Planning for 2020-21

The new 2020–21 academic calendar will provide the school and our families the flexibility to respond quickly and with minimal disruption to changing circumstances related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Rather than taking five or five-and-a-half courses per trimester as was the case in our schedule for 2019–20, our students will take two or three courses in each of six intensive five-week terms.  

The daily schedule will include face-to-face instruction time in small sections of students, structured asynchronous learning, virtual community gatherings, advisor meetings, wellness programming, open office hours for faculty and students to meet, and other supports that will maximize our students’ learning, whether they are here on campus or studying remotely at home in various time zones. All students will take two to three courses per term.

Master Schedule: This document shows the two weeks of our daily schedule. The times represented on this schedule are times at Loomis. You will see the schedule shows four course blocks (B1, B2, B3, B4) during the morning and afternoon, community time/lunch blocks in the middle of the day, and one course block and community time block each evening. Those evening course blocks (B5 and B6) are for online learners. Please note that all on-campus synchronous classes are 70 minutes, except on Wednesdays when they are 60 minutes. All evening distance learning synchronous classes are also 70 minutes. Synchronous and asynchronous class meetings for both in-person and distant learners alternate every other day.

Sample On-Campus Schedule: This sample schedule shows a ninth-grade student enrolled in three courses for Fall Term I: World History, French I, and Biology. This new student is also enrolled in a daily study hall.

Sample Distance Learning Schedule: This sample schedule is for a ninth-grade student in Beijing, China. The times listed reflect the time in Beijing. For Fall Term I this student is enrolled in English I, World History, and Chemistry. This student will be taking French during their first year at Loomis but is not enrolled in that class this particular term. To help them maintain their French language during the terms they are not enrolled in French, they will participate in a French tutorial once a week during the community time block.

Sample Year Schedule: This document shows a sample ninth-grade student’s course schedule over the year’s six terms. Year-long courses are taken every other term for three terms. This particular student is enrolled in World History, French I, and Biology in terms Fall I, Winter I, and Spring I. They are enrolled in English I and Algebra II Advanced in terms Fall II, Winter II, and Spring II. Students who have terms where they only have two courses will also enroll in one of many non-credit wellness courses offered. For this student, they are enrolled in Cardio/Fitness in Fall Term II, Yoga in Winter Term II, and Trail Walking/Jogging in Spring Term II. Note: In terms the student is not enrolled in their language (French) course, they will participate in a once a week language tutorial. Finally, all traditional half courses have been converted to term courses with the exception of music and dance ensemble courses which will meet every term. So a student enrolled in the orchestra will have that class on their schedule every term.

The school will support a distance learning program throughout the year to meet the needs of students unable to return to campus because of travel restrictions or health concerns. This program also will be used should circumstances related to the pandemic require us to close campus and move all students to a distance learning format. If you are either unable to return to campus or would prefer not to at this time and would like to take advantage of our distance learning program, please let Tim Lawrence in the Academic Office know as soon as possible.

Is it possible to start the year remotely and then come to campus to complete the year in-person?
Yes. If you need to start the year in the distance learning program due to travel restrictions or health concerns, please contact Tim Lawrence, director of studies, so he can schedule you appropriately. Please note, that if you are a boarding student in this situation and do plan to be on campus for one or more terms, you do need to pay the room & board fee in order for the school to hold a bed for you.

While the school decided to go to a pass/fail system for this past spring term, we will return to our traditional grading system in the fall. The same grading system will apply to both in-person and online classes.

All students must be tested for COVID-19 within a short time frame (to be determined) before returning to campus in the fall and must provide their negative result upon arrival. We anticipate testing again within 10-14 days after arrival on campus; the school will provide and administer that test to all students, faculty, and staff. Additional testing may be required throughout the school year based on recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and local and state health departments, best practices for residential schools and colleges, and the needs of our school.

What if I don't have access to a test that can be conducted in the time frame required?
The school is currently looking for ways to help families in this situation and will have more information available later this summer. For international families please note that we can accept results of tests conducted in other countries as long as the documented results are available in English or can be easily determined to show a negative result.

All students, faculty, and staff will answer a series of questions about symptoms related to COVID-19 every day. They may not attend classes or other school activities or come to work if they are symptomatic or have been in recent contact with anyone testing positive for COVID-19. The school is exploring the feasibility of using a contact tracing app.

All students, faculty, staff, and visitors will be required to wear masks on campus. One exception will be for boarders when they are in their dormitory rooms and pods. (See Dormitory Life section below for information on pods.) Additional exceptions may be made as deemed appropriate by the school. Community members also will be required to practice social distancing.

