MCWS Covid Blueprint 2021-22 School Year

Maine Coast Waldorf School
COVID-19 Blueprint
2021-22 School Year
Latest Update: May 23, 2022

1
Table of Contents
Introduction 2
Guiding Principles 3
On-Campus Health and Safety Regulations and Policies for 2021/22 at
all Stages of On-Campus Operations 6
Vaccination Status/Pre Screening/ At School Screening/Confirmed Case 6
Daily Health, Hygiene and Safety Protocols to Minimize Transmission 8
On-campus visitation by adults 11
Hybrid Models and Remote/At-home Learning when Quarantined/Ill 11
Class Trips 12
Athletics 13
Pick-up/Drop-off 14
Bussing and Transportation 14
Foreign Exchange Program 15
MCWS Community Quarantine Policy 16
Covid positive individuals 17
Close Contacts 17
Close Contact Flow Chart 18
Symptomatic Quarantine Flow Chart 19

2
Introduction
This year’s blueprint has recently been updated to guide MCWS and its community of
teachers, students, parents, and staff members as we look forward to the spring of 2022 and
the remainder of our school year. In an ongoing effort to provide the most comprehensive
Waldorf education to our students under the continued presence and effects related to the
transmission of the COVID-19 virus in and amongst our community, MCWS leadership
remains dedicated to working diligently to balance the multifaceted needs of our community
with the constantly changing challenges presented by the pandemic.
This recent modification of the blueprint seeks to build off of everything we learned over the
course of the last few months as vaccination and booster rates have increased and the
presence of the Omicron variant has decreased, as well as all of the available scientific and
medical data that continues to be published about the current trajectory of the Covid-19 virus,
its variants, and the methods available to protect against it. As it has for the last two year's
this living document shall be updated, if necessary, based on continually updated medical and
scientific data, under the guidance of the Federal and State Centers for Disease Control, as
well as Executive Orders by the Governor of the State of Maine.
S O U R C E S G U I D I N G O U R D E C I S I O N M A K I N G
State of Maine/Department of Education/State of
Maine CDC
CDC guidelines and recommendations
American Academy of Pediatrics
Medical and Scientific Studies, Journals, and Reports with
credible and significant acceptance within those
communities (some of which are footnoted, and
linked herein)
Web based resources: Covidactnow.org, and The New York
Times database
Reference to AWSNA and reliance on
anthroposical/pedagogical needs
Evidence and experience gathered from the past 24 months
Input from other New England and Maine independent
schools (NEASC, MAIS)
Reference to surrounding MSAUs

3
Guiding Principles
The mission of Maine Coast Waldorf School is to awaken the highest potential in every
student by fostering clarity of thought, warmth of heart, and strength of resolve to make a
difference in the world. In furtherance of this mission, MCWS has a duty to be a leader in how
we respond to the challenge of COVID-19, and to do everything we can to reasonably protect
our community in the fight against COVID-19
Vaccinations and boosters are the leading and most effective strategy to ensure personal and
public health against the COVID-19 virus. Those who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 are
at low risk for symptomatic or serious infections, even during the emergence of the Omicron
and B2 variants.
The Omicron and B2 variants are currently the most significant strain of the virus due to its
contagiousness. Even those who are vaccinated can carry and spread the variant.
Children are just as likely as adults to spread, and carry COVID-19, even young children (2).
Therefore, everyone in the MCWS community shall be treated equally likely and able to
spread COVID-19 (3).
As of March 2022, vaccinations remain unavailable for children under the age of 5 years old.
Current evidence from around the globe suggests that the Omicron variant is moderately
worse for children than other versions, but that serious complications will continue to be very
rare in children (4).
Children under the age of 18 remain at the lowest risk for hospitalization and death than any
other group.
MCWS will continue to promote and encourage full vaccinations and recommended booster
for all eligible members of the community. We will remain respectful of those who are unable
to become vaccinated due to health or religious reasons, or who have made a personal
decision not to do so, while also doing what is reasonable and necessary to protect them, and
those around them, from COVID-19. In many instances, it may be necessary for everyone to
take additional safety precautions to keep everyone safe.

