COVID-Exclusion Criteria, New Drop-off Process & Other Important Information

September 10, 2021

Leer en español.

Important! When to Keep Children Home from School

We all have a role to play in keeping our community healthy and safe—and we’re relying on families to follow these protocols:

Exclusion Criteria: Keep children home if they have COVID-19 symptoms, have been diagnosed with COVID-19, have been in close contact with someone who has COVID-19, or are awaiting COVID-19 test results. Our decision tree shows you, step by step, what to do in these situations.

Please note that when a negative COVID-19 test is required for a return to school, it must be a PCR test; results from rapid and antigen tests will not be accepted.

This slide from our August 24 town hall lists the COVID-19 symptoms that necessitate staying home from school:

COVID Exclusion Criteria

Watch the town hall on YouTube.

Travel: Students who are not fully vaccinated for COVID-19 and have traveled outside DC, Maryland, and Virginia must quarantine at home. They may return to school after

  • being free of COVID-19 symptoms for 10 days, or
  • showing a negative result for a COVID-19 PCR test that was taken three to five days after they returned home.

Daily Health Screening: Every school day, perform a health screening before leaving home, using the CMI Screening app for Android or iOS. If you’re presented with an orange “Please Stay Home” screen, do not come to school.

Find more information about when your child should stay home in our Back-to-School Guide.

Contact Us: Please contact us at covid@cmipcs.org or (202) 588-0370 for all COVID-related matters, including the following:

  • Your child will be staying home because of COVID-like symptoms.
  • Your child or someone in your household has tested positive for COVID-19.
  • Your child has been in close contact with someone who was diagnosed with COVID-19.
  • You are submitting the results of a negative COVID-19 test after a quarantine period.
  • You have questions about COVID policies or procedures.

Do not use any other email address or phone number in these instances—for example, do not relay this information to your child’s teachers.

Update to Morning Drop-off

This Monday, September 13, we will begin our new drop-off process. Instead of gathering outside at arrival time, students will now enter school through their assigned doors and proceed to their classrooms:

Pre-K3 & Pre-K4: Door 1 (Main Entrance)

Kindergarten–2nd: Door 2 (Sherman South)

Third–8th: Door 6 (Main Hall)

Students w/Disabilities Needing an Accessible Entrance: Door 1 (Main Entrance) or Door 2 (Sherman South)

For locations of these entryways, please see our campus map.

Hang Up Your Phone! (Please)

The Armed Forces Retirement Home has noticed many drivers holding and talking on their phones while behind the wheel.

If you’re using a cell phone while driving, you must be in hands-free mode. Not doing so is an infraction of AFRH rules for which you can be cited or have your driving privileges revoked; Creative Minds cannot intervene in these matters.

Please complete your daily health screening at home so that you’re not frantically trying to catch up (and breaking the driving rules) as you enter campus.

We encourage no cell-phone use during arrival and dismissal, no matter your mode of transportation. Near incidents have been observed among walkers who were focused on their phones and not on their children or the traffic around them.

Your Assignment: Read and commit to memory all our rules for driving and parking on campus.

Reminder: Back-to-School Night

Have you registered for our online Back-to-School Night? We hope to see you on Monday or Tuesday:

Lower School Back-to-School Night
Monday, September 13
6:30 p.m.–8:00 p.m.
Register Here

Middle School Back-to-School Night
Tuesday, September 14
6:30 p.m.–8:00 p.m.
Register Here

Special Education Resource Hub

The Office of the State Superintendent of Education has updated its online Special Education Resource Hub for the 2021–22 school year. The Hub provides students and their families with information and answers to common questions, such as what to expect this school year and how parents and families can best support their children. Find the Special Education Resource Hub here.

If you have questions about special education at Creative Minds, please email Dr. Emmanuel Taiwo (emmanuel.taiwo@cmipcs.org). If your child is currently receiving special-education services and you have questions, please email Maura Hoyson (maura.hoyson@cmipcs.org) for students in lower school or Nicole Keler (nicole.keler@cmipcs.org) for students in middle school.

Explore