COVID-19 FAQs

Will the students have to wear masks?

Per CDPH Guidance, masking is recommended for all indoor settings. There are a few circumstances under which masking may be mandatory:

After a known exposure in the community or at school
After testing positive for COVID-19
When riding in a Saklan Bus or Van
When required to by an outside organization to participate in a specific event

What happens if a student needs to stay home because they are not feeling well or need to quarantine?

If students are ill or need to quarantine for an extended period of time, we will offer a modified distance learning program. Students who are out for shorter periods will follow the usual protocols.

If someone develops symptoms at school that could be COVID-19, what needs to happen?

Students who develop symptoms of illness while at school will be separated from others. Any students or staff exhibiting symptoms will immediately don a face covering (if they are not already wearing one), be given a COVID-19 test, and wait until they can be transported home.

If the COVID-19 test result is positive, all on-campus close contacts will be asked to don masks, families and staff will be notified of the close contact, and rapid tests will be sent home to administer on days 3 - 5 after exposure.

How will symptoms/positive cases be handled? Will the whole class need to be tested or self-quarantine before coming back on campus?

This is dependent on many factors having to do with time, proximity and exposure. However, the California Department of Public Health has updated their quarantine guidance to allow students to continue attending school after a school-based exposure, if they:

Are asymptomatic;
Mask for 10 days when indoors; and
Receive a negative test result 3 - 5 days after exposure.

What qualifies as a “close contact” with a person who has COVID-19?

A person is considered to have had close contact if they shared an indoor air space for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period during the infected person's infectious period.

What is the policy for students attending school if a family member tests positive? Will they need to provide a negative test result?

Students can continue to attend school as long as they are symptom free, have a negative test result 3-5 days after exposure, and mask for 10 days from last exposure.

What will happen with the annual overnight field experiences?

We are planning to hold our annual field experiences, in a safe way. For those experiences that we are not able to attend as we normally do in the age of COVID, we have found alternative experiences for the students that replicate the same learning outcomes.

Will you offer a distance learning program?

Saklan will not be offering a distance learning program for the 22-23 school year. If students need to quarantine due to COVID-19 illness, we will offer a modified learning program. Students will be given individual work to keep up with what students are doing in class, and may be able to zoom in on some of the classes.