All boarders will participate in a modified quarantine upon arriving on campus until the results of the COVID-19 retest have been received.  We anticipate that this quarantine will last for 10-14 days. All boarders will learn online during that time and we will organize physical and social activities for them so that they can stay healthy and have fun within their residential “pod” community. We are in the process of determining what learning will look like for day students during that time and will communicate that soon. We anticipate that all students who want to learn on campus will be able to do so after the retest.

In light of our recent decision to quarantine all boarding students upon arrival to campus until we can conduct a COVID-19 retest of all community members (approximately 10 days after students arrive), we are reworking all our arrival dates. We anticipate welcoming students back to campus between August 26 and 30, but will know more in the next two weeks.

We are planning a combination of on-campus and virtual orientation and welcome activities for new students. More information will be available in early August. 

We expect the dormitories to open at full capacity and will be housing students in singles and doubles. Each dormitory will be divided into “pods”—small groups of students, probably 10-15, who live next to each other. These students will be able to interact without wearing masks and without six feet of distance within the dormitory.

How will “pod” assignments be determined?
For returning students, we will do our best to assign students to pods based on friend groups (the information students provided on their housing assignment sheets earlier this summer). For new students, we will take special care (as we always do) to group students based on information provided on the housing survey students filled out earlier this summer and the information we know about students from their admission applications.

Loomis’ expanded housekeeping staff will conduct a thorough daily cleaning in the common areas of the dormitories following the best sanitizing practices.

Only the boarders of a particular dormitory and associated faculty and staff will be allowed in that dormitory.

Each boarding family must have a 48-hour evacuation plan that will enable them to pick up their child from campus if they test positive for COVID-19 or any other highly contagious illness, such as the flu. Day families will of course be expected to have a more immediate plan.

What if I live far away and can’t get to my child within 48 hours?
All families are required to have an emergency contact for their child who lives within 300 miles of the school. For families without such a contact, the school is looking into concierge services that families can contract with to serve as that contact if needed. We will have more information about these services in the coming days.

Information about 1-20s and visas will be posted shortly. 

Please refer to the Health & Safety section above for information about testing.

Yes. In fact the school has decided that all boarding students – international and domestic – will be required to quarantine upon arrival on campus. (See more information in the Health & Safety section above.)

If you need to start the year in the distance learning program due to travel restrictions or health concerns, please contact Tim Lawrence, director of studies, so he can schedule you appropriately. Please note, that if you are a boarding student in this situation and do plan to be on campus for one of more terms, you do need to pay the room & board fee in order for the school to hold a bed for you.

International families are encouraged to contact Elizabeth Parada at elizabeth_parada@loomis.org with any questions they might have.

We have not yet determined if day students will be allowed to be on-campus during this initial quarantine period. We may ask day students to begin their class online, just like boarding students, for this estimated 10-14 day period. Or, if circumstance permit, we may be able to allow day students to come to campus during that time if they like. We need more time to consider the implications of these options and will be in touch as soon as we have made a decision.

Our current plan for orientation includes a combination of both on-campus and virtual activities for all new students ― day and boarding. We will have more information available in August about the orientation schedule.

With access to dormitories limited to each dormitory’s residents and the dining hall unavailable for between-class lounging during extended dining hours, we will convert several spaces on campus for all students to congregate between classes and meet with friends, and some designated spaces for day students to work during their asynchronous class times. We are also looking at the possibility of creating day student pods that will allow groups of day students to interact and socialize without masks.

Day students are welcome to apply to move into the dormitory based on space available. While our residence halls are currently full, we do keep a wait list of day students who have been approved to move into the dorm. Interested families should reach out to Amy Thompson, dean of enrollment, to express interest and learn about how to initiate the application process.

We are working with FLIK, our dining provider, to ensure that the safest cleaning and serving practices will be used, and to provide food that is nutritious and appealing. The meals will be served to students or they can take a ready-made option to eat elsewhere. We will also be expanding the snacks locations and choices around campus so that students have food at their fingertips when they need a “pick-me-up.” We know how important dining is for students, from being an essential component of health to a providing a chance to socialize. Accordingly, we have retrofitted the dining hall tables with acrylic barriers so that students can sit together and enjoy a meal time conversation with their friends.

After school and evening activities, including community service, theater rehearsal, and student club and organization meetings, will take place but will look different, given the need to comply with social distancing guidelines. We will have more outdoors activities and have purchased four large tents to place around campus.

No decisions have yet been made about interscholastic athletics, but we are in frequent contact with our Founders League and other peer schools about what might be feasible for this fall and beyond. Whatever those decisions, we are committed to offering a robust set of after-school offerings that will meet the needs of all of our students within the guidelines provided by the state and local agencies and that align with our safety protocols. We hope to begin the fall with sport-specific training as made possible by the state of Connecticut’s Phase 3 Opening guidance. We will have more information about the likelihood of interscholastic athletics later this summer.

