July 1, 2020
Dear Parents,
Thank you for joining my question and answer Zoom meeting yesterday afternoon. I appreciate your participation and thoughtful questions. I hope that we provided insight into your concerns about student life, athletics, and the anticipated return to campus this fall. Our detailed and responsive plans are based on the current guidelines and regulations, which will undoubtedly change in the coming weeks. Please remember that the comprehensive plan we have developed will serve as a foundation, as the situation could look very different in mid-August.
Most importantly, the aspect of our plan that will be steadfast is the "social contract" partnership we outlined yesterday. This relationship with our parents and students will be vital to the health of our community as we repopulate and navigate the fall semester. In summary, the boarding students will be required to remain on campus for a two- to three-week period from the initial repopulation, therefore limiting the risk of infection to our campus and creating a foundation for our academic year.
We will continue to monitor several factors, including the pervasiveness of the disease in our immediate area. When students leave campus, whether day or boarding, we will require that each student avoid high-risk activities and interactions that could impact your family and our community. We will provide clear aspects of this contract, the factors that will be monitored, and the classification of high-risk activities as we look to the fall.
We will need your support in ensuring our boys adhere to these social guidelines. The health and safety of our entire community will depend on each of us doing our part to minimize the risk and exposure. These requirements are based on best practices and consultation with our health professionals to support a strong and healthy start to the academic year.
I will be scheduling another Zoom Q&A session at the end of July that will also cover athletics. The Founder's League is due to make an announcement in mid- to late-July which we will discuss at that time. In the interim, our team is here to assist and ease any concerns that you or your son may have. In addition, we will be providing communications on 7/24/20 and 8/14/20 that will provide revised information for the start of the school year. Please access the contact information for members of our various departments here.
Jim Detora P'12 Head of School AVON OLD FARMS |