WMS COVID-19 FAQ

Wilmington Montessori School has put a number of safety measures into place and will continue to research best practices and follow licensing guidelines. Our most up-to-date policies can be viewed here.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, WMS has remained in close communication with Delaware Department of Education Office of Child Care Licensing (OCCL), along with other schools in the region and beyond. In addition, we continue to receive information from the Delaware Division of Public Health and CDC, while also considering the specific needs of our WMS community.
 

Please review the following page for details: WMS Response to Positive COVID-19 Case

Access to the inside of the WMS building is currently limited to staff and students only. For the first time in the history of WMS, parents and family members are asked to remain in their cars, in the car line and not enter the building unless there is an urgent need. We look forward to welcoming you back into our building when it is safe to do so.

No. WMS was founded by parents and values the involvement of parents in their children’s education. Each year, WMS requires our families to participate in the Co-op Program by completing their annual co-op hours, which over the past two years has been 25 hours per family per school year.  We will be putting those requirements on pause for the 2020-21 school year, due to considerations regarding COVID-19. We know that we will begin the year allowing only students and staff in the school building, and we are uncertain about when that may change. Therefore, your family will not have a co-op requirement for this year only, although we know that you will continue to be involved in your child’s education in whatever ways possible.

We will also continue to provide parent coffees, education, and support through various webinars and online sessions as an extension of the Co-op Program. We hope you will join us as often as your schedule allows, and volunteer if possible when opportunities present themselves. We look forward to continuing our strong partnership with you and your family. 

Field trips are an important part of students’ learning, offering first-hand experiences related to the curriculum. At this time, we are not planning outside field trips for our students; however, many classrooms are taking advantage of opportunities to take virtual field trips to museums and other locations.

As protocols for business, museums, parks and other field trip destinations change so may our policies. Teachers may plan trips, waiting to determine the ability to carry out the plan based on these protocols and guidance from the state in which the trip will take place. 

The opening/closing times for each program level are the same:

• Middle School, 8 a.m.-3:15 p.m.
• Elementary, 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m.
• Primary, 8:45 a.m.-3:15 p.m.
• Toddler, 9 a.m.-3:15 p.m.

Children will be dropped off and picked up from the areas designated for their program level to minimize contact between pods and avoid travel throughout the school.

In the case of multiple children from the same family, the children will be dropped off at the location of the oldest sibling's drop-off spot, and will be picked up at the location of the youngest child’s designated pick-up spot.

WMS teachers and staff will meet students at their cars and safely escort them into the building after health screenings.

• Toddlers will be dropped off and picked up at the entrance behind the pool house at the toddler playground. They will enter the building near the fish tank in the Aspen Wing.
• Primary, elementary and middle school students attending before- or after-care will dropped off/picked up at the Great Room entrance. 
• All other Primary students will enter/exit the building via the main entrance.
• All other elementary and middle school students will enter/exit the building through the side entrance of the school.

Signs will be posted to ease confusion.

The OCCL strongly recommends face coverings for children ages 3 and up. WMS currently requires that all staff members and children in the Primary through Middle School programs wear face coverings while indoors.  

7/13/21 Update Regarding Outdoor Use of Face Coverings: 
Children will now be permitted to remove their masks when outdoors and maintaining physical distancing on the WMS campus. At this time, children under 12 are unable to be vaccinated, making it necessary to take additional precautions when we are indoors. For this reason, masks continue to be required for students in the Primary Program (or Pandas camp program) and older and all adults when in the building, based on information from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the CDC's guidance for mask use in child-care settings (last updated on 7/9/21), which states: "When people who are not fully vaccinated wear a mask correctly and consistently, they protect others as well as themselves. Consistent and correct mask use by people who are not fully vaccinated is especially important indoors and when physical distancing cannot be maintained." For indoor settings, the CDC says that mask use is recommended for people who are not fully vaccinated, including children and staff. The CDC also states that "in general, people do not need to wear masks when outdoors" as long as physical distancing is maintained.

At this time, we are requiring that all WMS students be tested for COVID-19 every two weeks. Please visit our COVID-19 Testing Requirements page for updates and deadlines.

2021-22 SCHOOL YEAR PLANNING:

As we look to the 2021-22 school year, our goal is again to offer a continuous on-campus learning experience while taking the necessary precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19. As an accredited school that is also licensed by the Delaware Department of Education's Office of Child Care Licensing, we will continue to follow their updated guidance. Currently, access to the building remains limited, with face coverings required for all adults and children in preschool and older inside the building. Information will be updated throughout the summer.