Generally, there’s an absence of national or state standards for boarding schools, Upham said. But most schools, he said, have their own strict rules on testing, masking and social distancing. Many have also cut the number of students allowed to gather together in dorms and classes and reduced campus density wherever they can, some with mobile residential areas. Some schools are also updating their ventilation systems and filters to help clean the air.
While that can be an expensive effort, it’s worth it for schools that average $56,875 a year in tuition costs, according to a review by the Boarding School Review in October 2019.
Philips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire also made some drastic changes to its usual practices.
In order to cut down on the number of students doubled up in dorms, the school rented out a local inn for the year, and temporarily transformed it into student housing. Students were not permitted to play off-campus sports, and on-campus sports got modified to decrease contact. Masks were a must everywhere outside of individual dorm rooms, and students were allowed to eat only in their dorm rooms or outside as long as they maintained the proper distance.
Traditions like the annual fall sports showdown against rival Phillips Academy were canceled. And many classes were virtual, even with students on campus. But as the fall session continued, some boundaries were relaxed, according to Katy Lilly, the school’s medical director.
The school added areas where students could dine near each other indoors as weather turned colder, and replaced the annual rivalry sports match with a school intramural sports day. More in-person classes returned, with plastic barriers between students erected at the famous large round classroom tables that have become a hallmark of the school’s approach to learning.
“We’ve said, `let’s physically distance because we don’t want to socially distance,’” Lilly said.
The Hill School in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, hired a pair of Cornell University professors to conduct a risk-analysis of its campus, and wound up implementing a block schedule for classes as a result. And at the Thacher School in Ojai, California, the school installed a sewage-monitoring system to identify community outbreak.
Many boarding schools also offer classes to students who come in daily. The more commuting students and faculty a school has, the harder it is to maintain those boundaries, but Upham said most have nonethless managed to “create at least a simulated bubble.”
Come January, when students return from their holiday visits to family, schools will have to do it all over again. And with case numbers now far higher than they were in September and October, the severe mitigation efforts that were once put aside, will likely be returning.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.