August 5, 2020
Dear Members of the Loomis Chaffee Community,
This is a letter that I hoped not to write. With just four weeks to go before the beginning of school and with the pandemic not yet under control, I write to let you know that the Board of Trustees and the senior administration, following the advice of our medical professionals, have made the decision that we cannot in good conscience open the school for boarding this fall—at least for Fall Term 1. We will provide face-to-face instruction for only our day students and those boarders who can commute on a daily basis for the first five weeks of the school year. The situation with the pandemic is simply too unpredictable, and we fear that if we were to open fully, we would be putting too many students, teachers, and staff at risk.
We have spent a considerable amount of time this summer developing our plans for a reopening, working within the Centers for Disease Control and state of Connecticut guidelines and spending over $1.5 million dollars on changes to classrooms, dormitories, dining halls, and other physical spaces on the campus. We really want our students here; we believe that face-to-face instruction is the best form of teaching, and we know that the social interaction of students from across this country and around the world with each other and with the faculty is one of the best and most essential aspects of a great boarding school.
Unfortunately, events have conspired against us.
Consequently, we have decided that for Fall Term 1 (September 1 to October 9), we will offer classes on campus for only day students and those boarders who are able to commute. We have made accommodations in all our classrooms to facilitate social distancing, and our classes, whether on campus or online, will be much smaller than last year, averaging about seven students. We have also made accommodations in our dining halls and other common spaces on campus to allow for this first wave of students on campus. All students will need to wear masks while on campus, wash their hands frequently, and practice social distancing. No students or adults will be allowed on campus if they exhibit any COVID-19 symptoms, and everyone will need to have an initial COVID-19 negative test within seven days of the beginning of school. We will be sending home a code of conduct agreement for these students and their parents/guardians to sign and return before school starts. Please note that if conditions change and we assess that having any students on campus for in-person classes will not work, we will move all students to the online learning program. Such a decision could happen before the start of the school year or anytime once school begins.
During Fall Term I, all other students will learn online. We spent considerable time and resources both last spring and this summer on the professional development of our faculty, and we know that we can offer an excellent academic program through an online platform. As a result, the faculty are eager to deliver an enhanced and dynamic online program that will feature a blend of synchronous instruction as well as structured, asynchronous learning. We designed our calendar and schedule for exactly this type of situation, and we will have schedules that will work for students no matter the time zones in which they live. Tomorrow we will survey families about their intention to study remotely or to commute to campus, and if their student is online, their time zone.
Whether learning on campus or learning remotely, the social and emotional well-being of our students is of the utmost importance to us. We will do everything we can to maintain our sense of community and care for all Loomis students. Key to this is the advisory program. Working in conjunction with the Norton Family Center for the Common Good, we have designed an advisory curriculum that aims to deepen community. All students will meet with their advisor groups at least once a week during a designated time. Ninth-grade students will be placed with specialized advisors who will be able to assist in their transition to high school. The rest of our students will continue to build strong relationships with their assigned advisors and will engage in weekly structured conversations. Additionally, all faculty will hold weekly office hours at a designated time. We have also developed a series of healthy living classes that will foster greater connection for our students, whether they are studying on campus or remotely, including mindfulness, yoga and performance training. As a reminder, while the Founders League has cancelled fall interscholastic competition, we will provide our students with rigorous sport-specific programs that are focused on drills and skill development, performance training, and social and emotional growth. Furthermore, we plan to offer a broad range of fun and engaging extracurricular opportunities that will connect current and new students as well as on-campus and online students.
For boarding families who do not receive financial aid, we will credit the entire room and board charge for Fall Term 1 to your December bill. For families receiving financial aid, the credit will be calculated based on your grant amount. We will do the same with the health fee for those students who are not involved with in-person instruction.
If we are able to successfully complete Fall Term 1 with our day students and local boarders, we will phase in the return of some boarders for Fall Term 2, which begins in mid-October. We will decide on the safest plan of action after the third week of Fall Term 1 following an assessment of where Connecticut and the rest of the country are with the spread, containment, and treatment of COVID-19 as well as our own ability to test our on-campus population in a timely fashion.
We have posted on the school website several answers to frequently-asked questions that you may have related to this reopening plan. In the survey we send to parents on Thursday, we will be asking a few important questions that will help the school design their child's Fall Term I schedule. And on Thursday afternoon class deans will reach out to students to share opportunities to connect and ask any questions they might have. As always, please do not hesitate to be in touch with us if you have further issues that you would like to discuss.
I know that this is not the news that you wanted to hear. It is not the news that I wanted to convey, but it is the news resulting from thorough research, thoughtful conversation and consideration, and careful decision-making. We care deeply about our students, and we pledge to do our utmost to make this a successful year.
Now more than ever, let us remember our school motto, Ne cede malis!
Sheila
The Loomis Chaffee School • 4 Batchelder Road • Windsor, CT 06095 • 860.687.6000
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