Last Updated: January 25, 2024

Face Masks

San Domenico recommends masking while community transmission rates are high. Masking is currently not required on campus.

Masking may be required in specific cases of exposure. Please see the COVID-19 Exposure policy below for details.

Vaccination Requirements

San Domenico strongly recommends a completed series of COVID-19 vaccinations for all members of our school community, including students, faculty, staff, and volunteers. All students ages five and older are currently eligible for a vaccine booster.

There may be situations in which COVID-19 vaccinations are required, such as when the School partners with third-parties for off-campus field trips. This information will be communicated to families in advance.

To verify a medical waiver for COVID-19 vaccination, please contact healthservices@sandomenico.org. 

COVID-19 Exposure

At Home
If a student or employee lives with a household member who tests positive for COVID-19, quarantine is not required. 

If the student or employee is not experiencing any new COVID-19 symptoms, testing is not required and they may come to school. Please continue to monitor for symptoms and avoid contact with higher risk populations for severe infection for 10 days.

If the student or employee is experiencing new COVID-19 symptoms, they should stay home, mask, and test. Please follow the Testing and Quarantine Protocols as described below.

At School
Lower School: For every identified positive case in Grades K-5, email notifications will be sent to all parents/guardians/employees in the affected classroom.

Middle and Upper School: If school transmission of more than two positive cases is identified in Grades 6-12—or if more than five percent of the entire grade is positive, regardless of transmission source—email notifications will be sent to all families/employees in the affected grade.

Overnight Field Trips: If a single positive case is identified on an overnight field trip (at any grade level), an email notification will be sent to all field trip attendees.

Testing and Quarantine Protocols

Students
If a student is experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, they should test before coming to school.

If a symptomatic student tests positive for COVID-19:

• The student must stay home with any significant symptoms, or if they have had a fever within the last 24 hours.
• The student may return to school when fever-free for 24 hours (without the use of fever-reducing medication) and symptoms are mild and improving.
• A mask is recommended indoors for five days after first testing positive. Masking recommendations may end sooner, if the student has two sequential negative test results at least 24 hours apart.

If a student without a fever or significant symptoms tests positive for COVID-19:

• The student may come to school without quarantine.
• A mask is recommended indoors for five days after first testing positive. Masking recommendations may end sooner, if the student has two sequential negative test results at least 24 hours apart.   

If a symptomatic student tests negative for COVID-19, please refer to the When to Stay Home protocol as described below.

Employees
If an employee is experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, they must stay home and test.

If an employee tests positive for COVID-19, regardless of symptoms:

• Immediately notify Human Resources at tfroehlich@sandomenico.org.
• Stay off campus for at least 24 hours following the first positive test result.
• Return to campus when all of the following conditions are met:
  • 24 hours since first positive test result.
  • 24 hours fever-free.
  • Symptoms are mild and improving.
• Masking is required on campus when indoors with other individuals, for 10 days after the initial positive test.

If a symptomatic employee tests negative for COVID-19, please remain home until symptoms improve.
 

When to Stay Home

If students, faculty, or staff have the following symptoms, they must stay home from school:

• Fever of 100.4 or more
• Chills
• Cough
• Shortness of breath
• Fatigue
• Muscle or body aches
• Headache
• Congestion or runny nose
• Loss of taste or smell
• Sore throat
• Nausea or vomiting 
• Diarrhea 

Students and employees may return to school once symptoms have improved and student is fever free for 24 hours without fever-reducing medications,

We thank you for your continued support and diligence in keeping San Domenico safe and open for our students, faculty, and staff members. 

With the health and safety of our community of utmost importance, our COVID-19 Response Teams have met regularly throughout the pandemic, working with experts in the following organizations:

• Marin County Office of Education (MCOE)
• Marin County Public Health (MPH)
• National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS)
• California Association of Independent Schools (CAIS)
• The Association of Boarding Schools (TABS)
• Space planning consultant, Michael Tauber Architecture
• HVAC consultants, Lefler Engineering and Ongaro & Sons HVAC Division
• California School Nurses Association
• National Association of School Nurses

We have also consulted with several experienced local physicians including current and past San Domenico parents who have graciously shared their considerable expertise with our team:

In addition, we have been on daily and weekly webinars and conference calls with local, regional, and national education and infectious disease experts to keep abreast of the latest research.