4
Guiding Principles
As of March 2022, the vaccination rate among students and employees in the High School was
approximately 90%, and the vaccination rate among students and employees in the Grades
School was approximately 82%.
After vaccinations, layering specific and reasonable COVID-19 prevention strategies remains
the most important and effective means by which to protect our community while providing
for full time in-person on-campus learning. Mask wearing, while no longer mandatory in
indoor settings, may become mandatory if there is a new threat to community transmission as
evidenced by higher rates of transmission and hospitalization.
COVID-19 has not been demonstrably and scientifically shown to be readily transmitted
through surface contact (6).
The "Staged" and "Level" systems used in early versions of the Blueprint no longer serve the
community, and have been modified and replaced with this version. However, in the unlikely
scenario that a new variant creates a scenario similar to what we've experienced in the past
relative to a threat to the health and safety of our community, we are prepared to enact those
policies that served us well last year, and move into modes of operation akin to what was or
has previously been in place.
The President of the Board, the Pedagogical Director and the Chair of the College of Teachers,
working in conjunction with the Executive Governance Committee, will continue to look to and
evaluate the CDC's guidance on risk level by county (which take into account hospitalizations,
daily new cases, and positive test rates) in deciding which protocols to implement.

5
Guiding Principles
Our students, teachers staff members, and parents lead robust lives outside of school that
include extra-curricular activities of all types, volunteerism, and work. While we can and will
look to do all that we can to reduce the transmission of COVID-19 on campus, we are not in a
position to regulate and/or control what individuals do and with whom they come in contact
outside of school. We encourage all members of our community to follow the best possible
practices and to be fully transparent and safe in their interactions and activities when not
in school.
Now that Covid has become endemic, and, vaccinations and boosters are widely available, we
are shifting some of the responsibilities for protection against transmission to individuals and
families, while being mindful that not everyone in our community is eligible, or in the position,
to receive vaccination against the virus.

6
On-Campus Health and Safety Regulations at
All Stages of On-Campus Operation
Vaccination Status/Pre Screening/At School Screening/Confirmed Case
Any volunteers, contractors, guests, and/or parents who wish to be on campus this year for
school related business must fill out a MCWS visitor health screening form.
All parents and faculty/staff members will be required to complete the MCWS “daily symptom
screening” document prior to arriving on campus through the ParentSquare app; no student or
employee will be admitted on campus without completion, and verified receipt by the school, of
this screening. Any child and/or adult who arrives on campus without completion of this process
will be sent home immediately.
In compliance with the Maine Department of Education’s requirement that all schools, public and
private, report their percentage of Covid-19 vaccination status for both students and employees
on a monthly basis, we will be providing this aggregate data to the Maine DOE. This data will be
made public.
Any student or employee exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19, as more particularly set forth in the
MCWS "daily symptom screening" document, will stay at home and will not return to campus until
approved by the school RN (or, if RN not available, other designated member of leadership team)
per MCWS COVID-19 protocols and in conjunction with protocols set forth by the Maine
Department of Health and Human Services and the Maine CDC.
Please consult the symptom flow-chart doc if you have any symptoms of covid-19. This flow
chart will allow you to see if you are able to come to campus.
Please consult the "MCWS Quarantine Policy for Known Exposure" document for information
on what to do if you or someone in your household is covid positive.

7
On-Campus Health and Safety Regulations at
All Stages of On-Campus Operation
Vaccination Status/Pre Screening/At School Screening/Confirmed Case (cont)
In the event a student or employee becomes ill
after arrival on campus, and/or appears to be
symptomatic for COVID-19 symptoms, that
individual will immediately report to either the
school nurse’s office, or another room on campus
specifically designated to isolate symptomatic
students/staff, to complete the MCWS COVID-19
containment protocols whereby that individual
will be quarantined and, if a student, that
student’s parents/guardians will be immediately
notified and required to pick up the child within
an hour and a half of notification.
MCWS will accept both the SARS-CoV2-molecular
(PCR) and rapid antigen tests for return to school,
consistent with the State CDC recommendations
and the DHHS Standing Order (9) .
COVID-19 Points of Contact on Campus
For questions related to specific policies and guidelines outlined in this blueprint, reach out to
Frederick (Tay) Veitch, MCWS Board President, board@mainecoastwaldorf.org, or
Melissa Watson, Operations Manager, mwatson@mainecoastwaldorf.org
To report a (potential) exposure, send test results, or inquire about quarantine guidelines
related to a specific potential exposure, etc. send an email to:
health@mainecoastwaldorf.org