Given our plans for the coming year, we have reduced our tuition and adjusted our tuition structure to charge all families—boarding and day—a flat tuition for the year to cover the academic and co-curricular program.

You will note that the total costs for boarding and day students are lower than the tuition amounts announced in February. The revised tuition structure does not amend the enrollment contract that you have already signed. Your tuition bill will reflect these new amounts. For more information about tuition, deadlines, and billing, please visit the tuition page of the website. 

The last date to withdraw your child is July 15, the same day that the first tuition payment is due. A written withdrawal must be emailed to school Registrar Beth Fitzsimmons at beth_fitzsimmons@loomis.org or Dean of Enrollment Amy Thompson at amy_thompson@loomis.org by this date. As a reminder, please note that the enrollment deposit previously paid remains nonrefundable.

Yes, all financial aid recipients will benefit from a 3.5% reduction in their family contribution toward tuition. All financial aid recipients will receive, by mail, a recalculated financial aid letter from the Financial Aid Office before July 5.

The first tuition payment is due on July 15. The tuition due can be located on the student’s account which can be found in MyBackPack on the landing page of the Parent Portal. 

Directions to access MyBackPack 

If you would like to adjust your current tuition payment plan to reflect the new tuition amount, you will need to log into your FACTS account. Once you have logged into FACTS, you will click on the Actions Button on your home page then choose Adjust Balance from the drop-down options.

https://online.factsmgt.com/signin.aspx

Yes, the Tuition Refund Insurance premium is a calculation of 1.4% of the net tuition due.  If you are a boarding family with a net tuition of $61,000, the new premium is $854.00. If you are a day family with a net tuition of $46,000, the new premium is $644.00.

Given the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, families may want to consider enrolling in Tuition Refund Insurance even if they have not considered it in the past. See the brochure from to learn more about the plan coverage. 

You may opt into the Tuition Refund Insurance plan with written notice to the Loomis Chaffee Business Office any time prior to the first day of classes.

You can adjust your loan amount by contacting Your Tuition Solution on their toll free number 1-800-920-9777.

For general questions about the school’s 2020-21 planning efforts, please contact Mary Liscinsky, COVID-19 coordinator, at mary_liscinsky@loomis.org.

Questions about: 

• Academic Office
  For general requests or questions, including requests for transcripts and other official documents, or requests for appointments by phone, please contact Connie Yocius at 860.687.6204 or connie_yocius@loomis.org.
   
• Admission and Financial Aid Office
  Please contact the Admission and Financial Aid Office at admission@loomis.org.
   
• Alumni/Development Office
  For requests or questions about giving, please contact Mary McGoldrick at 860.687.6276 or mary_mcgoldrick@loomis.org. For requests or questions about alumni and parent relations, including events, please contact Michelle Carr at 860.687.6815 or michelle_carr@loomis.org.
   
• Business Office
  For student accounts and enrollment questions, please contact Julie Knight at julia_knight@loomis.org; for accounts payable, contact Paula Henriques at paula_henriques@loomis.org; for all other questions, email Julie Knight at julia_knight@loomis.org or John Cheon at john_cheon@loomis.org.
   
• Campus Safety
  Campus Safety can be reached 24 hours a day, seven days a week at 860.202.5978. You can also email Campus Safety at campussafety@loomis.org.
   
• College Office
  Please email your college advisor directly or email College_Office@loomis.org.
   
• Communications Office
  Please contact the Communications Office at lc_communications@loomis.org.
   
• Counseling Office
  During the summer months, please contact Jessica Matzkin at jessica_matzkin@loomis.org.
   
• Dean of Students
  Please contact the dean for each class as appropriate:
  Freshman Dean:  Jake Leyden at jake_leyden@loomis.org
  Sophomore Dean: Mike Donegan at mike_donegan@loomis.org
  Junior Dean: Elliott Dial at elliott_dial@loomis.org
  Senior/PG Dean: Jessica Matzkin at jessica_matzkin@loomis.org
   
• Distance Learning

  Please contact Tim Lawrence, director of studies at tim_lawrence@loomis.org

• Enrollment 
  Please contact Amy Thompson, dean of enrollment at amy_thompson@loomis.org
   

• Health Center
  Please contact the Health Center at health_center@loomis.org.

• Information Technology
  To reach the IT Help Desk, please email help_desk@loomis.org. Faculty and staff may submit an rSchool request for help through the Faculty & Staff Portal.

• International Students
  Please contact Elizabeth Parada at elizabeth_parada@loomis.org. Jaci Cardwell is currently on maternity leave. 
   
• Loomis Chaffee Summer Program
  Please contact the LCSP at summer_program@loomis.org.