Select resources include the following (click through to read more):

Safety protocols and campus modifications have helped us mitigate risk since returning to campus in the fall of 2020. The following are still in place in order to keep our community healthy.

The safety and security of our students and staff is of paramount importance. We maintain a 24/7 security personnel presence on campus in order to serve and protect our day and boarding communities at all hours, supplemented by a security camera system deployed in strategic locations across campus. The front gate is closed every night 11:00 pm - 5:00 am.

San Domenico monitors air quality in conjunction with the Marin County Office of Education (MCOE), the Marin County Department of Health and Human Services, and local law and fire departments. MCOE provides School Air Quality Outdoor Activity Recommendations that guide our actions, based on current AQI levels.

Depending on the air quality on campus, steps are taken to ensure the safety of all students, faculty, and staff. This may include closed classroom doors, reduced recess and athletics events, N95 masking, and more. If any of these steps were to occur, families will be notified. For students with documented respiratory issues, our Health Services team reviews action plans and acts accordingly.

San Domenico partners with a wide range of community organizations and agencies in order to keep our campus hardened against wildfire dangers. The Marin County Fire Department maintains and clears critical fire roads around campus. Ross Valley Fire updates our fire safety protocols and provides in-person training and demonstrations for faculty and staff on an annual basis. We partner with the Sleepy Hollow Fire Protection District to proactively reduce available fuels via annual goat grazing across our entire property, while partnering with neighbors to ensure proper fire breaks. 
 

San Domenico’s infirmary was expanded in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, with additional protocols in place to care for COVID-19 patients and all other needs.

The infirmary continues to accommodate students, faculty, and staff who require medical care for a wide range of symptoms during the school day. Distinct entrances and waiting areas are used for those who may be exhibiting COVID-19 (or other contagious illness) symptoms.

Day students exhibiting symptoms of possible contagious illness are isolated in a discreet location in the infirmary until they are picked up by their parent/guardian.

Boarding students and resident faculty who show signs of contagious illness are quarantined and cared for by our healthcare professionals. The health services building is fully equipped with sleeping rooms, bathrooms/showers, kitchen, daytime waiting room, and separate sleeping room for an adult supervisor.

As has been the case since the pandemic began, Boarding Students and Resident Faculty will continue to live in the dorms, their on-campus home. Significant protocols will continue to be in place to protect the boarding community as well as the broader SD community.

Families who have particular concerns for the health of their children due to pre-existing conditions should contact Health Services at nurse@sandomenico.org as soon as possible, so we can work with your family to address your concerns and provide support.

With our commitment to educating the whole child, Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) is an integral part of teaching and learning and a core part of our program. As we resume school, we recognize the complex and varying ways in which our community members are experiencing this pandemic, including a range of emotions related to stress, anxiety, trauma, loss, and isolation. We will continue to assess our SEL program, approaches and support structures to enhance our students’ well-being.

Support Resources

Through program features such as Lower School Responsive Classroom, Middle School Advisory Program, and our Upper School Mentoring Program, we will continue to promote supportive adult-student relationships to ensure that every student has a caring adult in the community who checks in with them regularly and to whom they can reach out as needed. Now more than ever, we strive for all students to feel a sense of belonging and connection to our SD community.

Contact

Families are encouraged to reach out to our Student Support and Wellness team with any concerns related to their child’s mental health or learning support needs.

CONTACTS

For a full directory of Student Support staff, visit: www.sandomenico.org/StudentSupport

Athletics and Physical Education

Athletics and physical education are a critical part of school life at SD and we are thrilled that we were able to return to a full slate of competitive sports during the 2021-22 school year. We continue to adhere to health and safety protocols for athletics as defined by the Marin County Health and Human Services and Marin County Office of Education.

