COVID-19 Resources

Masks are not required at this time.  However, any individual may wear a mask if they choose to do so.  Personal choice about mask wearing is to be respected at all times by all students, faculty and staff members, parents, and visitors.

Masks will be required when our outside partners require the use of masks (for example, field trips, rental busses, etc.…)

Maintaining a mask-optional policy will depend upon our ongoing efforts with the following other mitigation layers of COVID-prevention that we have reiterated since the beginning of the pandemic:

• Staying home if sick or experiencing any COVID symptoms
• Practicing regular and correct hand hygiene
• Keeping our learning areas properly ventilated
• Finding opportunities to be outdoors for learning, eating and play.

Please note that we may transition back to a mask-required policy if situations in a classroom, grade level, or division warrant.

The continued safety of our campus requires shared responsibility among all STE families in supporting the STE health and safety protocols. Parents should screen their child daily for the following:

• Temperature 100 degrees Fahrenheit or higher when taken by mouth;
• Sore throat;
• New uncontrolled cough that causes difficulty breathing (for students with chronic allergies/asthmatic cough, a change in their cough from baseline);
• Diarrhea, vomiting, or abdominal pain;
• New onset of severe headache, especially with fever;
• Exposure to a person with a confirmed case of COVID-19.

If your child meets any of the criteria above, he/she must stay home from school and you must contact the school nurses.

Prior to the start of the school year, all parents must complete the Student Screening Acknowledgement Form to acknowledge this screening protocol and agree to screen their child each morning prior to their arrival on campus. Because we are asking parents to take their child's temperature as part of the screening process, we will not conduct daily temperature checks in homerooms.

Faculty and staff will also conduct a self-screening daily prior to coming to campus.

COVID-19 vaccination will be voluntary for all eligible students and faculty/staff. 

Texas school and child care center immunization requirements are determined by the state legislature and set by the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS), in conjunction with the Texas Education Agency. DSHS is granted authority to set immunization requirements by the Texas Education Code, Chapter 38. Because DSHS has not added COVID-19 vaccination to its immunization requirements for schools, each family must determine whether receiving the vaccine is the right course of action for their eligible student. 

STE will not require eligible faculty/staff to be vaccinated.

The ability to stream classes online will be available to Middle and Upper School students who are told to isolate/quarantine by the school. This option will also be available to entire Lower School classes asked to quarantine by STE. These students will be able to stream classes during their isolation/quarantine period only. 

If an individual Lower School student must be absent due to COVID, the classroom teacher will ascertain the best route for the student to make up work.

STE will not offer the option to stream classes under any other circumstance. There will be no exception to this policy.

Students who miss classes for any other reason will need to follow the policies regarding make-up work as outlined in the Student-Parent Handbook.

STE will encourage frequent hand washing throughout the day. Teachers will review proper hand washing with students. We will have sanitizing stations around the campus.

We will disinfect all classrooms, restrooms, offices, and other common spaces nightly using an EPA-registered disinfectant demonstrated to be effective for COVID-19. We will adhere to required contact times on all surfaces.

Cleaning supplies will be available in all classrooms, and student desks will be cleaned after the lunch period. 

Faculty will organize their classrooms in such a way as to preserve a positive and collaborative experience for students, and when feasible, space students apart and provide for social distancing.

We will resume holding lunch outdoors. Students will have the option of bringing their own lunch or ordering through our lunch provider, Epicurean Group. All students need to bring their own water bottle each day. 

Unfortunately, parents may not drop off lunches for students. If your child forgets his/her lunch, you can call the school and the lunch provider will provide an emergency meal. You will need to follow up with Epicurean Group for payment.

We will resume the use of cubbies in our classrooms. We will ask students to maintain appropriate distancing and not remain by the cubbies longer than necessary.

We will use portable air filtration devices in each classroom and office with the exception of the new academic and lower school building which utilizes MERV 13 filters.

We will ask that students maintain appropriate distancing in hallways and on walkways.

Students will not dress out for PE. Locker rooms will be utilized for restroom purposes only. This decision was made based on our commitment to our layered protection strategies. 

To accommodate our Middle and Upper School students taking PE, we will adopt uniform changes for these grades for the 2021-2022 school year. The following changes apply to Middle and Upper School students only:

• Boys may wear either their blue polo or their blue oxford shirt and tie five days a week. If a boy wears his oxford shirt, he must wear a tie.
• Girls may wear either their blue polo or their blue oxford shirt five days a week.

The Lower School uniform guidelines will not change. You can find our updated K-12 uniform guidelines for the year at stes.org/parents.

Visitors will be allowed on campus, but will be limited to tutors, therapists, Spirit Store volunteers, room parents, parents attending class parties, and parents who have scheduled an appointment with a faculty/staff member. 

All visitors must check in at the front desk. Parents and visitors may not drop off items for students during the day.

In the event you need to pick up a sick student in Lower School, Middle School, or Upper School, you will be asked to park at the Endicott gate, text or call the school nurse, and remain in your vehicle. The ill student will be escorted to your vehicle by the school nurse.

In the event you need to pick up your Lower School student for an appointment, please check in at the STE front office (SY7A) to sign the student out. Middle School and Upper School students may check themselves out and meet you at your car.

The continued safety of our campus requires shared responsibility among all STE families in supporting the STE health and safety protocols. We are relying on parents to keep their children home when they are not feeling well. We will be educating our students with explicit instruction on health and safety procedures.

Note that due to privacy restrictions, we will not be able to release identifying information on an individual with confirmed COVID-19.

Isolation Period

Students/faculty with confirmed COVID-19 may return to school when they have met all of the following criteria:

1. Fever free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication;
2. Improvement of symptoms; and
3. Ten days have passed since symptoms first appeared.

If the individual tests positive and is asymptomatic, he or she may return after ten days have passed since a positive test.

Our Athletics Department has established safety guidelines, as well as start dates for fall, winter, and spring sports. Social distancing will be encouraged at all times.

We will hold field trips and other school trips. Field trips will be scheduled as opportunities open up in the area.

We will hold our Welcome Back Coffee, Parent Nights, Spaghetti Supper, Fall Fair, etc. as scheduled.

For procedures specific to Saint Thomas' Episcopal Preschool, view the Preschool COVID Protocol.