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Resources to Help Teachers

Starting a new school year during the COVID-19 pandemic creates new challenges for teachers. How do you keep yourself and your students safe, while also keeping them engaged? With kids learning both face-to-face and virtually, there are many factors to consider. Let us help. Our experts share advice and tips on how to spot symptoms, keep your classroom clean, encourage masking and social distancing, and more.

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Spot COVID-19 Symptoms

Early recognition of COVID-19 symptoms can greatly reduce the risk of spreading the virus among teachers and students. Some symptoms are widely known while others are less common. It’s important you review these symptoms and self-screen every day before coming to school to keep yourself and your students safe. And be on the lookout for students who exhibit symptoms in the classroom.

Symptoms and risk factors of COVID-19 include:

  • Fever (temperature of 100 F or greater)
  • Shortness of breath
  • Dry cough
  • Sore throat
  • Runny nose or nasal congestion
  • GI issues like nausea, vomiting or diarrhea
  • Loss of sense of smell or taste
  • Disequilibrium like dizziness
  • Muscle aches
  • General weakness
  • Chills (sometimes with shaking)
  • Headache
  • Close unprotected contact in past 14 days with a person known to have COVID-19

5 Steps to Ensure Your Home Remains Clean and Disinfected

COVID-19 spreads through respiratory droplets and can live on surfaces for hours or even days. By using the right products and cleaning regularly, the virus can be easily killed, which greatly reduces the risk of transmission to yourself and your students.

Here are 5 steps to ensure your home remains clean and disinfected: 

  • Step 1: Identify high-touch hard surfaces, such as desks, doorknobs, keyboards and light switches. The more often the space is used or touched, the more frequently it needs to be wiped down. At a minimum, these surfaces should be wiped down daily. When in doubt, wipe it down!
  • Step 2: Put on reusable or disposable gloves when cleaning and disinfecting surfaces.
  • Step 3: Visibly dirty surfaces should be cleaned with soap and water before you disinfect.
  • Step 4: Disinfect all hard surfaces using an EPA-approved disinfectant, or a bleach solution of 1/3 cup of bleach for each gallon of water. It’s important to start cleaning top to bottom to avoid cross contamination.
  • Step 5: When done, remove gloves and wash your hands.

Together with frequent and proper handwashing, regularly cleaning classroom surfaces will help reduce the spread of COVID-19.

 

Downloadable Resources to Keep You and Your Students Safe

Keeping students safe from COVID-19 creates additional challenges for teachers as you welcome students back to class, both in-person or virtually. We’re here to help. We’ve developed a resource packet with guides on wearing a mask properly, hand hygiene, tracking symptoms and more. Download and display in your classroom or share with students and parents.