8
Daily Health, Hygiene and Safety Protocols
As of March 2022, Maine Coast Waldorf School has moved to one stage of operations, which are outlined
below. We aim to remain at this operation for the remainder of the year, assuming that we do not see a
new variant or “fourth wave” of the virus break-out during the remainder of this school year. We remain
cautiously optimistic that we will continue to see a downward trend in community transmission, and a
continued easing of the difficult impacts that the virus has had on all of us these past two years.
Pursuant to the CDC’s guidelines around community transmission, the wearing of masks will be
optional by all members of the community indoors for the remainder of the year, including on
all buses and school transportation.
To this end, in grades 1-12, the wearing of masks will be the sole responsibility of the individual
student who chooses to wear a mask while at school. Teachers and staff members will neither
be enforcing, nor responsible for the appropriate wearing of masks by students who choose to
wear a mask while at school.
​In Early Childhood, given the age and developmental stages of the students, the Early
Childhood teachers will continue to assist and remind those students whose families wish
them to wear masks of doing so, appropriately, as they have since the beginning of the
pandemic.
We will go back to our traditional practices of co-mingling grades and classes in all of those
circumstances and times where possible and necessary for the delivery of our pedagogical
offerings.
Physical distancing will be encouraged when practical and possible.
All class events, plays, and gatherings will once again be open to the families and the public,
with masking optional for all those in attendance.
We will once again allow singing indoors and unmasked, along with the playing of certain
instruments (recorders, wind instruments, etc.).
Class field trips and overnights may occur, with specific guidance provided case by case based
upon the nature, duration, and location of the trip.
To the end and others, MCWS has a full stock of rapid tests that we can and will use when
appropriate to ensure the safety of all participants

Daily Health, Hygiene and Safety Protocols
9
We will continue our practice of asking that all
families fill out the health screening questionnaire
before sending your student to school, and, we
will ask that all parents/adults fill out a health
screening form before attending parent/teacher
conferences, and whenever else the practice
makes sense.
We will continue to require that those individuals
who test positive for Covid-19 quarantine as
follows:
If Positive - quarantine for 5-10 days; can
return days 6-10 with the requirement that
the individual wear a mask if he/she/they tests
negative on day 6 . No masking needed
starting day 11.
Close Contact (only if unvaxed or hasn’t had
Covid in the last 90 days) - quarantine for 5-10
days; can return days 6-10 the requirement
that the individual wear a mask if he/she/they
tests negative on day 6. No masking needed
starting day 11.
Questions about
Mask Types
and Fits?
Contact Nurse Kendra for
tips, recommendations and
the most up-to-date
information on masking
guidance.
kgaarder@mainecoastwaldorf.org
Download the ParentSquare App
All parents and faculty/staff members will be required to complete the MCWS “daily
symptom screening” document prior to arriving on campus through the ParentSquare
app; no student or employee will be admitted on campus without completion, and
verified receipt by the school, of this screening. Any child and/or adult who arrives on
campus without completion of this process will be sent home immediately.
The app can be located in the Apple App Store or Google Play store by searching for
"ParentSquare."
If you're having trouble accessing your ParentSquare account, please contact Marketing
and Communications Manager Chris Kasprak (ckasprak@mainecoastwaldorf.org).

