notes that parents, in consultation with their family’s health care provider, are encouraged to vaccinate their children if they are eligible. The vaccine is currently available for children 6 months or older, and booster doses are also available for children 5 years and up. Partnering with Costco, the district has hosted vaccine clinics and will discuss having future clinics.

“COVID-19 vaccinations remain the best protections for everyone against hospitalization and severe disease from COVID-19,” the letter reads.

In another section of its update report, DOH notes that students, children and staff members who are displaying COVID-19 symptoms are required to first remain home and administer a test or visit their health care provider. Next, if the test is positive, parents should notify the school and the nurse will contact them, MISD said.

In one scenario, if a positive result occurs through a viral test or antigen, the person is required to isolate at home for five full days regardless of their vaccination status, according to the DOH. They may return to school on the sixth day if their symptoms have improved and “they have had no fever for the past 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medications,” DOH said.

According to the MISD letter, the district nurse and healthroom teams will help families navigate each situation. For more information on copious circumstances, visit https://tinyurl.com/4vayahw7. Free COVID-19 testing for students and staff is available through Say Yes to Test at https://sayyescovidhometest.org/.

Following the DOH guidelines on reporting COVID-19 cases and outbreaks, the MISD dashboard will be updated daily and families can view cases in each school building. There have been four total cases since Aug. 15. Families can visit: https://tinyurl.com/4pnradbw.

“Should we see a significant uptick in cases in specific classrooms, families will be notified by email,” the letter notes.

DOH notes that schools should encourage students and staff to frequently wash their hands, cover their mouths and nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing, throw used tissues in the trash and cough and sneeze into their elbows when they don’t have a tissue.

To maximize ventilation on buses, DOH suggests keeping at least two front and two rear windows open a few inches.