Allergies
If your child has been diagnosed with an allergy it is critical that parents and guardians complete the ECFS Allergy Form. The information provided in this plan will provide your divisional nurses with standing orders from your child's physician for both routine care purposes and for managing anaphylactic shock.
This information includes:
Type of allergy;
Child's weight;
Child's typical response to the allergen;
Qualifiers for the administration of epinephrine.
When do the nurses need my child's prescription medication?
Prescription medication used for acute asthma attacks emergencies or during the routine course of the school day should be provided to the divisional nurse's office no later than Friday, September 20, 2024.
Can my child carry their own epi-pen?
Students in Fieldston Middle and Fieldston Upper who have been determined to be independent administrators by their parents and physician can carry and self-administer their epinephrine auto-injectors.
Students in Ethical Culture and Fieldston Lower students are not permitted to carry prescribed epi-pens until determined by parents, your child's physician, and the school nurse.
Allergy Form.pdf
Clarity Program
ECFS and our partners at AVI FoodSystems take allergy and food sensitivities very seriously. The School has worked closely with our divisional nurses, as well as dieticians and nutritionists to develop an allergen safety program to educate our dining team members as well as ensure that all members of our community are served a safe meal each day.
Our dieticians in consultation with ECFS representatives have recognized that we must provide a system in which meals are served free of the Food and Drug Administration’s top eight allergens including, milk, fish, shellfish, wheat, eggs, soy, peanuts, and treenuts. Although we will never serve a meal with peanuts or tree nuts, many of these other allergens may be found in our hot meal station, “Homestyle”.
In order to accommodate our community members with allergens and intolerances, we have created the Clarity meal. The Clarity meal is free of all of the allergens listed above and is a dependable way of assuring the safety of those with food allergens. We recommend that students, who are unable to independently identify allergen labels on placards or menus, enjoy the Clarity meal each day. Clarity provides a nutritious meal comparable to the Homestyle station featuring seasonal food availability and comfort cooking.
Self Service Stations
While we are able to provide a full hot meal free of allergens, we are not able to provide the same assurances to the self-service salad bar and deli station. Due to the nature of a self-service station, other students may accidentally cross-contaminate a product that would normally be acceptable for a student with allergies. We encourage students to speak to the Chef about a safe alternative.
Lunch from Home
In order to maintain an environment where allergens are controlled, students at Ethical Culture and Fieldston Lower are not permitted to bring outside food to campus without a note from their child's primary care physician. Middle School and Upper School students are permitted to bring nut-free snacks with them to campus. Please see our divisional Student & Family Handbooks for more information about snacks.
Nut-Free
AVI FoodSystems will never serve a product, meal, or beverage that contains nuts or tree nuts. Our baked goods and other sourced products are all sourced from nut-free facilities as well.
Employee Resources Under Education Law §921-a
Pursuant to Education Law §921-a, both public and non-public schools may choose to provide and maintain emergency epinephrine auto-injectors on-site and permit volunteer school personnel to be trained to administer epinephrine via auto-injector on-site to a student or staff member in an instructional facility per Commissioner's regulation §136.6 who appears to be in anaphylaxis, regardless of history of severe allergic reaction.
As a school electing to train unlicensed personnel to administer emergency epinephrine via auto-injector under this regulation, ECFS must use training approved by the NYS Department of Health (NYSDOH). ECFS is now required to provide teachers with written informational material created and approved by the Commissioner of Health on using epinephrine auto-injectors. Approved materials to be provided are not currently available.
As per the NYS Department of Health, schools are encouraged to use each epinephrine manufacturer's website to access the required information on the use of the epinephrine auto-injectors. The Food Allergy Research & Education (FARE) lists the current epinephrine devices, product information, and training videos and is posted here for review by unlicensed employees. Employees may also create an account at the Early Childhood Education and Training Program, select "e-Learning", select "Register for e-Learning", then select "Identifying and Responding to Anaphylaxis" and "Proceed to register" for free.
Recognizing Signs of Anaphylaxis
How to Use an Epi-Pen