10
Daily Health, Hygiene and Safety Protocols
All indoor spaces will keep windows open to the
extent possible to increase airflow, where practical,
dependent upon prevailing weather and climate
conditions. During the winter months, and/or when
the temperatures are below approximately 40
degrees, windows will be opened only during times
when students/teachers are eating, and only
opened so far (a maximum of approx. 3”) to allow
additional air flow in the classroom.
HEPA and/or medically certified air filtration and
purification systems will be in place in all
classrooms, common areas, and certain
designated workspaces, to be run on the highest
setting practical to facilitate the greatest amount of
air-turnover and filtration per hour possible.
MCWS will regularly clean and disinfect all hightouch
areas with natural and environmentally
friendly cleaners as are certified to adequately
neutralize virus particles and droplets; all other
areas will be cleaned and disinfected at regular
intervals.
The school will use an electrostatic applicator to
apply an appropriate disinfecting solution for high
touch surfaces and materials.

11
Daily Health, Hygiene and Safety Protocols
On-campus visitation/activities by adults
Visitation by parents, volunteers and other guests are allowed under the same protocols outlined
prior to March 2020.
All individuals who intend to be indoors on campus for any reason must complete a MCWS visitor
health screening form. These forms will be filled out electronically and will only be viewed by the
school nurse.
Hybrid Models and Remote/At-home Learning when Quarantined/Ill
MCWS cannot provide for a “dual-track” (parallel and simultaneous in-class and at-home class
instruction) learning models during the 2021/2022 school year in the event remote learning were
to become necessary due to quarantines or state-mandated closures. All class instruction will be
determined based on Level of operation and either on-campus, or fully remote/at-home
programming.
Hybrid learning (at-home learning while other students are on campus) will occur where necessary
and practical for those students in grades 1–12 either under quarantine due to contraction, or
suspected contraction of COVID-19.
At no time will remote/at-home learning occur for children in the EC when absent from school for
any reason.

12
Daily Health, Hygiene and Safety Protocols
Class Trips
All off-campus trips will be evaluated in advance on a case-by-case basis.
Individuals participating in overnight trips, regardless of grade or vaccination status, must
return a negative covid-19 test the morning the class leaves to go on a specifically scheduled
trip. Nurse Kendra has a supply of tests for community use.
Athletics
Athletics (cross-country running, cross-country skiing, ultimate) will occur after school pursuant
to those rules more specifically set forth in relation to each activity, and consistent with those
guidelines, rules, and regulations mandated by the Maine Principals Association.
All athletes shall be required to provide a completed health screening form prior to any
practice or event to either the relevant MCWS athletic director (AD), or the designated
individual/coach/AD at the school or institution for whom the athlete is competing.
Students who do not attend MCWS may receive a waiver and permission to participate in
MCWS middle and high school athletics so long as that athlete provides proof of full
vaccination against covid-19.

13
Daily Health, Hygiene and Safety Protocols
Pick-up/ Drop-off
Dropping off and picking up students in Early Childhood will occur by parents bringing their
child/children to a designated area outdoors on the playground and picking them up from the
same area.
Dropping off and picking up students in grades 1–8 will continue by grade/cohort groupings at
specifically designated times and in specifically designated and assigned parking spaces in the
Early Childhood and lower school parking lots, respectively.
Students in grades 1–4 will meet their teacher, or a designated guardian/assistant of the class
in a designated area in the lower lot in front of that class' assigned parking area at their
published assigned window of time, and then be walked to class as a group. At pick-up, each
grade's teacher, or a designated guardian/assistant will bring the class to the same assigned
location in the lower lot at the published assigned time.
Students in grades 5–8 will be dropped off at assigned parking locations in the lower lot
grouped by class during their designated window and will then immediately proceed to their
designated grade area if outdoors, or classroom if not. At pick-up, the students will return to
the designated parking locations to meet their parents at their vehicles at the published
assigned time.
There will be 20 parking spaces in the lower lot for students in Grades 11 and 12.
Grades 9–12 drop-off is either with younger sibling(s), at the drop-off point of the youngest
sibling, occurring in two waves as assigned, or with all other HS students in the HS circle,
beginning at 8:10 a.m. with HS classes beginning at 8:25 a.m.

