In partnership with a team of healthcare advisers and campus administrators, the COVID Response Team is composed of Head Athletic Trainer Pete Dewar, Lower School Nurse Anna Gretchen, and Middle and Upper School Nurse Megan Turner, who are all certified in COVID contact tracing by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The team follows the guidance and guidelines set forth by the Georgia Department of Public Health and the CDC to ensure that our campus remains as safe and healthy as possible.

Should your child show signs of illness at home, please keep the child home and notify your division nurse. Expect a response from your division nurse within 24 hours and do not send your child back to school until the nurse has approved his/her return. If you have an after-hours concern regarding possible symptoms or the need for testing, please reach out to your child's pediatrician. Should your child show signs of illness at school, the child should report immediately to the clinic, where one of our nurses will provide assistance and determine the appropriate course of action.

In most cases, siblings may remain in school. Quarantine is recommended after a direct exposure to a COVID-positive individual. If a sibling has not been in direct contact with the individual who has tested positive, the sibling does not need to follow the same guidelines. Please report the case to the appropriate division nurse; they will review these protocols with your family during contact tracing.

To ensure the health and safety of the entire school community, all positive cases of COVID should be reported to the school. Positive cases in students or parents should be reported to the students’ division nurse. Faculty and staff should report positive cases to their respective department head. An internal reporting structure has been put in place to ensure confidentiality. Individuals will be notified of possible exposure to illness and/or cases of COVID should they or their student(s) be impacted. We will not send community-wide communications regarding a positive test result.

To ensure the health and safety of the entire school community, all positive cases of COVID should be reported to the school. Positive cases in students or parents should be reported to the student’s division head and division nurse. Faculty and staff should report positive cases to their respective department head. An internal reporting structure has been put in place to ensure confidentiality.

We ask that all faculty, staff and students remain at home while COVID test results are pending. Even if you feel well and/or have no known exposures, the unpredictable nature of COVID and prevalence of asymptomatic cases can lead to unnecessary risk to others on campus should the test result positive.

In general, if there is a single case of COVID-19 within a classroom and everyone in the class has been wearing masks correctly, there is no need to quarantine all students in the classroom. However, the COVID Response Team will evaluate all cases individually and determine possible exposures during unmasked times, such as lunch, or if there were classroom contacts who, although masked, may have been exposed.

The COVID Response Team ensures that everyone returns to campus once they have met the proper guidelines for return. Please keep in mind that the guidelines for quarantine and isolation are different. Also, please remember that not all students absent from school are absent due to COVID-19.

Cloth masks are appropriate and should cover both your nose and mouth. Please make sure that masks are comfortable but fit snuggly and do not slip off the face. Please note that masks with respirators are not allowed. Mask chains are highly recommended, particularly for our younger students.

We are not welcoming visitors during the school day at this time. Our primary focus must be the safety and well-being of our students, faculty and staff. Therefore, parents, grandparents and friends may not have lunch on campus at least through Oct. 18. We will evaluate this policy on a month-to-month basis.

Through at least Oct. 18, those visiting campus during the school day are limited to essential works and those with appointments. We will continue to evaluate this policy on a month-to-month basis and communicate with parent volunteers as appropriate. 

Our teachers are experts! We will do our best to both maintain social distance and create community. We cannot promise social distances at all times; it just isn’t practical. However, we can limit students’ exposure to others outside their respective class/grade level.

We ask that families refrain from speculating on situations related to Pace, other Pace families and COVID. Because the school cannot control what happens off campus, we trust that every Pace family will ensure that its members follow school protocols. Rather than policing others’ behavior and stoking hysteria, please focus on your family’s health and safety, and please refrain from speculating, spreading misinformation and publishing social media posts related to Pace and COVID-19. If you have a specific concern, please contact your division head.

We strongly encourage, but do not require, flu vaccinations for the entire family. In an effort to reduce the strain on healthcare systems responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is more important than ever to protect yourself and those around you from the flu.

We continue to abide by airlines’ guidelines and the CDC’s recommendations for both domestic and international travel. Please note that current guidelines for international travel require travelers to be tested for COVID-19 no more than three days before returning to the U.S.

Please reach out to us! You may contact your division head or our Covid Response Team. We will be happy to try to clarify or answer any questions you have. We are all in this together.