CDC Readiness and Planning Tool: To Prevent the Spread of COVID-19 in Primary and Secondary Schools in Low Resource Non-U.S. Settings

CDC offers the following readiness and planning tool to share ways school administrators can help protect students, staff, and communities, and slow the spread of COVID-19. This tool aligns with the Operational Considerations for Schools for low resource non-US settings, and includes the following:

• General Readiness Assessment
• Daily/Weekly Readiness Assessment
• Preparing for if Someone Gets Sick
• Special Considerations and Resources

School administrators can review and complete the General Readiness Assessment while working with local or national public health officials in the initial planning and preparation to reduce the spread of COVID-19 through healthy behaviors, environments, and operations.

The Daily/Weekly Readiness Assessment can be used by school administrators to monitor policies and practices.

Planning lists are also included to help school administrators prepare for if someone gets sick and to identify special considerations specific to their school community. Implementation should be guided by what is feasible, practical, acceptable, and tailored to the needs and context of each school community.

Guiding Principles to Keep in Mind

While not exhaustive, this stratification attempts to characterize the risks of spread among students, teachers, and staff across this continuum:

Lowest risk:

• Students and teachers engage in virtual-only classes, activities, and events

Some risk:

• Hybrid Learning Model: Some students participate in virtual learning and other students participate in in-person learning
• Small, in-person classes, activities, and events
• Small groups (cohorting), alternating schedules, and staggered schedules are applied rigorously
• No mixing of groups of students and teachers throughout/across school days
• Students and teachers do not share objects
• Students, teachers, and staff follow all steps to protect themselves and others at all times including proper use of face masks, physical distancing, hand hygiene
• Regularly scheduled (i.e., at least daily or between uses) cleaning high touch surfaces and objects implemented

Medium risk:

• Hybrid Learning Model: Most students participate in in-person learning, some students participate in virtual learning
• Larger in-person classes, activities, and events 2
• Small groups (cohorting), alternating schedules, and staggered schedules are applied with some exceptions
• Some mixing of groups of students and teachers throughout/across school days
• Students and teachers minimally share objects
• Students, teachers, and staff follow all steps to protect themselves and others such as proper use of face masks, social distancing, hand hygiene
• Regularly scheduled cleaning of high touch surfaces and areas largely implemented

Higher risk:

• Students and teachers engage in in-person only learning, activities, and events
• Students minimally mix between classes and activities
• Students and teachers share some objects
• Students, teachers, and staff follow some steps to protect themselves and others at all times such as proper use of face masks, physical distancing, hand hygiene
• Irregular cleaning of high touch surfaces and objects

Highest risk:

• Students and teachers engage in in-person only learning, activities, and events
• Students mix freely between classes and activities
• Students and teachers freely share objects
• Students, teachers, and staff do not follow steps to protect themselves and others such as proper use of face masks, physical distancing, hand hygiene
• Irregular cleaning of high touch surfaces and objects