Health & Safety

We aim to develop health and safety protocols that are reasonable, well-timed, and consistent with best practices. As always, any updates to our health and safety plan will be based upon data and guidelines from a range of sources (the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, the City of Boston, the CDC, and the FDA). 

Thank you, as always, for your commitment to the health of our community.

Guidance for Respiratory Illness

In March 2024, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) announced updated protocols for managing a range of respiratory illnesses, including but not limited to: Covid-19, influenza, and RSV. Below is the current guidance, which can also be viewed along with specific scenarios on the CDC website. For any questions, please contact info@nbss.edu.

When you may have a respiratory virus:

  • Stay home and away from others (including people you live with who are not sick) if you have respiratory virus symptoms that aren’t better explained by another cause.
  • Symptoms may include but are not limited to chest discomfort, chills, cough, decrease in appetite, diarrhea, fatigue (tiredness), fever or feeling feverish, headache, muscle or body aches, new loss of taste or smell, runny or stuffy nose, sneezing, sore throat, vomiting, weakness, wheezing.
  • Notify your instructor, supervisor, and/or the Provost office of your status. This helps us track illness at the school, and means a plan for remote or makeup work can be arranged, if warranted. Your privacy will be protected throughout.

You can go back to your normal activities when, for at least 24 hours, both are true:

  • Your symptoms are getting better overall, and
  • You have not had a fever (and are not using fever-reducing medication).

When you return to normal activities:

  • Take added precaution over the next five days, such as taking additional steps for cleaner air, hygiene, masks, physical distancing, and/or testing when you will be around other people indoors.
  • Keep in mind that you may still be able to spread the virus that made you sick, even if you are feeling better. You are likely to be less contagious at this time, depending on factors like how long you were sick or how sick you were.
  • Note: If you develop a fever or you start to feel worse after you have gone back to normal activities, stay home and away from others again until, for at least 24 hours, both are true: your symptoms are improving overall, and you have not had a fever (and are not using fever-reducing medication). Then take added precaution for the next five days.

When you share your health status, the School will take these actions:

  • We will follow guidelines from our Response Plan, which includes but is not limited to: connecting with our community and providing guidance for those affected.
  • We are notifying anyone who may be a close contact of the person who is ill, so they can monitor their own health appropriately.

We respect the privacy and medical confidentiality of our community members. For this reason, we cannot disclose the names of any individuals who have become ill with a respiratory illness.

Frequently Asked Questions

Our career training programs and community education classes are operating at full capacity, and fully in-person, with sensible precautions in place. These include:

  • Vaccination for respiratory illness is strongly encouraged for all career-training students, faculty, and staff.
  • Masks are currently optional but encouraged at the School, especially if you’re recovering from illness.
  • Increased use of technology, including remote work, is employed when necessary.
  • Building filtration systems are MERV 14, which can trap smaller particles and viruses. 
  • More frequent professional cleaning, among other disinfection measures, is in place.

  • As in all cases when you are experiencing symptoms of a contagious illness, you should seek prompt medical evaluation by a healthcare professional.
  • As always, please stay home and rest. The first priority is your health, and we will work with you to find ways to make up for any missed time.
  • If you have symptoms of respiratory illness, please follow the guidelines noted above and on the CDC website.
  • Please contact your instructor or supervisor so we can be aware of your health and develop a plan for any missed work.

Please note that testing for Covid-19 or other respiratory illness is no longer required, per CDC guidelines.

If you choose to test as means to monitor your health, here are some resources:

  • Your healthcare provider, local pharmacy, or community health center can test for a variety of illnesses.
  • At-Home Rapid tests are available for purchase at your local pharmacy and online. There are also a limited number of free rapid tests available at some community locations, such as libraries, health centers, via the USPS, or via the Commonwealth.
  • The School may have a limited number of rapid tests for Covid-19 specifically on hand for your use. Please check with the front desk.
  • You may find other helpful information via these sources: Boston Public Health Commission, North End Waterfront Health, Mass.gov, ConvenientMD, CVS Minute Clinic.

If you test positive for any respiratory illness, please follow the guidelines noted above and on the CDC website. Note that there are no longer separate guidelines for Covid-19 at this time, and testing is no longer required for Covid-19 or any other respiratory illness.

Career Training Programs

The first priority is your health, and at the same time, we understand that training at NBSS is hands-on and space/machine dependent. Your instructor will work with you to find ways to make up for any missed work, and how to make your time out of class as productive as possible. This may include suggested tasks like drawing, researching, or reading, communicating via email, viewing online videos, etc. Since every situation will be different, instructors will tailor their approach to their program specifically.

Programs that practice field work, such as Carpentry and Preservation Carpentry, are expected to follow all of the same health and safety protocols as they do at NBSS, even though they are not in the building.

Community Education Classes

Our community education classes and career training programs are operating at full capacity, and fully in-person, with sensible precautions in place. Some of these include:

  • Vaccination for respiratory illness is strongly encouraged for all career-training students, faculty, and staff.
  • Masks are currently optional but encouraged at the School, especially if you’re recovering from illness.
  • Increased use of technology, including remote work, is employed when necessary.
  • Building filtration systems are MERV 14, which can trap smaller particles and viruses. 
  • More frequent professional cleaning, among other disinfection measures, is in place.

In the event you can’t attend class due to illness, please let us know immediately by emailing ce@nbss.edu.

Due to the variety of conditions under which this may take place (timing, class length and duration, symptoms, etc), all instances of illness will be handled on an individual basis. In general, we will adhere to our standard refund policies, but we will consider individual situations on a case-by-case basis.

Cancellations requests, for any reason, received at least 14 days before the class start date will be refunded less a $45.00 fee. Refunds are not given for cancellations received within 14 days of the class start time, or anytime after the class starts. Registrations are non-transferable and NBSS does not issue credits.

Note that cancellation policies for our Three-Month Furniture Making Intensive are listed separately, due to the nature of the course.

Working at NBSS

As in all cases when you are experiencing symptoms of a contagious illness, you should stay home, let your supervisor know you’ll be out, and follow the advice of your medical professional. Please review the employee handbook for additional details and policy addenda on absences and missed work.

Please contact your supervisor. As each situation will be different, they will work with you on leave options, and any special steps or accommodations needed to keep our community healthy. Please review the employee handbook for additional details and policies.