14
Daily Health, Hygiene and Safety Protocols
Pick-up/ Drop-off and Bussing (cont.)
STUDENTS WITH A HS PARKING PASS CANNOT ARRIVE UNTIL 8:10 a.m. Those spaces will be
used as drop-off parking during the first two waves for Grades 1-8 between 7:50 and 8:10 a.m.
HS students will be dismissed at 2:55 p.m.
Bussing and Transportation
Masking is optional on busses. HEPA/medical grade filters shall be placed on the bus during
operation at the highest speed, with windows cracked where possible. Regular/daily cleaning
and sanitizing of buses/vans to occur when in use.

15
Foreign Exchange Program
Overview
All foreign exchanges for the 21/22 school year shall be assessed on a case by case, country by
country basis throughout the spring of 2022, by a group comprised of the Pedagogical Director,
Board President, Chair of the College of Teachers, High School Branch Chair, and a Co-chair of
the Exchange program as it relates to any and all rules, policies, and regulations in effect at any
given time in the intended country of exchange.
All participants and their families are expected to keep up to date with, and be informed of all
current US Department of State travel restrictions/orders, and apprised of any and all risks
associated with travel to/within the foreign jurisdiction that the intended exchange is to occur.
All foreign exchange students attending MCWS will be required to provide status of COVID-19
vaccination prior to leaving their home country. All foreign exchange students shall also be
required to provide proof of vaccination status to their host family if requested.
Testing and Quarantines
Vaccinated community members and exchange students may return to school immediately after
travel, but will be required to take a test on Day 5, whether symptomatic or not, as a reasonable
measure to protect against asymptomatic spread.
Unvaccinated community members and exchange students must quarantine upon arrival. A test
may be taken on Day 5 to allow for return, if negative, after Day 7. If no test is taken, a full 10-day
quarantine will be required per the Maine CDC.

16
MCWS Community Quarantine Policy
Quarantine time is dependent on vaccination status and level of exposure.
Covid-19 Positive Individual
A person who has tested positive for COVID-19 or been diagnosed definitively as positive by a
HCP. All covid-19 positive individuals must quarantine for a minimum of five days. See page 17
for further details.
Close Contact
Any individual, or group, who has had close contact (at least 15 minutes within 6 feet inside)
with covid-19 positive individual. Unvaccinated close contacts must quarantine for a minimum
of five days. See page 17 for further details.

17
MCWS Community Quarantine Policy
Covid Positive Individuals
Regardless of vaccination status, this requires a quarantine of at least 5 days. Test on Day 6 to
determine next steps.
Day 6 is your first opportunity to return to campus, provided that you are completely
asymptomatic, and have a negative test on the morning of Day 6. You must wear a mask
through Day 10.
If you still have a positive test on the morning of Day 6, stay home and test again on the
morning of Day 7. If positive results continue, test each morning through Day 10. Regardless of
results on Day 10, this person may return on Day 11 provided the person is completely
asymptomatic.
Day 0 is either the day of the swab of the positive test OR the first day of symptoms, whichever
comes first. A quarantine could be lengthened based on presence of symptoms.
Close Contacts
Your last known exposure to a person with Covid is Day 0
Individuals do NOT need to quarantine unless they develop symptoms. Test on Day 6 after close
contact to covid positive individual(s). Individuals must wear a mask through Day 10.
Additional Guidelines
For masking related to all of the above situations, please wear a disposable mask. Cloth masks are
not permitted within these specific ten-day periods.
Home tests, school tests, and outside facility tests are all permitted for the above scenarios.
If using a home test, please send a picture of the result to health@mainecoastwaldorf.org
School tests (rapid antigen tests) are done by appointment with Nurse Kendra during school hours
(7:45-2:45).
If using an outside facility, please send a copy of the results to health@mainecoastwaldorf.org
Tests can be rapid antigen or PCR.

Close Contact Flow Chart
18
Student OR Staff/Faculty
Close Contact
Remain on campus if asymptomatic.
Mask (indoors) through Day 10.
Take test on Day 6.
Fully vaccinated*
Positive Test Negative Test on Day 6
See instructions on
preceding page
Remain on campus if
asymptomatic. Continue to
mask through Day 10

Symptomatic Quarantine Flow Chart
19