Maintaining Healthy Education and Childcare Settings during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Maintaining Healthy Education and Childcare Settings during the COVID-19 Pandemic is a set of training modules developed to support COVID-19 prevention activities in Pre-K-12 schools, and early childcare and education (ECE) center settings by the Division of Environmental Health Epidemiology, Pennsylvania Department of Health (DOH), with support from the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) .

The DOH received federal grant funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to develop the training modules. The content of the modules was adapted from guidance released by DOH, PDE, and CDC, and reflects public health best practices as of May 2021.

The trainings are intended for school administrators, ECE center administrators, teachers, facility managers and other personnel that provide daily support to the operations of a school or early childcare and education (ECE) center. Links to the training modules have been provided below and are titled to reflect the settings for the target audience. There are also post training surveys regarding each training module. The information you provide will help us to better understand the needs of your community regarding maintaining healthy educational and childcare care settings during the COVID-19 pandemic in schools and ECE centers. Please take a few minutes to complete the survey after you are done with the training.

General Training Modules and Resources:

• Training for staff in K-12 schools
  
• Post training survey (K-12)
  
• Training for staff in Early Childhood Care Centers
  
• Post training survey (ECE)
• References and other resources
  

All presentations are narrated and include audio transcriptions in the notes section of each slide. Please note that unless stated otherwise, the guidance provided in the training modules are recommendations and should not be considered mandates or requirements. For more information on the most current CDC guidance regarding COVID-19, please visit:

• Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) | CDC
• PA Department of Health COVID-19 Fact Sheets
  

In addition to the general training materials above, three shorter training modules were developed by Drexel University to provide targeted information on the following topics: ventilation, COVID testing, COVID vaccination, and coping with stress during the COVID pandemic.

• Module 1 (Ventilation)- Reducing COVID 19 spread through improved ventilation
  
• Module 2 (COVID testing) - Considerations for pre-K-12 school settings
  
• Module 3 (Coping with stress) - Considerations for Mental Health and Well-Being during the COVID-19 Pandemic
  

Frequently Asked Questions

If you have any questions regarding the training, please feel free to contact us: env.health.concern@pa.gov |717-787-3350 | Division of Environmental Health Epidemiology, PA Department of Health. 625 Forster Street Harrisburg, PA 17120

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