We continue to support our students to get outdoors, experience the physical and emotional benefits of exercise, work with our stellar coaches, and enjoy the interpersonal growth that comes with our athletic program and philosophy.

Clubs

Clubs for Middle and Upper School students are an integral part of the SD experience. These co-curricular offerings will continue under all learning scenarios, though the format may vary as health directives shift.

Visual and Performing Arts

The arts are a critical means of expression, particularly valuable during this unstable time in the world. While the mode of instruction varies depending on the health directives in place at any given time, we continue to provide a rich array of opportunities for our artists to continue learning, growing, and creating. Students currently participate in our full program of visual, digital, music, and performing arts classes and performances including school plays, gallery showings, and concerts. The Virtuoso Program has returned to live performances open to the public, and musical productions are in full swing.

Meals

Meals are served outside as much as possible, with tented eating areas providing shelter from rain and sun.

Overnight and Field Trips

All students that attend overnight field trips will need to be fully vaccinated with the COVID vaccine series. Some field trips may also require a negative covid test before attending.

Across all school levels, while on campus, San Domenico supervises students attentively, tracks daily attendance, and upholds a range of behavioral expectations that contribute to health and safety. We also expect all students, parents, staff, and faculty to partner with us, both on and off campus, to do your part in support of our collective health and safety.

 

San Domenico has invested over $2.0M in safety measures to mitigate risk in light of COVID-19.

COVID-19 Response Teams

Thank you to the many individuals who have contributed to our back to school planning in the time of COVID-19.

Strategic Financial Response Team

Cecily Stock ’77, M.A., J.D., Head of School
Pablo Bizjack, Board Treasurer, Finance Committee Chair, dad to Jillian (10th) and Parker ’20
Richie Goldman, Board Chair, dad to Ava (11th)
Anna Heidinger, Director of Advancement
Jennie Nash, Director of Admissions and Enrollment Management
Kimberly Pinkson, Director of Strategic Initiatives
Liz Revenko ’87, Trustee, Finance Committee Member
Gregory Rivers, Trustee, Finance Committee Member, dad to Braelyn (4th) and Abigail (2nd)
Glenn Snyder, Former SD Board Chair, dad to Grey ’20
David Wise, Chief Financial Officer

COVID-19 Response Team Committee

Kali Baird, Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Claire Bukata, Associate Director of Middle School & Math Department Co-Chair
Shari Byrnes, Administrative Assistant to Director of Lower and Middle School
John Campbell, Construction Project Manager
Mark Churchill, Athletic Director
Jason Clarke, Director of Information Technology
Jennifer Cronan Flinn, Director of Design, Engineering, and Educational Technology
Rob DeNunzio, Director of Music and Music Conservatory
Shelley Flint, Director of Sustainability
Tracy Froehlich, Director of Human Resources
Anna Heidinger, Director of Advancement
Kathy Laughlin M.F.T., Director of Counseling
Natasha McKeown ’87, Director of International Scholars and HyFlex Learning
Molly Morris, Executive Assistant to the Head of School
Jimena Motta, Administrative Assistant to Asst. HOS for Student Life
Jennie Nash, Director of Admissions and Enrollment Management
Jose Padilla, Director of Facilities
LeaAnne Parlette, Lower and Middle School Director
Nick Vidinsky, Director of Marketing and Communications
Kate Reeser, Assistant Head of School for Academics & Director of Upper School
Lisa Richter L.C.S.W., Lower School Counselor
Carrie Robley, Assistant Head of School for Student Life
Krista Alborg, Health Care Administrator
Erica Smith, Director of Dance and Theatre Arts
Cecily Stock ’77, M.A., J.D., Head of School
Karlyn Strand, Librarian
Amanda Tredinnick MS ’01, Upper School Dean of Students
David Wise, Chief Financial Officer